'Doctors suffer too': Ex-coroner pushes for reform of inquest system
Former coroner Hugh Dillon spent years investigating negligent medical care — he now says the coronial process is flawed.
“It took me two to three years to properly understand medical evidence and it took me at least five to develop a reasonable level of expertise.”
This isn’t the confession of a medical student. It’s the view of Hugh Dillon, who spent nine years as the NSW deputy state coroner.
Inquests are a vexed issue for many doctors.
The hearings frequently centre on medical care, but judgements about doctors and their decisions are issued with 20/20 hindsight, stripped of the complexity and confusion of the real-world medical practice.
Mr Dillon has now returned to the bar as a barrister. But he’s also become a noisy critic of the coronial system he once presided over.
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