Young girl suffers ruptured appendix in ‘overcrowded’ Women’s & Children’s Hospital ED

A seven-year-old girl’s appendix ruptured after waiting for more than eight hours in the overcrowded Women’s & Children’s Hospital emergency department.

A seven-year-old girl’s appendix ruptured while waiting more than eight hours for surgery at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital, her parents say.

Adelaide parents Annabelle and David Oates have spoken out about the distressing incident in the hope of preventing similar delays for other families.

The hospital has launched an internal investigation into the case and apologised to the family for the delay.

Mr and Mrs Oates took their daughter Audrey to the hospital on March 1 at 3pm after she experienced nausea and hip pain.

The parents said Audrey had received a diagnosis of appendicitis from a GP an hour earlier.

Despite this, they said triaging at the Women’s and Children’s Hospital was delayed, due to extreme overcrowding.

“There weren’t many places to sit down at all … there were families who were lined up against walls,” Mrs Oates said.

It wasn’t until 6pm when a nurse examined Audrey and confirmed the diagnosis. Three hours later, she was then seen by a doctor, who also confirmed she had appendicitis, the parents said.

Mr Oates recalled the moment he suspected Audrey’s appendix had burst. It was about 10pm, just 15 minutes after receiving paracetamol and ibuprofen.

Audrey’s parents Annabelle and David Oates speak out about their daughter’s long wait before treatment. Picture: Russell Millard

Professor Warren Jones described the Oates’s ordeal as one of the worst cases of “neglect of duty of care”. Picture: Russell Millard

“She started going downhill, she was lying on the bed and she started screaming and writhing in pain, curled up in a ball,” he said.

Mrs Oates said Audrey’s teeth were gritted and she “couldn’t focus”.

“We knew she was in so much pain and we couldn’t do anything,” she said.

“I was just holding on to Audrey’s hand and just trying to get her through it, while David searched for staff.”

Surgery then commenced at 11.30pm, but it was complicated because her appendix had already ruptured.

Mr and Mrs Oates said Audrey, who spent about nine days in hospital, needed a pelvic drain and a bladder catheter after the operation but had since recovered.

Executive director of medical services at the Women’s and Children’s Health Network Dr James Rice said the hospital apologised to the family and an investigation was underway.

“We have a very strong system in place at this hospital for how we assess children who present to our emergency department,” he told reporters.

Executive director of medical services at the WCH health network Dr James Rice addressed the media on Monday afternoon. Picture: Gabriel Polychronis

“We acknowledge there was a delay in assessing this child and we are sorry to the family; we have been in contact with the family to say that.

“An investigation has been instigated to understand why this occurred and that investigation is ongoing.”

WCH Alliance convener Professor Warren Jones said it was one of the worst cases of “neglect of duty of care” he had seen in his 50-year career.

“The emergency department here has been getting progressively more crowded and overstressed,” he said.

“I have to say this is one of the most distressing episodes I have heard about, particularly as it relates to a seven-year-old child.”

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