Sydney hospital blamed over death of two-year-old boy

A heartbroken Sydney household is asking for an impartial investigation into Northern Seashores Hospital after the demise of their “lovely” two-year-old son, Joe.

Elouise and Danny Massa took Joe to the emergency division at Northern Seashores Hospital on the morning of September 14 after he had spent the night time vomiting.

The toddler had hypovolemia, a situation that happens when the physique loses an excessive amount of fluid.

His mother and father allege the Northern Seashores hospital failed their son “at each stage” and he could be alive at present have been it not for the improper care he acquired.

In an announcement supplied to 9news.com.au, the mother and father mentioned Joe’s coronary heart fee was at 183 beats per minute after they arrived on the hospital’s emergency division, but he was misclassified as a low precedence, class three affected person, as an alternative of purple zone, class two.

The Northern Seashores hospital missed vital warning indicators, together with when Joe misplaced consciousness, and his mom’s requests for an IV drip have been denied, the assertion mentioned.

“I can not inform you what it is like to carry your son in your arms … to be instructed to take a seat in your chair whereas your little one is agitated, going out and in of consciousness, lips are turning blue,” Mrs Massa instructed 2GB this morning.

“To be instructed to attend and have your child actually dying in your arms is unfathomable and shouldn’t be occurring at any hospital.”

Joe was left in an emergency division chair for two-and-a-half hours and never hooked as much as monitoring tools even after he was given a room, his mom mentioned.

A critical opposed occasion overview performed by the hospital after Joe’s demise recognized a number of failures.

The report discovered there was a “delay and failure to recognise deterioration” in Joe’s well being. 

The report additionally acknowledged the failure to recognise and reply to a coronary heart fee within the purple zone, significantly within the absence of fever, the failure to answer parental concern and the failure to answer clinician concern as per inner escalation processes.

Healthscope, which operates the hospital, mentioned in an announcement: “Northern Seashores Hospital presents its deepest condolences to the Massa household for the lack of their son, Joe. We recognise Joe’s demise has triggered unimaginable heartache and grief for the household.

“We’ve got met with the household to apologise and listen to immediately about their tragic expertise and to debate the findings of the Severe Antagonistic Occasion Evaluation.

“We’ll proceed to assist the household in any means that we are able to as we implement the enhancements recognized within the overview, together with enhancements round triaging processes and inner escalation processes.”

Joe’s mom mentioned no mother and father ought to should undergo what she and her husband had.

“Joe was probably the most lovely boy, beloved by his sister and brother,” she mentioned.

“He beloved dinosaurs. He had probably the most infectious smile. He was simply two months off turning two years previous. 

“He was, and continues to be, the sunshine of our world. The system at Northern Seashores Hospital, the emergency division, completely failed us at each doable stage.”