Coroner investigates death of newborn baby girl in Atherton

A coroner investigating the death of newborn baby girl in Far North Queensland has demanded answers about why critical witness statements have not been provided.

The Northern Coroner has ordered Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service to provide outstanding statements related to the care of a newborn baby who died in Atherton hospital last year or to have the clinicians come to court in person.

A coroner investigating the death of newborn baby girl at Atherton Hospital in 2024 has demanded answers about why critical witness statements from medical staff still have not been provided eight months after the original deadline passed.

Baby Wren Preo was just eight hours old when she died at Atherton Hospital on June 1, 2024.

Her mother’s pregnancy had been regarded as low-risk, the court was told, and the baby’s death was reported to the coroner.

Northern Coroner Stephanie Williams urgently brought on a pre-inquest conference in Cairns this week when the Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service missed another extended deadline to submit all statements from clinicians who cared for the baby and her mother, with no indication of when those statements would be provided.

She was scathing of the health service’s “refusal” to provide the statements.

“The confirmation was consistent and unambiguous from the 24th of June 2024 about the fact that all staff who were involved in Wren’s care and treatment and her mother’s (were) required to provide information to the coronial investigation,” Coroner Williams said.

“Why then did the health service not comply with the direction in its entirety, even to today?

“It may well be that Wren’s death was unfortunate yet unavoidable but I cannot even come close to any determination of that because I simply have not been provided the information by the staff who assisted with her and her mother before Wren passed away,” Coroner Williams said.

Solicitor representing the HHS, Helen Price, said it had not been the intention to delay the investigation, and that they had believed there had been scope to negotiate about which statements should be provided after they received a preliminary forensic report.

The report did not identify any issues with the baby’s resuscitation, she said, but did identify two birth-related issues.

Baby, Wren, was born on June 1, 2024 and passed away eight hours later in Atherton Hospital. Picture: Bronwyn Farr.

“I know you’ve said you interpreted it as a refusal, it was never the CHHHS’s intention to refuse compliance; we are aware of our obligations and regret any delay that has been caused,” Ms Price said.

“We are basically doing everything we can to comply and have those statements to you, and we sincerely regret it has taken this time, and we just want to have a very good relationship with Your Honour’s court.”

Coroner Williams said she was less concerned with relationships and more concerned with the investigation.

“The paramount focus of the coroner’s court is to meet the obligations under the act, not stakeholder relationships,” Coroner Williams said.

“My focus is gathering information so that I can investigate Wren’s death at Atherton Hospital shortly after Mrs Preo, her mother, gave birth to her second child.

“The refusal, on one view, by the health service to provide that information has meant that an expert has not yet been able to review it and provide an opinion.”

The court was told the HHS supplied a number of documents last year, including a clinical analysis, medical records and a list identifying all staff members involved in the care of Wren and her mother – 18 staff members in all.

The HHS’s executive director of medical services asked the Coroner in October 2024 if 17 staff members could be excused from providing statements to reduce the risk of “retraumatising staff” and to mitigate disruptions to service delivery.

This request was refused.

Six statements were still outstanding this week, the court was told, including a statement from the clinician who oversaw Wren’s care that day.

The court was told several staff members were only told on January 17, 2025 that their statement was required.

Coroner Stephanie Williams has ordered that CHHHS supply the outstanding statements related to baby Wren’s care this week with another conference scheduled for February 24.

Coroner Williams noted that, when staff were asked to provide statements, all had done so promptly.

A spokeswoman for the family, who asked not to be named, told the court the delays had an upsetting affect on their family and made them question the process.

“I would like to reiterate the impact that this lack of compliance has on the family is extraordinary,” she told the court.

“The family provided a statement straight away that was true to every point because it was given so soon after the event.

“At the end of the day, I don’t see how people trying to recall something that happened nine months are going to have any clarity and it is very hard to reconcile, as a family member, that it took six months for key people on the night – and I was there – to write a statement. I find that really hard to reconcile.”

Coroner Williams ordered that all outstanding statements be provided by February 19.

She said any doctors or clinicians who did not provide statements would be required to attend the Coroner’s Court in person at the next conference on February 24, or be represented by the Medical Superintendent from Atherton Hospital.

Originally published as Coroner investigates death of newborn baby girl in Atherton