Sky News Australia will premiere an exclusive investigation PAINkillers – Australia’s Deadly Epidemic on Thursday 8 February at 8.30pm AEDT.
Hosted by investigations reporter Taylor Auerbach, the half-hour special examines the epidemic of fatal prescription drug overdoses. Evidence uncovered by Sky News Australia reveals a surge in the number of healthcare professionals caught wrongly prescribing potentially deadly drugs, often sidestepping state laws to issue scripts.
The investigations team speak to doctors, experts, addicts, and families of overdose victims, amid claims the Federal Government is falling behind in addressing the national drug crisis.
During the investigation, the team spoke to a chemist who was stripped of his licence for six months by regulators after he was found to be supplying underworld crime figures with tens of thousands of pills of dangerous painkillers.
Reporters question a doctor over the 2021 death of his patient, who overdosed on opioids prescribed to him by the doctor and his colleagues for years, despite them knowing he was addicted.
Taylor Auerbach said: “Australian medicine needs more than a check-up, it needs a Royal Commission. My grandfather was a doctor, my grandmother, a dental nurse. I grew up around stethoscopes and prescription pads. But what I’ve discovered about the health system during this investigation has devastated me.”
Last month, Sky News Australia confirmed that its new weekly show The Jury was set to be produced at Gravity Media’s Production Centre in Sydney. The Jury, hosted by Sky News Australia presenter Danica De Giorgio, will be a ten-week series premiering on Sunday 4 February.
In front of a studio audience, the format will see De Giorgio moderate a discussion between guest debaters on the biggest topics of the week. After each debater pleads their case, a 12-person jury votes for who they believe has won the argument.
See Also: Gravity Media to produce Sky News’ new weekly show, The Jury