Cuts to paediatric cardiac force Sydney Children’s Hospital Randwick patients to The Children’s Hospital at Westmead

Eastern suburbs families with critically ill kids face an hour plus commute to Westmead after Sydney Children’s Hospital reduces paediatric cardiac services.

Hugo Bouhaniche recovers from cardiac surgery at Sydney Children’s Hospital, Randwick

BRIGID Kitchin will never forget the horror drive from Bondi to Randwick one night when she thought her critically-ill son may not survive.

Hugo Bouhaniche, now 16, was born with 22q11 Deletion Syndrome, a genetic condition causing spinal and cardiac problems. In a twist of fate he was also diagnosed with a tumour at age four.

Ms Kitchin is grateful she was able to get young Hugo, who had developed an infection in his chemotherapy line, to Sydney Children’s Hospital Randwick.

And she believes it would be a different story these days due to the reduction of paediatric cardiac services at the hospital.

“My son was vomiting he was burning up and I just needed to get him to hospital quickly,” Ms Kitchin said. “When we got there the cardiac team met us because of the impact the infection could have on his heart … With a child like Hugo with a cardiac condition they can have a range of things wrong but they all relate back to the heart.”

New South Wales Health Minister Brad Hazzard speaks to the media as Premier Gladys Berejiklian looks on. Photo: AAP/Andrew Leeson.

Last week 100 surgeons and physicians wrote to NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard: “There has been no appointment of a paediatric cardiologist or paediatric cardiac surgeon based full-time at Randwick for over a decade. Currently there is only one Randwick based paediatric cardiac surgeon who is on call 24/7.”

Ms Kitchin is among the eastern suburbs parents desperately worried by the systematic reduction of cardiac services at Randwick which are instead being diverted to The Children’s Hospital at Westmead.

Hugo now attends his cardiac appointments at Westmead and Ms Kitchin, who since moved to Kensington, said if this had happened during the first years of Hugo’s life when he practically lived at the hospital owing to multiple heart surgeries it would have “broken” her.

The colourful hospital’s cardiac services are in crisis.

“It takes over an hour sometimes in the traffic to get to Westmead. This is a heartless decision on so many levels,” she said.

The Wentworth Courier understands that specialists at Sydney Children’s Hospital said children need a multidisciplinary approach to their care.

Michael Brydon, chief executive of the Sydney Children’s Hospital Network which manages both hospitals, told The Australian: “Patient safety is our No 1 priority and we will deliver the resources and support necessary to continue to provide a safe cardiac service at Randwick and Westmead. An in­dependently facilitated review has been completed specifically focused on cardiac planning.”

The hospital did not respond to the Wentworth Courier’s questions.