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The tragic, frantic final moments of Aishwarya Aswath’s life have been described in harrowing detail by her parents, who have told an inquest how they felt ignored, dismissed and insulted as they begged Perth Children’s Hospital staff to save their dying daughter.
On the opening day of the inquest into the seven-year-old’s death, the roadmap for the hearing to come was laid out – with two key questions at the heart of the inquiry.
“How could trained professionals have missed the warning signs of such serious illness?” counsel assisting Sarah Tyler outlined.
“And why were Aishwarya’s parents’ concerns not listened to, and acted upon, by the hospital’s staff at an earlier stage?”
Ms Tyler’s opening to the hearing, read out before Coroner Sarah Linton, acknowledged Aishwarya’s family’s grief, and the importance of the inquest to the wider community.
“The circumstances of Aishwarya’s rapid deterioration and unexpected death at Perth Children’s Hospital have undeniably had a profound impact on Aishwarya’s family, friends, everyone involved in her care, and members of the broader Western Australian community,” she said.
And that anguish was then laid bare as a statement from Aishwarya’s father Aswath and mother Prasitha were read to the court.
They detailed their family background, their happy marriage and the fun-filled days leading up to the worst day of their lives.
After a final day at school, a Good Friday evening was spent playing soccer in the front yard and then walking to buy ice-cream.
A family sleep-in on two mattresses was interrupted by Aishwarya complaining of a headache. She then reported aches, she vomited several times, and then her hands went stone cold – prompting a trip to the hospital.
On first arrival, Aswath said “nobody came to check on Aishwarya”.
Her condition deteriorated and she experienced worrying issues with her eyes. The youngster said she felt like she was falling – even though she was lying on a couch.
Despite increasing concerns, both parents said they felt ignored by various staff. And Aswath said at one point he was confronted by “the rudest nurse I have ever come across”.
Shortly after that Aishwarya was taken to a resuscitation room, but even then both parents detected a lack of urgency.
“We knew something was wrong,” Prasitha said. “I begged for someone to come and look at her. I put my hands together and begged.”
“I felt like I was ignored and not taken seriously.”
Prasitha also recounted how at one point, she was recalled being told: “If you don’t relax it wont help her get better.”
Despite 10 rounds of adrenaline and more than an hour of resuscitation, Aishwarya died just after 9pm.
“Aishwarya had been brought into the hospital three and half hours before, but her case was not assessed as urgent,” Ms Tyler said.
“Despite many requests by her parents for help, none of the hospital staff realised how seriously ill Aishwarya was until just before her death. By then, it was too late for any treatment to be commenced that might possibly save her.”
In a statement read by their advocate Suresh Rajan, Aswath and Prasitha said they hoped the hearing would provide justice, insight and answers.
“This is one of the most important days of our lives,” the statement said.
“And for us to be able to change the system we need to understand exactly what went on. The days of the inquest are going to be incredibly painful.
“As parents, we believe the inquest will help make sure that no other parent will go through the suffering and loss that we have experienced.
“We recognise that the inquest is a necessary step to make sure that Aishwarya’s legacy is properly recognised.
“Aishwarya was a bundle of joy and a shining light in the lives of everyone that knew her. We believe the coroner will be able to give justice to Aishwarya.”
The first and only witness on day one will be the former boss of PCH Dr Aresh Anwar, who resigned weeks out from the inquest beginning.
In his evidence, Dr Anwar said “there isn’t a moment in a day” when he doesn’t think about the little girl’s death.
“There isn’t a moment in a day I don’t think about the events recounted today, and what we could have done differently,” Dr Anwar said.
And he recounted what he said were a multitude of issues within the hospital — including staffing levels impacted by the COVID pandemic, dwindling staff morale and fatigue, an increase in children needing the hospital with mental health problems and his own transfer to help with the State’s vaccination rollout.
“It is really difficult to convey the impact of Aishwarya’s death … there is no-one that has not been touched by it. It will have a long-lasting impact in the way we work with families.”
He also said one of his biggest regrets is not communicating to the WA public the work done since to change the hospital for the better.
“It is not just another report gathering dust …. (we needed) to provide the public the confidence they quite rightly expect and demand,” Mr Anwar said.
Nurses, registrars, consultants and experts in infectious diseases are all listed to appear over the next two weeks.
Mark Olson, the outgoing figurehead of the nurses union, is also slated to give evidence on the final day of hearings.
