The Canberra Liberals have called on the ACT Government to urgently establish an independent review of the Territory’s paediatric services following the deaths of several children in the past two years.

The Liberals believe the inquiry must focus on the lack of dedicated paediatric specialty areas in cardiology and neurology in Canberra, as revealed in information the Canberra Liberals obtained last week.

Shadow Health Minister Leanne Castley said Canberrans were shocked by the recent devastating deaths of children, and the government must review paediatric services to ensure the ACT has the best possible care available.

Rachel Stephen-Smith, ACT Minister for Health, rejected the call for an independent review.

“Given the amount of work that has already been done and is currently underway in regard to paediatric services, I am not convinced that a formal inquiry is required or would be helpful at this time,” she said.

Canberra Health Services was already conducting a clinical review into one of the deaths. An external review of paediatric services was conducted last year, and Canberra Health Services (CHS) is working through the recommendations from that review.

Deaths in hospital

Earlier this month, Nine’s Current Affair revealed that two children – 13-year-old Brian Lovelock and five-year-old Rozalia Spadafora – died this year: Brian on the way from Canberra Hospital to Sydney to get treatment unavailable in Canberra, Rozalia in the hospital’s emergency department, after staff told her mother to take her home. Two more children died of treatable bacterial infections in the last two years.

In the same program, Professor Walter Abhayaratna, ACT president of the Australian Medical Association, stated that paediatric emergency care at Canberra Hospital had been inadequate for a decade, and that the early warning system was not fit for purpose to identify patients in a timely fashion, or to identify extremely unwell children early enough.

• Call for urgent review of Canberra Hospital paediatric care (7 September)

“Parents and carers are understandably thinking ‘this could have been my child’,” Ms Castley said.

“A hospital is there to save lives. Nothing will ever bring back Rozalia, Brian, and these other precious children. But what the Labor-Greens government can and must do now is review paediatric services to ensure the best healthcare is provided to our kids.

“The inquiry needs to examine where the demand is, and where are the gaps.

“This would be the most appropriate tribute to these grieving families to show the government genuinely cares about improving healthcare for our children.  It cannot wait for a coronial inquest that will happen sometime next year.”

Ms Stephen-Smith said that CHS was conducting a clinical review into Rozalia’s death: the usual process following an unexpected death.

“The review is being conducted by a quality assurance committee established under the Health Act 1993,” the Minister stated. “Under the Act, the sharing of information obtained by or on behalf of a quality assurance committee is strictly limited.”

The quality assurance committee may only give information to the Minister, the Coroner’s Court, other quality assurance committees, and the health board and health services commissioner.

“The Spadafora family will be invited to a meeting to discuss outcomes of the review once it is completed,” Ms Stephen-Smith said.

“After this communication with the Spadafora family, any improvement activities arising from the review will be shared publicly. Any findings and recommendations will be acted on as quickly as possible.”

A coronial inquest will also be held into Rozalia’s death.

“Canberra Health Services will also, of course, engage constructively with the Coronial inquest,” Ms Stephen-Smith said.

Clinicians involved in the care of consumers communicate with patients and their loved ones during and after critical care and incidents, Ms Stephen-Smith explained. The Social Work team supports the family during and after such distressing events. More formal communication is provided as part of the Open Disclosure process: an open conversation between staff and a consumer and/or carer relating to an incident that could have resulted, or did result, in harm whilst receiving healthcare.

Where relevant, families are also connected with Red Nose and/or ACT Coronial Counselling Service.

Liberals: Canberra needs more paediatric specialists

CHS has 20 paediatric specialists, two of whom are on leave, plus nine Visiting Medical Officer (VMO) paediatric specialists, Ms Castley stated.

The information from 20 July, provided to Ms Castley in response to her questions about paediatric services, also revealed there were no dedicated paediatric speciality areas in cardiology and neurology in Canberra.  These are “outreach services provided by Sydney Children’s Hospital Network”.

“Who is caring for our very sick kids in the ACT, and why don’t we have our own dedicated paediatric cardiologists and neurologists?” Ms Castley asked.  

“The Labor-Greens government must do everything it can to stop children dying in Canberra,” she said. 

Ms Stephen-Smith said, “the ACT Government will continue to build and strengthen paediatric services, and I am currently considering how we can best ensure this work is transparent, accountable, and draws on independent expertise”.

An external review of paediatric services was conducted in late 2021, the Minister stated, and CHS is working through the recommendations from that review.

The operation of CHS’ Paediatric Service was reviewed as part of the organisation-wide accreditation process in June, and the service is regularly benchmarked against peer hospitals. 

The ACT Health Directorate is developing a territory-wide Child and Adolescent Services Plan, which is considering opportunities to expand paediatric services and improve support for children and families. In addition to the 2021 review of paediatric services, this process considers work undertaken for the CHS Clinical Services Plan, the expansion of the Centenary Hospital for Women and Children and the new Critical Services Building. It will be informed by feedback received through the Kids Interstate Shared Care Project led by the Health Care Consumers’ Association.