Parents of disabled children want probe into Bacchus Marsh hospital widened

THE parents of babies left with permanent disabilities at the crisis-ridden ­Bacchus Marsh hospital are ­demanding that investigations into the baby deaths scandal are widened to include their cases.

THE parents of babies left with permanent disabilities at the crisis-ridden ­Bacchus Marsh hospital are ­demanding that investigations into the baby deaths scandal are widened to include their cases.

Several families are investigating fresh legal action over the disabilities suffered after births at the Bacchus Marsh and Melton Regional Hospital.

This comes five months after the Herald Sun revealed an investigation had found seven babies died in avoidable circumstances at the hospital in 2013 and 2014.

A second investigation is to examine if there were other avoidable deaths dating back to 2001. The parents of children who now live with permanent conditions want that probe to be widened.

The mum and dad of a girl living with cerebral palsy after her 2010 birth told of their fears the same issues that led to the deaths were also responsible for disabilities.

“Some parents lost their baby, and I don’t know how you move on from that — but those of us whose babies were injured at Bacchus Marsh hospital, we lost something too,” the mother said.

A second investigation is looking as far back as 2001.

Health Minister Jill Hennessy.

“This is also a lifelong trauma that you have to live with. To watch your child struggle when they should not have to, that’s hard. To have to change your expectations of what you want for them, that’s hard.

“Our daughter was born in 2010 and babies died and were injured for years after that. Someone, somewhere, needs to be held accountable.”

Maurice Blackburn senior lawyer Tom Ballantyne said his firm was helping six clients whose children were injured, and is investigating other cases that had emerged recently.

While he praised the health department for fast-tracking compensation payments to the parents of children found to have died, he said it was crucial more is done for children with lifelong conditions.

“The level of accountability and transparency shouldn’t be discretionary ... these kids have lifetime care needs and it is pretty important they get some answers,” he said.

A spokeswoman for health minister Jill Hennessy said determining the reasons for a disability was very complex and more difficult to assess than some fatalities.

But anyone who had concerns could contact the Health Services Commissioner for a full and independent investigation.

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