“Extremely heartless”: Daughter’s desperate effort to see dying dad
Anna Coffey, who hopes to see her father in palliative care in Victoria, is required to prove he is sick enough to allow her to be exempt to travel.
After receiving a call last week saying her father had suffered a serious stroke, the fully-vaccinated Melbournian was on the first plane to Sydney that cost her upwards of $10,000.
Now quarantining in a Sydney hotel during the state’s current lockdown, she must provide documents proving her father is “at end of life” to New South Wales Health in order to be allowed to see him.
If she is granted an exemption, she has been told by Victorian and NSW Health authorities that she can only travel to Melbourne via a chartered flight which she says will cost her between $8000 and $10,000.
“In the past week [my father’s] heart has stopped and they have no idea why, he’s had a stroke … he’s obviously high risk for another incident happening,” Ms Coffey told The Age.
“Being in the palliative care unit, they don’t resuscitate or they don’t do anything. It could be in an hour, it could be tomorrow, it could be next week, I just can’t stay.”
Ms Coffey fears her father’s condition could change at any moment.
“He’s doing OK but it’s very much a day-by-day type situation,” she told Today.
“I really just have to get there as fast as I possibly can.
“There’s a lot to do, so many documents to collect, so much red tape, it’s a full-time job right now.”
Ms Coffey says she wants authorities to allow her to drive to Melbourne, but they have ruled this out as the trip would take between nine and 10 hours.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison is said to have written to Ms Coffey saying he is deeply sorry and that he hopes a solution can be found so she can see her father.
But, Ms Coffey anticipates she may not get to Melbourne until the weekend, where she will then need to finish 14 days of quarantine and only see her father under supervision and while wearing personal protective equipment.
“The fact that it’s taking days and days and days and there’s no end in sight is fairly shocking to me, especially when I feel like I’ve already provided enough information to be able to be transferred,” she said.
Ms Coffey also said she wants authorities to review the process for overseas arrivals entering the country for compassionate reasons.
“[I want] some sort of other alternative to forcing people to have to pay $8000 to $10,000 to be transferred, especially when they’re vaccinated. [It] just seems extremely heartless.”
Image: Today