Summer Steer battery death: Coroner slams doctors’ handling of case

A CORONER has slammed doctors’ handling of four-year-old Summer Steer’s death as “inadequate” and “unreasonable”, after she was sent home several times before it was discovered she’d swallowed a battery.

A CORONER has issued a warning to parents about button batteries, urging them to be vigilant with their children’s safety particularly over the Christmas period.

John Hutton issued the warning while handing down his findings into the death of four-year-old Summer Alice Steer.

The Sunshine Coast girl died after swallowing a lithium button battery in 2013, an inquest in Brisbane heard this morning.

Mr Hutton slammed doctors’ handling of Summer’s death as “inadequate” and “unreasonable” and said a doctor had “missed the subtle signs” of her deteriorating health.

Summer died on June 30 2013 at the Royal Children’s Hospital in Brisbane from a haemorrhage with the button lodged in her oesophagus.

It’s not known when Summer swallowed the battery.

Two weeks prior to her death she was taken to her family GP Dr Andrew Spall and he diagnosed her with Giardia, an infection of the bowel.

Mr Hutton said the doctor’s failure to consider other diagnosis’ was “inadequate”.

In the early hours of June 30 Summer was rushed to Noosa Private Hospital after she woke with blood under her nose and vomited blood.

She was treated by Dr Jacobus du Plessis at the hospital for her blood nose and was sent home within 15 minutes of arriving at the hospital.

“I find that this quick discharge under these circumstances unreasonable,” Mr Hutton said.

Summer vomited blood outside hospital and was readmitted before vomiting blood another two times and her heart rate increased.

Again, she was discharged to go home where she vomited another time and was taken back to hospital.

A routine X-ray at about midday on June 30 in Noosa revealed a 2cm button was lodged in Summer’s oesophagus.

She was flown to Brisbane about 12.35pm but went into cardiac arrest upon arrival.

She was pronounced dead at 1.45pm.

“I find Dr du Plessis missed the subtle signs that should have made him more alert to the changing diagnosis of this child.”

“However none of the failures of either Dr Spall or Dr du Plessis are likely to have changed the outcome for Summer,” Mr Hutton said.

The investigation by Noosa Hospital was also criticised as being “inadequate”.

The coronial findings made 13 recommendations for improving button battery safety and the health industry.

In Queensland about 200 children present to emergency departments for battery injuries every year.

Summer was the first child in Australia to die from ingesting a button battery. A one-year-old in Victoria has since died in similar circumstances.

“Greater public awareness is required particularly leading into Christmas as parents need to be aware that button batteries are everywhere now days.”

“They’re in kids’ toys, they’re in TV remotes, cameras, large remotes, greeting cards etcetera. And the children that are most at risk are the most vulnerable, that is those under five,” Mr Hutton said.

Outside court the director of the Queensland Injury Surveillance Unit, Dr Ruth Barker, said the batteries appeared innocuous and took just one second to swallow.

Dr Barker is also an emergency department paediatrician at Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital and sees children with button battery injuries every week.

“This is my greatest fear, that I’m faced with this at the emergency department where I work because they have very non-specific symptoms.”

She said a child may only become irritable and stop eating after ingesting a battery and it could be days before their parents realise the severity of the situation.

Batteries begin to damage a child’s body within just two hours of being swallowed.

A chemical reaction occurs and a substance similar to oven cleaner is released which burns through flesh.

The chemicals continue to damage the child’s oesophagus and other organs even after the battery is removed.

“So the minute you start to try to diagnose these kids you’re already scrambling to rescue success from the jaws of disaster,” Dr Barker said.

“It worries me sick.”

Coroner John Hutton recommended button batteries be coated in plastic so when they’re swallowed they don’t poison the child.

He also suggested batteries could be coated in coloured dye so if they were swallowed a child’s vomit would be coloured.

“We are going to have more deaths unless regulators and industry take some action on this issue,” Dr Barker said.

Currently safety regulations for batteries only apply to children’s toys.

Dr Barker backed Mr Hutton’s warning to parents about safety over Christmas.

“It’s a regular weekly phenomenon now (of battery injuries) and I do dread the Christmas period because there’s a upsurge in people buying cheap battery products that have no decent closure, products that fall apart if you drop them, that kids can break really easily, they’re not designed to last and the batteries just fall out.”

She said last year there was a spate of children injured by batteries from Christmas lights.

Fair Trading is due to speak later today.