Doctors fight to save Sydney Children’s Hospital cardiac service from closure

The State Government is facing renewed pressure from top doctors at Sydney Children’s Hospital in a feud over cardiac services. The department of health has today lashed claims that patient safety at Randwick is suffering as “untrue”.

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Top doctors at Sydney Children’s Hospital have stepped up the fight to ensure cardiac services at Randwick are on par with its sister hospital at Westmead.

A Change.org petition that went live at the weekend has now garnered 1861 signatures at the time of print, ramping up the pressure on the State Government and Health Minister Brad Hazzard.

The move comes just weeks after 129 out of 148 doctors voted to leave the network that runs both facilities.

Doctors at the Randwick hospital (pictured) say the current arrangement puts lives at risk. Picture: Jonathan Ng

Key to their concerns are fears that a lack of services at Randwick, and a perceived favouring of Westmead, will lead to deadly consequences after senior medicos reported a series of incidents that recently raised the alarm.

Peter Low, who started the petition, wrote that a 10-day-old baby named Cooper who went into cardiac arrest for 26 minutes would have died if he was forced to be transported further away to Westmead.

Head of paediatric ICU at Randwick Dr John Awad is one of a number of senior staff to have signed the petition, with many leaving messages of support and their own tales of close calls.

“I have worked for SCH Randwick for 28 years,” Susan Russell said.

Emeritus Consultant and paediatric orthopaedic surgeon Dr John Stephen has been a vocal critic of the agreement to share the service with Westmead while paediatric ICU specialist and anaesthetist Dr John Awad (left) had not waded into the issue until now.

“I love my hospital and I am so proud of it and all who work here.

“I feel that closure of the cardiac surgical program will damage the hospital beyond repair.”

Health Minister Brad Hazzard last month said he was working behind the scenes to resolve the dispute during a Question Time grilling.

Today, the Department of Health has lashed claims lives were at risk as a result of the stand-off.

“Any suggestion that patient safety is being compromised or that Sydney Children’s Hospital, Randwick is at any risk is simply not true,” a department spokeswoman said.

Brad Hazzard (right) faced a grilling in Question Time last month over the bitter feud. Picture: Darren Leigh Roberts

“The Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network and the NSW Government are committed to having two world-class paediatric tertiary referral hospitals, we are investing more than $1.3 billion to upgrade both facilities for the best possible future for children’s care.

“We can assure families that all our patients across the Network are receiving safe and excellent care and we continue to invest in the development of both hospitals.

“Cardiac services will continue across the Children’s Hosptials in Westmead and Randwick.”

Findings of a review into the Sydney Children’s Hospital Network, that doctors at Randwick controversially voted in favour of leaving in May, is due later this month.