A six-year-old girl has died after being twice discharged from Sydney Children’s Hospital in the city’s east.
The child was first taken to the Sydney Children’s Hospital emergency department on Monday, where she was clinically assessed and discharged, a spokesperson for the Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network (SCHN) said.
She was brought back to the hospital a short time later, where she was diagnosed with influenza and again discharged after being offered “at-home guidance,” according to the statement.
The girl was later admitted to Northern Beaches Hospital and died on Tuesday, police confirmed.
Health authorities have since launched reviews and a coronial inquest into the circumstances.
A spokesperson for SCHN said it “expresses our deepest condolences to the family for the loss of their child”.
“SCHN is progressing an initial review into the patient’s care while at the hospital,” they added.
A spokesperson for Northern Beaches Hospital said: “Alongside Sydney Children’s Hospital Network, where the child received care earlier in the day, we will undertake the appropriate investigations in line with NSW Health policy, including a joint independent review. A coronial inquest has also been called into the child’s passing.”
NSW Health Minister Ryan Park described the death as “devastating” and said he intended to “understand how and why this tragedy has occurred, and the parents deserve answers.”
“I’m also mindful how distressing these events are for staff, and I know they’ll be impacted by this tragedy,” he added.
The matter has been referred to the coroner and will be the subject of a joint Serious Adverse Event Review (SAER), the process used to investigate serious clinical incidents in NSW health services.
The kindergarten student has been remembered by her community with St Luke’s Grammar School Principal Geoff Lancaster describing her as “bright, vivacious, kind and free-spirited”.
She was “so full of light and joy, and adored by her parents, teachers and the many friends she had at St Luke’s,” Lancaster told the ABC.
In an email informing the Dee Why school community of her death, Lancaster wrote: “No words can express the heartbreak [the parents] are experiencing. As a school community, we share their grief and pray [they] would know the love and support of family and friends.”
Families at the school were offered counselling and grief support during a meeting on Wednesday morning.
One parent with a child in the same year told the ABC they were distraught: “We were all crying at the meeting. It’s a really huge shock… she was a very popular little girl.”
Police and health authorities have not released further details while investigations continue.
Image: Wikimedia
