The Garling Report

The Garling Report (formally titled the Final Report of the Special Commission of Inquiry into Acute Care Services in NSW Public Hospitals) is a 2008 report prepared by the office of the Australian Commissioner Peter Garling, SC following a series of high-profile medical mishaps in the New South Wales public hospital system. For the duration of the commission, it was well covered by mass media. Its final 139 recommendations stimulated considerable discussion and controversy.

Background

In November 2005, an Australian teenager named Vanessa Anderson died at Royal North Shore Hospital following a golfing accident. Her death, widely reported in the media, led to long-running controversy and motivated government-level changes to public hospital policy. It was alleged that her death occurred due to inadequate care and a systemic hospital failure to recognize signs of a deteriorating patient.

On 6 November 2005, while attending a school sporting event at a golf course, Vanessa Anderson was hit on the head by a golf ball. She was taken to Hornsby Hospital and subsequently transferred to the Royal North Shore Hospital. She was allegedly treated inappropriately for a fractured skull, and two days later, suffered a seizure and died. The coroner determined that Vanessa died from respiratory arrest due to the depressant effect of opiate medication.