Coroner to order expert review of care of baby who died eight hours after birth in Atherton Hospital

Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service has expressed “grave concerns” about the effects of comments made by the Coroner investigating the death of a newborn baby at Atherton Hospital.

Northern Coroner Stephanie Williams has ordered Cairns and Hinterland and Hospital Health Service executives to provide further statements related to the care of baby Wren Preo.

Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service has provided the Northern Coroner with missing clinician statements related to the care and treatment of a newborn baby who died in Atherton Hospital eight hours after she was born last year.

Northern Coroner Stephanie Williams last week brought on an urgent pre-inquest conference related to the death of baby, Wren Preo, stating that she was concerned by the CHHHS’ “refusal, on one view” to provide statements, which she had requested shortly after baby Wren’s death on I June 2024.

She ordered that the statements be provided within a week, was critical of delays in providing the information, and questioned why the CHHHS had not told some clinicians their statements were needed until January 2025, eight months after her initial request was made.

Health service legal counsel Kathryn McMillan KC said all statements had now been provided.

She also said the CHHHS held “grave concerns” that reporting of the coroner’s comments about the service’s “perceived noncompliance” could diminish public confidence in the health service, and that the comments had caused distress to the clinicians involved in Wren’s care.

Lawyers for CHHHS have raised concerns that comments about the Health Service’s ‘perceived noncompliance’ with a Coronial investigation could diminish public confidence in the health service, saying the criticisms are unfair.

She said the health service wanted to provide “context” about materials that had been provided to the coroner, further explain the requests for extensions, the difficulties, and note the many steps that had been taken by the service to comply and progress the investigation.

Ms McMillan tendered a detailed chronology of correspondence between the Coroner’s office and the service, saying that not all delays could be laid “at the feet” of the organisation.

She said the CHHHS had provided some 400 pages of records, reviews and documents by July last year, a month after baby Wren’s death, and noted the health service had been in very regular contact with the coroner’s office.

“It is simply wrong, we say, to characterise the health service’s conduct to date to not have been cooperative and (it is) doing its best to fulfil the requirements and, with respect, to attempt to narrow or indeed focus the statements on particular issues,” Ms McMillan said.

“Criticisms are, we say, unfair and we also might say that there is a view Your Honour has taken is extremely critical of the health service and we’re concerned about the ongoing nature of that.

“We want to set the record straight that it is not a delay on the part of (The HHS) that they have, at all times, done their best, noting (Atherton) is a small service, particularly as it got late in the year … and there was a skeleton staff.”

Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service has provided a number of statements to the Northern Coroner in relation to the death of a newborn baby.

Ms Williams said she understood the need to avoid disruptions to service delivery and noted that fewer staff members might be available over the Christmas New Year period, but questioned whether staffing had also been a concern in the several months preceding.

“I am still somewhat perplexed,” Ms Williams said.

She said that, after reading the statements provided this week, she was now seeking an additional five statements from senior executives from the HHS, to be provided by March 7.

Ms Williams noted that, once all statements had been provided, she would order an expert review of the materials.

Originally published as Coroner to order expert review of care of baby who died eight hours after birth in Atherton Hospital