Fond Farewell For Home-front Hero
Newcastle Herald
Thursday March 13, 2008
A MAN described as "a hero to Newcastle" was farewelled at a funeral service in Whitebridge yesterday.
Norm Duffy, who was injured in the 1989 earthquake collapse of the Newcastle Workers Club that killed his wife, had been recognised for his bravery in helping others also trapped.He died last Friday, aged 80.Mr Duffy's son, Michael, raised questions yesterday as to why there were not enough intensive care beds in Newcastle, forcing his father to be transferred to Hornsby Hospital via ambulance.While he did not believe the delay caused his father's death, he said it did add to an already distressing situation."We can't fault the hospital and ambulance staff, they were brilliant," Michael Duffy said."It's just pretty poor that Newcastle, which is the second capital of the state, has only 15 ICU beds in the whole town."The family also had to pay $350 for the body to be brought back to Newcastle for yesterday's funeral."It's a burden on people at a very stressful time when you've just lost a loved one and are not sure what you're suppose to do," he said.Hunter New England Health director of operations acute networks Michael Di Rienzo said there were 28 intensive care beds in the health service region and in the past 12 months only two patients had been transferred from John Hunter Hospital to Sydney for specialist intensive care services."We never like to have to transfer people away from where they live, and we are very sorry for any distress this may have caused for the patient and his family," Mr Di Rienzo said.He said Hunter New England Health may consider contributing to the cost of transporting the body back to the family if they were experiencing financial hardship. Mr Duffy's son, Peter, who delivered the eulogy, said his father was a hero to Newcastle because of his bravery "but Dad was always a hero to us".Peter Duffy told the 80 mourners at Whitebridge Uniting Church of his father's resilience and good humour in the face of adversity.Alan Playford, a paramedic who was lowered into the hole where Mr Duffy and others were trapped in the workers club in 1989, was also at the funeral. Mr Duffy is survived by three children, nine grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.
© 2008 Newcastle Herald
