Caroline Anderson might be alive today if she had lived in Sydney and not Warren.
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Instead the 37-year-old mother died in hospital just 25 days after giving birth to her third child.
Yesterday, after the findings of an inquest into her death were handed down in Dubbo, the officer in charge of the investigation was critical of local health care facilities.
"Had Caroline been given access to an MRI, things might have been very different," Detective Sergeant Michael O'Rourke said.
"Had she lived in a more built-up area, a metropolitan area, she may well be alive today.
"Clearly Caroline fell through the cracks in the health system."
The cause of Ms Anderson's death was basal meningitis after the rupture of an epidural abscess - a condition which could have been diagnosed with the help of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).
Dubbo Base Hospital does not have an MRI - losing out to Orange in the battle for a federally-funded facility.
Deputy State Coroner Carl Milovanovich also touched on Dubbo's need for an MRI machine.
"As pointed out during evidence, if Caroline had presented on April 24 or 26 at a Sydney hospital, she would have simply been wheeled around to the MRI machine," he said.
"The unavailability of the MRI machine at Dubbo did not directly contribute to Caroline's death, however there is no doubt that if the machine was there and used it would have provided for an earlier diagnosis of her epidural abscess.
"Warren and Dubbo are not isolated remote country locations.
"There is a regular daily air service to Sydney, however Dubbo Base Hospital does treat a population as far west as Bourke and while there are always competing authorities for health care funding, it would not be unreasonable for an MRI machine to be placed in a city the size, and with the catchment, of Dubbo."
Although Mr Milovanovich declined to make any specific recommendations, the court heard the Anderson family had asked him to consider some of their recommendations in the wake of Ms Anderson's death.
They included the need for an MRI machine at Dubbo Base Hospital, a review of general practitioners' admitting rights at the hospital and a review of clinical note-taking and record-keeping practices.
Speaking outside the courthouse after the Coroner delivered his findings, Ms Anderson's husband Evan Jones expressed his disappointment.
"It is difficult to believe that in this day and age a woman can die in these circumstances," he said.
"Caroline slipped through the system and that is simply not acceptable.
"We are disappointed that the Coroner didn't make any recommendations - Caroline attended four different hospitals and saw a number of doctors who missed her condition and that is not acceptable.
"We believe the public confidence in the health care system has been badly shaken and it is certainly going to need many changes before that confidence is restored."
Ms Anderson's older sister Sally Windsor said she hoped the 37-year-old mother had not died in vain.
"There was a failure here, a failure in the duty of care from these health professionals," she said. "Caroline's death could have been prevented and we hope this never happens again."