‘Confronting’ failings exposed by girl’s death

WA health minister Roger Cook said the review into Aishwarya Aswath’s death at Perth Children’s Hospital made for ‘confronting and extremely distressing reading’.

Aishwarya Aswath.

An investigation into the death of a seven-year-old girl who spent hours waiting for help at the Perth Children’s Hospital has identified a series of failings in the hospital’s response and led to the resignation of one of the West Australian child health system’s most senior figures.

A “root cause analysis” into the circumstances behind Aishwarya Aswath’s death at the hospital last month, tabled in WA’s parliament on Wednesday, identified 11 recommendations for implementation at the hospital within the next six months.

These included improving triage process policy and clinical supervision in emergency departments, as well as a review of staff cultural awareness.

Deb Karasinski, the chair of the board of WA’s Child and Adolescent Health Services, has resigned over the incident while Aresh Anwar, the chief executive of CAHS, revealed he had offered his resignation but had been asked to continue.

WA Health Minister Roger Cook said the report’s findings made for “confronting and extremely distressing reading”.

He said he apologised unreservedly for the failure. “What is clear is Aishwarya and her parents should have had better care at our hospital but did not get the help they asked for,” he said.

“They were let down. They deserve better. We must do better.”

Mr Cook said the report found Aishwarya had succumbed to an infection related to group A streptococcus, which is associated with “very poor health outcomes and high mortality”.

He also announced that the incident would be the subject of a further independent review into PCH’s emergency department.

The girl’s death six weeks ago followed months of warnings over growing pressures on the WA health system, including a rise in ambulance ramping outside Perth hospitals.

Mr Cook on Wednesday acknowledged strains on the health system but said it was a problem being felt across the country.

Dr Anwar said he was “absolutely accountable” for the incident and was committed to lead CAHS through the fallout from the girl’s death.