‘Confronting’ report into Aishwarya’s death finds she should have received better care

A report into the tragic death of seven-year-old Morley Primary School student Aishwarya Aswath found she succumbed to a bacterial infection on April 3.

Health Minister Roger Cook provided a summary of the report’s findings and recommendations to Parliament on Wednesday and said it was clear Aishwarya and her parents did not receive the right level of care from the Perth Children’s Hospital emergency department on the night of her death.

“The report finds that it appears Aishwarya succumbed to an infection related to group A streptococcus, which is associated with very poor health outcomes and high mortality,” he said.

“The report makes it clear that Aishwarya and her parents should have received better care; they did not get the help they asked for.”

Mr Cook apologised “unreservedly” for the failures and promised he would do everything in his power to ensure it would not happen again.

“On behalf of the McGowan government, Child and Adolescent Health Services and all the health community, I say to Aishwarya’s family, I’m sorry,” he said.

The report, known as a root cause analysis, was triggered after Aishwarya’s death and made 11 recommendations to be implemented at PCH within six months, including a review of cultural awareness by staff, and an independent external review of the emergency department.

Mr Cook said he had contacted the director general of WA Health on Wednesday to arrange the independent inquiry into PCH.

The report into Aishwarya’s death was given to her parents on Wednesday.Credit: Nine News Perth

“This independent inquiry will include any matters of specific concern identified by Aishwarya’s family,” he said.

Aishwarya’s death caused shockwaves in WA when it was revealed her parents waited two hours before she was seen by doctors, despite pleas to staff that her eyes were going cloudy and her hands were cold.

Other recommendations from the report included improving triage process policy, improving clinical supervision in emergency departments, development of a clear pathway to escalate concerns of parents to staff and development of an established sepsis recognition diagnostic tool in PCH’s emergency department.

Mr Cook said he had spoken to Aishwarya’s parents on Tuesday morning and they were taking time to read the findings of the report.

Despite the failings identified in the report, Mr Cook backed PCH as a “leading hospital”.

“It is vital that we learn what happened at Perth Children’s Hospital and continue to improve the care provided to the children and young people of Western Australia,” he said.

“I know this tragic event has been deeply felt by staff across Perth Children’s Hospital, and we must continue to support them and the work that they do.”

Family spokesman and Ethnic Communities Council of WA president Suresh Rajan said Aishwarya’s parents were shocked by the report and would continue their calls for an independent external inquiry.

Mr Rajan said the seven-year-old’s father Aswath Chavittupara had an anxiety attack, was overwhelmed by emotion and couldn’t breathe ahead of receiving the report.

“It was the last link to their little girl and they were shocked by the report and its recommendations so they need time to read the findings thoroughly,” he said.

“From an early read though, we are not convinced by this report that what happened to Aishwarya will not happen again.

“One of the recommendations in the report is to get another gas/blood machine which Aswath said would not be of any use because that machine, which the hospital already has one of, was not even used on his daughter.”

A blood gas test provided a precise measurement of the oxygen and carbon dioxide levels in a patient’s body to help a doctor determine how well their lungs and kidneys are working.

Mr Rajan said Aishwarya’s parents were understandably very upset and overwhelmed, and will continue to push for an inquiry to cover all 21 SAC1 incidents at Perth Children’s Hospital since January 2020.