A young man has died of a severe arm injury after having to wait two hours for emergency blood supplies to be sent to a rural Queensland hospital.
Lachlan Jackwitz, 26, was rushed to Gatton Hospital in a life-threatening condition in the early hours of March 24 after falling through his bedroom window at his family home in Glen Cairn.
He lost three litres of blood while the hospital flew in Medevac blood via helicopter, and then had to be airlifted to the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital.
Doctors at RBWH amputated the arm and Lachlan underwent three major surgeries, but he was unable to recover and died on March 27, The Courier Mail reported.
Police said the accident was not suspicious, and his death was not mental health-related.
Lachlan’s mother Delaine Jackwitz said the family felt failed by the system, and believes her son may have survived if the hospital had been properly supplied.
“They didn’t even have blood at all, no blood at all,” she said.
“We had to wait for the chopper from the Royal Brisbane Hospital to bring his blood and they gave him four bags while we were in Gatton. We had to wait for them to come. He had no blood in his system for so long.
“The hospitals in Gatton and Brisbane were absolutely great, it’s just, I think the system has let us down a little bit, not having some blood at a hospital, especially where we live. We live in the Lockyer Valley, there’s machinery, there’s tractor accidents. I believe they should have some blood there.”
West Moreton Health said Medevac blood was not held at Gatton Hospital in order to prevent waste.
“Medevac blood used for emergency purposes has a limited lifespan and is carefully managed to avoid unnecessary wastage,” a spokesman said.
“As Medevac blood is not commonly required at Gatton Hospital, reserves are not held on-site. However, established processes are in place to ensure blood is quickly available from accredited blood banks.”
Lachlan’s shock death sparked an outpouring of grief in his community, and a GoFundMe set up to support the family and help pay for funeral expenses has raised almost $14,000 so far.
“This GoFundMe page, I cannot believe how many donations we’ve had,” Mrs Jackwitz said, and described the help her family had received as “magnificent”.
“We didn’t really feel like we had so much support.”
Lachlan’s mother and sister said he was a “really good son”, a devout Christian, a dog lover, a keen golfer, and a helpful and dependable family member who always stood up for his siblings.
Header image: Left, right, Lachlan Jackwitz (GoFundMe).
