WA girl’s hospital death exposes staff shortage

The death of a seven-year-old girl after a two-hour wait in the emergency department of a Perth ­hospital has exposed an understaffing crisis across WA’s health system.

WA Health Minister Roger Cook. Picture: Philip Gostelow

The death of a seven-year-old girl after a two-hour wait in the emergency department of a Perth ­hospital has exposed an under­staffing crisis across Western Australia’s health system.

Ambulance ramping across Perth has for months signalled the state’s public health system was under pressure, but the distressing story of Aishwarya Chavittupara’s last hours has caused a furore about staffing levels.

Aishwarya had a fever when her parents took her to Perth Children’s Hospital on Saturday evening and they waited with her in the emergency department as she deteriorated, reportedly often asking when the seven-year-old could see a doctor. That night, four doctors were sick, so the hospital was reduced to 14 doctors.

In the days since Aishwarya’s parents went public, the McGowan government has commissioned an inquiry into what happened and revealed it has struggled to recruit medical staff during the pandemic.

WA’s hospitals have traditionally relied in part on overseas staff, and especially Irish nurses. However, closed borders during the pandemic have made it difficult to hire doctors from overseas and even from interstate. WA had the strictest and lengthiest border controls of any state or territory.

“My office has been working with the Department of Health to boost staff recruitment across the public system, WA Health Minister Roger Cook said.

“My priority now is to get to the bottom of what happened at PCH as quickly as we can, to ensure Aishwarya’s family has the answers they need and deserve.”

The WA Child and Adolescent Health Service’s acting chief executive, Simon Wood, said an internal review into Aishwarya’s death had already begun.

“This will include a thorough review of all aspects of the patient’s presentation and management and will be undertaken by a review panel including an external clinical expert,” he said.

The inquiry is being conducted on the understanding the little girl’s death was, or could have been, caused by a lack of proper healthcare rather than an underlying condition or illness.

The tragedy has prompted the Australian Nursing Federation to claim it raised concerns about staffing at PCH in recent weeks.

The Australian understands pressures on Perth hospitals have been exacerbated by additional tasks staff have had to perform due to the COVID pandemic.