Hospital accused of overdosing man who did not want opioids
He was administered fentanyl and oxycodone 30 minutes apart
13th February 2018
A 53-year-old patient died at a public hospital after staff overdosed him with opioids, an inquest has heard.
Stephen Robert Atkins died in March 2015, after he was administered fentanyl and oxycodone to manage his chronic neck pain.
In the SA Coroner's Court on Tuesday, counsel assisting Kathryn Waite said Adelaide's Flinders Medical Centre had failed Mr Atkins on two levels.
Staff administered potentially lethal opioids without closely monitoring him and there were also questions about whether the medication should ever have been prescribed.
Ms Waite said one