Aishwarya Aswath death

2022 - 8 - 30

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Image courtesy of "WAtoday"

Where does the buck stop in WA's health system? The coroner's ... (WAtoday)

There is a common thread that runs through the testimony of each clinician who was in the Perth Children's Hospital emergency department the night Aishwarya ...

“As a nurse with friends working in nursing in all states and internationally, they are watching this inquiry closely. “(Hospital) management and the government knew for years that staffing levels were dangerous and it was only a matter of time before something would happen,” she said. “These factors may have contributed to a delay in recognition of the severity of the illness and initiation of treatment.” “A culture has developed which saw escalation as futile and ineffective, with staff therefore failing to call for assistance at times of increased acuity and activity (more obvious among nursing staff) even when there was availability of senior clinical nursing staff outside of the ED.” They felt overstretched, overworked, harried, almost numb to the relentlessness of the workload that had accumulated in the months leading up to the tragedy. “Uncovered sick leave of medical staff resulted in a reduction in available medical staff during the evening, delays in medical assessment, prolonged waiting times and impeded the capacity for medical staff to provide a more comprehensive response to parental escalation,” the review found.

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Image courtesy of "ABC News"

Tragedy that befell Aishwarya Aswath will happen again, ED nurse ... (ABC News)

An emergency department nurse working the night Aishwarya Aswath died from sepsis at Perth Children's Hospital tells a coronial inquest it is only a matter ...

there were significant delays in wait times," she said. She said things had improved but agreed with counsel assisting the coroner Sarah Tyler's suggestion that there was "still a lot of work to be done". She said it had been common for nurses to work double shifts – and the night Aishwarya had died she was down to work an 18-hour shift. We are not covered enough if [resuscitation] cases come in … Ms Davies said the number of nurses working the night Aishwarya died compared to patients they had to treat was "insane". and it's going to happen again."

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Image courtesy of "9News"

Doctor 'heartbroken' by Aishwarya Aswath's death, inquest hears (9News)

Giving evidence on Monday at an inquest into the seven-year-old's death, Perth Children's Hospital emergency department consultant Dr William Hollaway made an ...

"The process was unpleasant and I felt like I was being interrogated," she said. "We definitely felt like we were under the pump and there was no end in sight." "I was heartbroken I couldn't save Aishwarya but I want to assure you that every single person at Perth Children's Hospital involved in her resus will never forget her."

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Image courtesy of "The Age"

Senior nurse says PCH still has no dedicated resuscitation teams (The Age)

Registered nurse Cathryn Davies says more than a year Aishwarya Aswath's death, staffing levels at Perth Children's Hospital remain inadequate.

We need to change something now.” “Not much has changed to be honest. They are warning us again. This was because there were not enough of the staff with the right experience to be part of a resuscitation team in the ED at the time. She said there had been an occasion she was the shift coordinator and if there had been the need for a resuscitation team the staff would have embarrassingly needed to come from different departments at the hospital other than ED. The introduction of a dedicated resuscitation team at the PCH ED was a recommendation by the Australian Nursing Federation WA in a 10-point plan provided to the Child and Adolescent Health Service just days after Aishwarya’s death.

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Image courtesy of "The West Australian"

Aishwarya Aswath inquest: AMA WA president says claims PCH ... (The West Australian)

The State Government's claims that Perth Children's Hospital was properly staffed on the night Aishwarya Aswath died have been proved 'patently wrong', ...

“Everyone threw absolutely everything they had to try and save Aishwarya,” Dr Hale said. “I know that staffing levels have been increased a lot … “I think that the Board of CAHS, and the Children’s Hospital, are taking steps to move towards a culture of safety and quality,” he said. And in his evidence, he detailed the myriad of issues that had beset the hospital in the lead-up to Aishwarya’s death — including staff shortages and the inability to replace those who had left. In parliament in May last year, Cook clearly stated he had been “advised by the chief executive of the Child and Adolescent Health Service that the report says lack of staff was not a contributing factor on the evening that Aishwarya passed.” As the inquest into the death of the seven-year-old last April continued on Tuesday, evidence of chronic staff shortages — leading to exhaustion and despair — have continued to pile up.

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