Indian child death in Perth, Australia due to hospital negligence

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Staff morale at Perth Children's Hospital crashes after death of Aishwarya Aswath, clinician claims

 

Morale at Perth Children's Hospital (PCH) has sunk so low in the wake of Aishwarya Aswath's death, experienced doctors and nurses are considering quitting their jobs after being made to feel like scapegoats, a senior emergency department clinician says.

Key points:

• The clinician says staff are operating in a "broken system"
• They say staffing levels have not been adequate for some time
• The Government said staffing levels were 'above its complement' on the night seven-year-old Aishwarya died

Seven-year-old Aishwarya died at the hospital last month after waiting almost two hours in the emergency department before receiving treatment.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, the clinician — who works in the hospital's emergency department — said the aftermath of the child's death had taken a huge toll on staff.

"I'm very concerned about a lot of people," they said.

"I know many who are planning to resign or change hospitals at the next opportunity."

The clinician's claims were backed up by the Australian Medical Association, which said it was unreasonable to blame junior staff who lacked appropriate support on the night for the tragedy.

A damning report into Aishwarya's death was released publicly on Monday.

After the report's release, WA Child and Adolescent Health Service chief executive Aresh Anwar said Aishwarya and her family were not shown compassion and care.

Aishwarya's parents Aswath Chavittupara and Prasitha Sasidharan have been demanding answers about their daughter's death.(

ABC News: West Matteeussen

)

'I used to love my job'

The clinician told the ABC that Dr Anwar's "scathing statement" was extremely hurtful for a professional who had spent their life trying to save others.

They said placing blame on individuals and the department, while they were dealing with a child's death, added insult to injury and culminated in a career low point.

"I used to love my job, now I am dreading coming to work," the clinician said.

There have been numerous claims about staffing issues at Perth Children's Hospital.(

ABC News: Andrew O'Connor

)

"Morale is so low at the moment.

"This is the worst time I've ever experienced in my career."

The report, which was made public by Aishwarya's parents on Monday, found a "cascade of missed opportunities to address parental concerns and … a delay in escalation which may have contributed to the patient's outcome".

It also reported a raft of communication issues between staff and the family, issues with staff training and skills, as well as staff timetabling and a resources shortage.

Clinician questions staffing level claims

While the state government said the staffing level was "above its complement" on the night, the clinician said in their view, staffing in the emergency department had been an issue for a long time.

What happened before Aishwarya Aswath's death

Minute by minute, an internal report reveals a "cascade of missed opportunities" which may have contributed to the seven-year-old girl's death at Perth Children's Hospital.

Read more

They said there were systemic issues within the department, including nurse shortages, a lack of senior nurses, and patients who should be moved onto a ward being stuck in the ED, and these may have had an impact on the child's care.

"We don't function badly as a department, we function badly as a department in a broken system," the clinician said.

"To turn this around and say these individuals have failed is beyond comprehension for me.

"That's unjust and unfair.

"It's trying to scapegoat people who have tried their very best and failed in a system that didn't support them.

"You cannot perform appropriately in a department and in a hospital and in a system that is not functioning, and this is what was happening for weeks and weeks and months and months."

The clinician said "people want to find a culprit for bad things that happen" but in the medical profession things were not always so clear cut.

They said the portrayal of the event from both elected officials and the media made them feel that staff had already been found guilty.

The 'waiting room from hell'

The hospital worker said staff had made attempts to raise serious concerns about patient safety beforehand with management.

For example, the clinician said the waiting room was often filled with "white noise" and it could be difficult for staff to maintain oversight, especially those who were junior, as appeared to be the case with two of the registered nurses involved in Aishwarya's care.

"It's the waiting room from hell," they said.

"It's chaotic and noisy and the visibility is poor."

Staff 'thrown under the bus', AMA says

Australian Medical Association WA president Andrew Miller accused Department of Health executives and the Government of trying to throw the junior staff on duty that night “under the bus”.

He said the ED staff that day should not have been working without a triage nurse.

"To now turn around and blame junior individuals who are working unsupported, one of them removed to help with a resus, during a critical period, of when Aishwarya was waiting, to now try and blame these people for everything that's going on, is completely unreasonable,” Dr Miller said.

“This is turning into powerful men protecting each other while they throw young nurses under the bus.”

The Australian Nursing Federation has called for more education and support for frontline staff at PCH.

The ANF say staff had alerted management to staffing issues since October, and Dr Miller called for the minutes of that meeting to be released.

Aishwarya's parents have asked for an independent external review. The Premier flagged a fast-tracked coronial inquiry into Aishwarya's death.

No dates have been set for either investigation.

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https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-05-19/perth-childrens-hospital-clinician-morale-low-after-childs-death/100147808