A man whose wife died in a hospital toilet while waiting to be checked for chest pains has settled a claim against the hospital.
Mark Dolman, 41, had launched a civil claim against Sydney South West Area Health Service, claiming that he had suffered nervous shock as a result of his wife's death almost four years ago.
Sharon Brophy was just 34 when she checked into the emergency department at Campbelltown Hospital complaining of chest pains on March 26, 2004.
About 1pm, a nurse triaged her and assessed her as a Priority3 patient, which meant she should have been checked within 30 minutes.
But she had yet to be seen by a doctor when she collapsed in the waiting room toilet and died, two hours after arriving.
During an inquest at Westmead Coroners Court in 2005, witnesses said Ms Brophy was grey and doubled over in pain as she begged to be seen shortly before she was found unconscious at 2.45pm.
They also reported that a nurse told her to sit down and wait her turn when she asked for help.
The inquest resulted in a number of changes to the hospital's management structure and nursing appointments.
Mr Dolman launched an action against the hospital in 2006, saying it had been negligent in failing to provide adequate care for Ms Brophy. He also claimed he had suffered from depression, anxiety and sleeplessness, and needed counselling as a result of how the hospital had dealt with his wife's death.
He said that when he arrived at the hospital and staff told him what had happened, he was given little time to process the news before being escorted into a room to identify her body. He said his wife still had tubes attached and her eyes were open, and that he had to close them and remove the tubes himself.
The hospital reached an out-of-court settlement for an undisclosed sum with Mr Dolman yesterday morning shortly before the hearing was set to begin in the Queanbeyan District Court.
Mr Dolman said he was relieved that the matter had been settled without a lengthy court process.
''I've got to spend time getting over it now.''
He said it had been hardest for his two sons, who were 10 and seven when they lost their mother.
''They're going to spend the rest of their life without a mother's touch, and it's something I can't give them.''