Man who died at Roebourne dialysis clinic identified, remembered as “kind-natured” and dedicated sparky

An investigation is underway into the shock death of a man using a Pilbara medical facility on a weekend in February who was not found until staff returned to work on Monday. Phill Glover had recently returned from South Australia to the Pilbara town of Roebourne, where the West Australian understands he attended the dialysis unit at Mawarnkarra Health Service sometime between Friday and Sunday. Police were called to the facility at 7.30am the following Monday, February 22, where they found the man’s lifeless body still in the clinic. It is unknown how long the man lay dead in the clinic before being discovered. “We can confirm that police were alerted to a deceased male person on Monday morning,” Roebourne Police officer-in-charge Senior Sergeant Mark Barratt said. “We are conducting an investigation for the coroner. So, that will include an investigation of the circumstances leading up to his passing and also the subsequent response to his medical condition. “At this point we don’t believe the death is suspicious. “Obviously a tragic death, like any sort of sudden death is. We will do a thorough investigation and make a report to the coroner with our recommendations.” Sen Sgt Barratt said WA Country Health Service and the Mawarnkarra Health Service were assisting the investigation. Mr Glover was described as a kind-natured sparky who regularly shared funny videos with his mates on Facebook. In a statement, Mawarnkarra Health Service said it was saddened by the event. “The patient recently returned home to Karratha from South Australia which was made possible by having access to the facility,” it said. “The patient’s family has been contacted and our sincere thoughts are with them.” Health Minister Roger Cook extended his condolences to the man’s family and friends. “We were saddened to learn of the recent passing of a community-supported haemodialysis patient at the Mawarnkarra Health Service,” he said. “As the clinical incident is being investigated in accordance with the WA Clinical Incident Management Policy and WA Open Disclosure Policy we are unable to provide any further information.” North Metropolitan Health Service confirmed an investigation into the incident had commenced. The $1.8 million four-chair home dialysis facility at Mawarnkarra opened in 2018. The facility was an expansion of a pre-existing two-chair clinic onsite at Mawarnkarra, taking the service to a total of six chairs. Mawarnkarra chief executive Joan Hicks and Aboriginal Health Council of WA declined to comment.