'The hospital would not help him': Indigenous boy died after being repeatedly turned away
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Version 0 of 1. Hospital in Cape York guilty of ‘systemic failures’ after turning away a sick child in 2017, who later died from a serious bacterial infection Six-year-old Charlie Gowa became so sick he could no longer eat or walk. Charlie’s mother brought him to the nearest hospital in the remote Cape York community of Bamaga every day for almost a week in January 2017. On their fourth visit, she entered the hospital with her boy in her arms – his body too feeble to carry him on its own. It was an entrance of desperation, but the local hospital turned them away – as they did for five days in a row, sometimes with paracetamol. Days later on 14 January, the Torres Strait Islander boy died from sepsis – a fatal reaction to a bacterial infection that is known to occur in remote tropical north Australia. The Queensland Office of the Health Ombudsman this week released the findings of an investigation that concluded there were “systemic failures” at the hospital. It found that Charlie’s initial treatment had been inadequate and hospital staff had failed to recognise the boy’s condition was deteriorating, despite his parents’ pleas. The investigation also identified issues at the hospital that “were likely not isolated to this incident”. Charlie contracted melioidosis, a bacterial infection that is endemic in northern Australia and often contracted from the soil. The ombudsman’s report described the condition as “rare” and particularly uncommon in children. However, the condition is a known risk in the tropics and has a high mortality rate, particularly in patients who go on to develop sepsis. The report details that Charlie was first taken by his parents to the Bamaga hospital on Thursday 5 January 2017 with a headache, green-black diarrhoea and a fever. The following day, Charlie’s parents took him back to the hospital and waited two hours before seeing a doctor. The boy was struggling to breathe and had a burning sensation on his skin. On both the Thursday and Friday, he was sent home with paracetamol. On Saturday and Sunday, the family was turned away and told there was no doctor present at the weekend. “On Sunday, Charlie’s mum carried her son back to the hospital,” the ombudsman’s report said. “Again, she was told there was no doctor on over the weekend and to bring Charlie back the next day. Charlie’s parents did not know what else they could do for their son but to keep taking him to hospital in the hope that someone would do something.” On the Monday, after a long wait, Charlie was seen by a doctor, and sent home again with paracetamol. “During that night, Charlie continued to cry, and his [parents] took turns to carry him to the toilet,” the report said. Charlie was eventually admitted to the hospital on the Tuesday – the sixth time he was brought in by his parents. The following day he was flown to Cairns, and then on to Brisbane, for specialist treatment. He died on the Saturday. Charlie’s parents, Ron Gowa and Xernona PoiPoi, are considering legal action after the release of the report. “I tried so hard to get my son the help that he needed,” PoiPoi said in a statement released by their lawyer. “The hospital would not help him and there was nowhere else we could go. These problems have existed for so long and they are still there today. I want better for my family and my community.” Gowa said he wants “justice for my little boy”. “I also want change. Our community needs access to safe healthcare, just like any Australian community does. No family should face the barriers that we faced in trying to save our son.” Anna Talbot, a lawyer from the National Justice Project representing the family, said the family were seeking meaningful improvements to healthcare for the community. “At the heart of this problem is systemic racism,” Talbot said. “We see these issues arise time and again, with First Nations people who are seriously ill being turned away from hospitals. Charlie and his family should never have been put in the position of having to beg for basic healthcare. “Charlie was so sick, and he just kept getting worse. He, his family and his community deserved what most Australians would take for granted: safe and effective healthcare,” she added. The report did not find that Charlie’s death was preventable, but did conclude that he had been improperly treated and that staff had failed to keep records until five days after he first presented. The ombudsman found his repeated presentations “provided a potential trigger for further investigation that may have led to earlier intervention including earlier administration of appropriate antibiotics or referral for admission to a specialist paediatric unit”. “Charlie is deeply missed by the people that loved and cared for him,” the report said. “His family remain in constant connection to him and his memory. Charlie was buried at the Bamaga cemetery with other members of his extended kin who have passed, with his grave adorned with some of his favourite toys.” According to a report in the ABC, the Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Service said it had conducted two reviews into Charlie’s treatment and it acknowledged the “loss of Charles Gowa and the distress and anguish of his parents and extended family”. It said the Bamaga hospital had improved its clinical medial record systems since 2017 and also employed more permanent healthcare workers. |