Family of Aishwarya Aswath ‘disappointed’ after probe into the young girl’s tragic death in hospital

An inquiry over the details of young girl’s death in a Perth hospital have been released, but her parents are disappointed over a key detail.

The heartbroken parents of a seven-year-old girl who died in hospital have expressed their “disappointment” after finally receiving an independent report into the tragedy.

Aishwarya Aswath developed a fever on Good Friday and was taken to Perth Children’s Hospital the next day, but had to wait about two hours in the emergency department before she received treatment.

She died soon after from multi-organ failure due to fulminant sepsis.

An independent inquiry by the Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care completed a report, which was tabled in parliament on Tuesday.

Health Minister Roger Cook said all 30 recommendations would be accepted and acted upon immediately.

“This is not just another report. It is significant, it is thorough, it is considered,” he told reporters.

Yet Aishwarya’s devastated parents Aswath Chavittupara and Prasitha Sasidharan say they are disappointed by the review and that it provides few clues as to what happened to their daughter that night.

The seven-year-old girl died at Perth Children’s Hospital over the Easter weekend. Picture: 9 News.

On Tuesday night, family spokesman Suresh Rajan spoke told NCA Newswire that they had expected to learn more about what happened to their daughter on that fateful night but the details are missing from the report.

“The family is disappointed by aspects of the report,” Mr Rajan said.

“We were given to understand that this report would tell us exactly what happened that night and what caused Aishwarya’s death.”

He said the family are comfortbale with some of the changes recommended in the report, but would also like some more information about what happened on the night to their daughter.

“What we got was an inquiry into the hospital and not an inquiry into her death,” he said.

“That means we need to look to the coronial inquest to try get that. And that is around 18-24 months away.”

Mr Cook said he had spoken with Aishwarya’s parents, who had seen the report.

“I want to apologise to them again for the tragic loss of their seven-year-old daughter,” Mr Cook said.

“Their role in this report has been crucial. They have been generous, both with their time and the way they engaged with the inquiry team.

“It has undoubtedly been an extremely difficult experience for them.

“But what dominates this report is their love for Aishwarya, their commitment to honour her legacy, and their desire for answers and for change to benefit other children in the future.”

Mr Cook said one of the key findings of the report noted that through their “anguish of loss and despair” Aishwarya’s parents became increasingly committed to honour her memory by seeking to create an improved healthcare system for children.

“We can ask nothing more. They have not wavered in their commitment,” Mr Cook said.

“Nor has my commitment to them to do whatever is needed to improve our health system.

“What the report makes clear is that the board and the hospital must continue to engage closely with the family and that there is much healing to be done and there is trust to rebuild.”

Mr Cook also acknowledged the staff at Perth Children’s Hospital.

“The tragedy continues to be felt deeply at PCH and indeed across the entire health system,” he said.

“The staff at Perth Children’s Hospital are an incredibly hardworking and committed team of professionals.

“Families should be confident that they will always receive the very best of care.

“There have been many changes at PCH following Aishwarya’s death. There are more changes to come.

“This report is not the end of the process. This report will change the future of PCH and the healthcare it provides to the children of WA.”

Opposition Leader Mia Davies called for Mr Cook to resign, saying the government had continually denied there were issues at the hospital, yet the report proved otherwise.

“The opposition has been seeking answers regarding the inadequate resourcing of Perth Children’s Hospital for months,” Ms Davies said.

“The independent report into the tragic death of seven-year-old Aishwarya Aswath has revealed grave failures, including an overall uncoordinated plan of care.

“This proves what we have been saying for months – our health system needs more resources, our health staff need more support and our state’s families need renewed confidence in our hospitals.”

The independent report makes 30 recommendations. Picture: 9 News.

The 97-page report found emergency department staff were “exhausted, demoralised and isolated”.

It also found communication with Aishwarya’s parents was insufficient.

“Aishwarya’s care, her extremely rapid deterioration in the ED (emergency department) and her tragic death has resulted in immense loss, anguish and pain suffered by Aishwarya’s family, and constitutes a personal crisis of unimaginable proportions,” the report read.

SOME OF THE KEY RECOMMENDATIONS:

• Better acknowledging the importance of a parent’s role in the recognition of any change in the behaviour or health of their child;
• Improved understanding of culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) families;
• Plan and monitor the emergency department workforce to be adequate across the disciplines and the spectrum of seniority;
• Enhance the function of the patient flow unit to optimally co-ordinate patient referrals; and
• The Call and Respond Early (CARE) system be evaluated and rolled out across multiple locations.

Health Department director-general David Russell-Weisz said he had met with Aishwarya’s parents three times since her death.

“Her death has naturally led to unimaginable grief for her family and led to significant soul-searching within PCH and the wider WA health system,” he said.

“No words can heal the loss of a child, but I make a public commitment today that we will ensure that we will learn from Aishwarya’s passing and improve our systems so no other family experiences similar circumstances.”

Child and Adolescent Health Service Board chair Rosanna Capolingua acknowledged the family had experienced a lack of urgency, communication and compassion.

“We know that they were not heard on that night and they felt so unsupported after the loss of their daughter,” she said.

The independent inquiry has taken months. Picture: 9 News.

An earlier “root cause analysis” internal report made 11 recommendations, including improvement to the triage process, a clear way for parents to escalate concerns and a review of cultural awareness for staff.

It also resulted in two nurses and a doctor being referred to the Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency.

The independent report noted historic tensions between the executive team and the clinical workforce were “rekindled” following that decision.

“The extraordinary handling of the (RCA) report, most notably the absence of executive team endorsement, along with the later referrals of staff to the AHPRA, the unexpected release to the media and the public scrutiny, did much to damage trust and morale at PCH,” the report read.

Aishwarya’s devastated parents had demanded the independent inquiry be held in a bid to get more answers about how the tragedy could have happened.

Mr Cook announced the probe in May, saying it was expected to take 10 weeks to complete, but it took about 25 weeks.

Dr Russell-Weisz indicated the delay with the report was due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

He also noted that the inquiry team found that notwithstanding the findings and recommended improvements, PCH was an excellent hospital with quality service comparable to others across Australia.

Mr Rajan confirmed they had received a copy of the report late on Monday.

“After many months of meetings, the external panel report into the issues surrounding Aishwarya’s passing has now been handed to us (the family and I) this afternoon,” he wrote on social media.

“The family has indicated that we would like some time to get our minds around all this information and we also need to see what transpires in parliament tomorrow.

“After that, we will make our response known. We have only skimmed the report in the short time we have had it.”

There will be an coronial inquest into the girl’s death in the first half of next year.