Hard decisions: Dr Charlie Corke outside Geelong Hospital. Picture: Tommy Ritchie 55188
Andrew Mathieson
AN ABC documentary filmed in Geelong Hospital will show how “overuse” of modern technology is extending the trauma of death for dying patients and their families, according to a specialist doctor.
Intenstive care specialist Dr Charlie Corke hoped In the End would initiate national discussion about the use of machines to keep patients alive when death was inevitable.
Dr Corke, who has worked at Geelong Hospital for over 20 years, believed some use of modern life-support technology was “unnecessary”.
“You never want to lose people you love but you don’t want to see them go through terrible things,” he said.
“Because I see so many families in absolute agony, torn about what to do when this confronts them, my feeling is perhaps [technology’s] gone too far.”
Dr Corke believed families should discuss potential scenarios to ensure they were clear about when to turn off life-support machines.
“In the 20 years I’ve been doing this the advances in medical technologies have been just huge and it’s amazing what we can do now. Technology is wonderful when it’s used right but you can use everything at the wrong time in the wrong way.
“Where families go on too long, the process moves from being a hopeful one to a rather dreadful one.”
An ABC crew filmed the documentary over five years in the hospital’s intensive care unit under director Charlottee Roseby who worked in collaboration with Dr Corke and other hospital staff.
Dr Corke contacted Ms Roseby with the proposal after watching “too many” families agonising over dying patients.
“I originally saw a program that the film director had made about a boy with cystic fibrosis and it was a very sensitively told story,” he said.
“I felt this was a director who could tell the story of the difficulty I saw every day in the hospital.”
Barwon Health chief executive officer David Ashbridge said In The End would give viewers an “honest insight” into the intensive care unit.
“The compassion and commitment of all staff at Geelong Hospital is something we are very proud to showcase,” he said.
“Hopefully this film will start conversations around Australia.”
ABC1’s Compass will broadcast In the End on October 31.
