By Julia Medew
Inadequate medical care, hospital delays and poor resuscitation procedures are contributing to hundreds of infant deaths in Victorian hospitals, disturbing new data shows.
A state government report reveals 281 deaths between 2008 and 2013 in Victorian hospitals involved “contributing factors”, including inadequate clinical monitoring, misinterpretation of tests and delayed caesarean procedures, in results that mirror the baby death scandal at Bacchus Marsh Hospital.
Other factors included insufficient care during pregnancy, inadequate management of specific conditions, and “resuscitation factors”.
A small proportion of the deaths were also considered to involve “family neglect or ignorance”, such as parents not attending medical appointments, but exact numbers in that category were not disclosed.
Professor Jeremy Oats, an obstetrician and chairman of the state government committee that produced the report, Victoria’s Mothers, Babies and Children 2012 and 2013, said that although the contributing factors were concerning, they did not necessarily cause the deaths.
He said the committee concluded that about one in 10 deaths (about 28 over the six years) involved “significant preventable” factors on a par with those found responsible for the 11 avoidable deaths at Bacchus Marsh Hospital between 2000 and 2014.
The report does not disclose in which hospitals the estimated 28 deaths occurred.
The 281 deaths in the report include stillbirths (from 20 weeks’ gestation) and infants who died within 28 days of birth.
They also include nine of the 11 preventable deaths at Djerriwarrh Health Service in Bacchus Marsh.
Professor Oats said “significant clusters” of deaths at other hospitals were not found, but he acknowledged some services had results that warranted investigation.
Kathryn Booth, national head of medical law at Maurice Blackburn Lawyers, said the data was “very alarming” and suggested Bacchus Marsh “was far from the only hospital in Victoria that was struggling to provide adequate care”.
“Many of these deaths could have and should have been avoided,” she said.
“Similar issues were identified among the catastrophic failures at Bacchus Marsh Hospital that resulted in multiple babies dying or sustaining lifelong injuries.”
Professor Oats said parents of the 281 babies were very likely to have been told of the problems in their baby’s care as part of the open disclosure process in Victorian hospitals, which encourages transparency about medical errors and adverse events.
– The Age
