Struggling public hospital refuses $15M donation because it was made by coal company.
THE hospital will go on accepting electricity, however. For the time being anyway. Wyong Hospital made news nationwide last year when its staff failed to notice a toddler’s broken neck. The video of 21-month-old Lorelei Bellchambers in her body cast (that link) is unbearably heartbreaking. The hospital is now being investigated for negligence by NSW Health. If only its bosses were as concerned about medical competence as they are about the climate. Lorelei’s father describes the refusal to accept the donation – which could pay six nurses a year – as a “slap in the face.” Central Coast Health District CEO Andrew Montague is unmoved. He says coal is contrary to “current community sentiment.” No it isn’t. But sending babies home with broken necks sure is.