Coronial
VIChospital

Finding into death of Baby Patel

Deceased

Baby of Alpitaben and Jaykumar Patel

Demographics

0y, unknown

Coroner

Coroner Ingrid Giles

Date of death

2020-06-06

Finding date

2024-12-02

Cause of death

unascertained

AI-generated summary

A 10-day-old neonate born at 36 weeks gestation presented to hospital with signs of sepsis including hypothermia, lethargy, poor feeding, and jaundice. Critical failures in recognition and triage occurred: the infant was inappropriately triaged as Category 3 (requiring review within 30 minutes) in the Emergency Department when Category 2 (10 minutes) was indicated. Multiple signs of a seriously unwell neonate were documented but not recognised as such. This led to a one-hour delay before paediatric assessment. The infant was subsequently managed appropriately with antibiotics, fluids, and retrieval but deteriorated despite intensive care including intubation and ECMO support. Cause of death was unascertained at autopsy. Key preventable failures included: inadequate triage protocols for neonates, lack of staff education in recognising unwell neonates, failure to schedule planned follow-up visit by home midwives, and communication gaps between staff and family (no interpreter offered).

AI-generated summary and tagging — may contain inaccuracies; refer to original finding for legal purposes. Report an inaccuracy.

Specialties

neonatologypaediatricsemergency medicineanaesthesiamidwiferyinfectious diseases

Error types

diagnosticcommunicationsystemdelay

Drugs involved

cefotaximebenzylpenicillinflucloxacillinadrenalinedobutamineatropinelidocaine

Clinical conditions

neonatal sepsishypothermiahypoglycaemiajaundicepoor feedinglethargyshockhypotensionacidosishypoxic ischaemic encephalopathydifficult airwayrespiratory failurecardiac arrestpneumonia

Procedures

intubationintraosseous line insertiontracheostomylaryngeal mask airway placementECMO support

Contributing factors

  • inappropriate triage category in emergency department (Category 3 instead of Category 2)
  • failure to recognise signs of seriously unwell neonate at triage
  • inappropriate triage in maternity assessment unit
  • delayed paediatric medical assessment and review (one hour after presentation)
  • missed scheduled home midwifery follow-up appointment on 3 June 2020
  • lack of interpreter services for family
  • communication gap between lactation consultant and emergency department team
  • non-clinical staff providing wait time information without awareness of clinical urgency
  • limited experience of MAU clinicians with neonatal presentations
  • staff unfamiliarity with neonatal triage guidelines
  • low numbers of neonatal presentations to MAU affecting staff experience

Coroner's recommendations

  1. Additional education for triage staff warranted, particularly regarding neonatal assessment and recognition of an unwell neonate
  2. Clarification of MAU policy for neonatal presentations to ensure all neonates requiring non-urgent medical review are referred directly to the Emergency Department
  3. Consider incorporating parental and carer concerns as a core vital sign in assessment of paediatric patients
  4. Clarify Emergency Department triage policy for neonatal presentations so that a paediatric registrar is phoned when a neonate is triaged so both ED and paediatric teams can respond
  5. Patient information pamphlets and leaflets covering topics such as 'When to seek help for you and your baby' and 'Recognising serious illness in your baby' should be translated into multiple languages in alignment with hospital population demographics
Full text

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