A child protection worker’s repeated attempts for four months to have a Perth teenager medically assessed were dismissed and ignored by the girl’s parents, a court has heard.
The couple from the western suburb of Floreat, who cannot be named to protect their daughter’s identity, have pleaded not guilty to having care or control of a child, engaged in conduct that was reckless and may have resulted in that child suffering.
A dance school teacher told Perth District Court the girl was small, even by the standard of other students.
On Friday, the worker told the court that dance school teachers, and parents of other children who danced at the school, lodged complaints with Western Australia’s Department of Communities over the girl’s emaciated appearance.
After months of requests from the department for a medical assessment of the girl, they opened an active investigation into her health and wellbeing in November 2020.
The court heard that instead of taking her to see a GP, the father went to see one on his own and asked for a letter explaining that his daughter was healthy, that he could pass on to authorities.
After the GP refused, the man then emailed the Department claiming the girl had been medically assessed by his mother, a retired nurse and midwife. But the child protection worker told the jury further investigations found that was untrue.
Further attempts to get the girl medically assessed were met with resistance, the court was told, but the parents later reluctantly made an appointment for the girl with a dietician. That appointment was then cancelled and rescheduled five times, the court heard, without the girl ever being seen.
“When asked if he had concerns about her health [the father] said, ‘not one bit’,” the child protection worker told the court.
“He said he found the whole thing ludicrous.”
The same employee told the court that at one point child protection workers had to make a home visit to see the family as the parents were hard to contact. They said the father exited the front door and stood outside the house to speak with them and when asked if they could see the girl, he allegedly responded, “maybe, depends”. The child protection worker said they did not get to see the girl.
By April 1, 2021 after pressure from the child protection team, the parents did take the girl to see a GP at Hollywood Medical Centre in Nedlands who then told a child protection worker she was “gravely concerned”.
The girl’s parents outside court this week.Credit: 9News Perth
The parents allegedly filled out paperwork at the surgery stating the girl was 14, which they later claimed was a mistake. She was in fact nearly 17 years old and on that day weighed 27.3 kilograms at 147.5 centimetres tall.
After querying what the girl ate, the parents told the doctor a typical day of food included organic pear, organic strawberries, minestrone soup and ice-cream.
The doctor urged the parents to take the girl immediately to Perth Children’s Hospital for emergency admission but said the parents were crying over the death of their 22-year-old cat a few days prior and said they did not want to put the girl through the stress.
Instead they allegedly insisted they would “take her home and feed her up” but refused an ECG saying it was “too intrusive”.
The doctor told the child protection worker they came to a compromise that the girl would get a blood test over the upcoming weekend and the GP would assess it and then decide about emergency medical care.
The court was told the parents did not get the test done for another week.
By this time Perth Children’s Hospital, who were in contact with the child protection unit, said the girl needed “urgent admission”, stating “everything about the case was concerning”.
During another conversation, the child protection worker testified, she told the girl’s father the girl was at risk of cardiac arrest due to her physical condition and alleged that he laughed at this suggestion.
The parents were told the child protection investigation would not be closed until the girl had been seen by the hospital and by April 7 they took the teenager in.
Once there, doctors diagnosed her with grade 4 malnutrition.
A medical team decided she needed a nasogastric feeding tube for at least five days and then to be transitioned to a meal plan. She also needed X-rays and testing to see what extent of damage the malnutrition had on her body.
The court heard the parents were resistant to any treatment and repeatedly tried to claim the girl was naturally small and slim.
They also wanted to stay on the ward with her all night, which was not allowed.
The Department of Communities then moved to take the girl into care so that medical treatment could be enforced.
The trial continues.
Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.