Coroner to examine care given to Albury woman before her death

Inquest begins over care given prior to death of Kate Manley at Albury Hospital Fri 31 Jul 2026 at 7:00am In short: Kate Manley, 46, died from a suspected pulmonary embolism in November 2022 while an involuntary patient at Albury Base Hospital. A coronial inquest will examine whether Ms Manley received adequate care and treatment in accordance with policies and guidelines. What's next? The inquest will continue for two weeks. A coronial inquest has heard the details of how an involuntary patient who was admitted into a mental health ward at Albury Wodonga Health later died due to a blood clot. Kate Manley, 46, was an involuntary patient at Albury Hospital and was admitted to Nolan House, the mental acute psychiatric ward located at the hospital on November 11, 2022. She later died, on November 16, with the cause of death being a suspected pulmonary embolism which occurs when there is a blood clot in a person's lungs and is closely related to deep vein thrombosis. A coronial inquest into her death began at the Albury Local Court yesterday. In his opening statement, counsel assisting the court Patrick Rooney told Coroner Rebecca Hosking that after an appointment with her GP on November 9, 2022, Ms Manley "was in a bad way mentally and was not sleeping". She later attended Albury Hospital and was admitted as an involuntary patient, placed in a room with her partner and underwent a medical review. Dr Bishal Bakrgava told the inquest Ms Manley was "quite distressed" when she came to the emergency department but had "minimal reactions" when speaking with medical staff and was not being overly agitated. She was later transferred to Nolan House and diagnosed with catatonia. Over the next few days Ms Manley continued to be assessed and regularly did not respond to doctors' questions. The court heard that on several occasions her limbs were checked and that she was prescribed several drugs. There were concerns from staff that Ms Manley had an elevated temperature and continued to be mute and non-responsive. On the day before her death, doctors noted that Ms Manley complained of neck pain and had minimal food for at least two days. Later that night Ms Manley was transferred back to a medical ward and was given intravenous fluids, but died around 2am on November 16. The court heard that Ms Manley was not wearing any stockings that treat deep vein thrombosis or had any diagnosis in relation to blood clots throughout her whole stay. 'No physical concerns' The court heard that doctors and nurses witnessed her being mobile and able to walk when she initially arrived at the hospital. Mr Rooney said that Ms Manley began to "freak" when it was decided that she be sent to Nolan House. Registered nurse Andrea Friswell told the court she tried to calm Ms Manley down when she arrived at Nolan House. "I tried to reassure Kate that it was to be quiet at night when she was admitted, and a psychiatrist was to see her the next morning,"she said. "There were no physical concerns and she was not complaining of pain." Ms Friswell told the court that Ms Manley did not enjoy being at Nolan House, did not want her blood to be taken, and responded negatively to having an electrocardiogram attached to her. The court also heard that Albury Wodonga Health has a policy that patients need to have a venous thromboembolism (VTE) risk assessment within six hours of being admitted to a ward. The assessments help identify risks of blood clots within a patient. Ms Friswell told the court that a tool to undertake an assessment only came into use at Nolan House after Ms Manley died. She said all Nolan House patients now need to have a VTE risk assessment. 'Basic medical tests' Locum consultant psychiatrist Tshepo Ntokwane assessed Ms Manley the morning after she was admitted to Nolan House. Dr Ntokwane said he found it difficult to assess her thought pattern and cognition when he saw her on November 12. "She might shake her head and look at us, but not say much verbally," he said. He said that he was concerned "to some degree" that no pathology tests were done before Ms Manley had been brought to Nolan House. "Generally, we would like patients to have basic medical tests before they come into the ward … but sometimes that is not possible," he said. But he told the court he was "content" that Ms Manley could stay at Nolan House after he assessed her. Ms Manley worked as a cook and had been employed at Albury's Mercy Health before her death. The court heard Ms Manley had been previously diagnosed with schizophrenia, would become withdrawn and received treatment for depression. Mr Rooney said the inquest would focus on several issues. These included whether she received adequate care and treatment, whether the mental health diagnosis was appropriate for Ms Manley, and whether she was monitored and treated in accordance with correct policies and guidelines. The inquest is set to run for two weeks. [Image text:] HHOOTTTT ALBURY EMERGENCY Main Entry Parking P Ambulance Cancer Centre Staff Parking P