The mayor of Porirua Litea Ah Hoi is gratified that St Johns Ambulance has admitted it erred in the case of baby Cherish who you might recall was bashed by her Grandmother and later died.
Meanwhile back in the New Zealand of 2009:
Woman remanded in custody after toddler dies
'Breakthrough' in injured baby case: police.
And I am sure Litea Ah Ho will be "astounded" to learn that these children's misfortunes are not a result of rural front line ambulance staff being untrained in and ill equipped for the practice intensive care medicine in situ.
Porirua Deputy Mayor Litea Ah Hoi, who spoke on behalf of Cherish's father, Nofosione Wright, said she was "really pleased" St John Ambulance had fronted up to its mistakes and was making changes.
But she was astounded that a doctor and paramedics had to call for outside help to insert a breathing tube.
"While it's too little too late for Cherish, Nofo is pleased it won't happen again, that another child's life could be saved," she said.
"I just hope the extra government funding also goes to training and retraining staff. And if that doctor, who is primarily accountable to St Johns, is not sure how to insert a breathing tube, that needs to be addressed as well.
Meanwhile back in the New Zealand of 2009:
Woman remanded in custody after toddler dies
'Breakthrough' in injured baby case: police.
And I am sure Litea Ah Ho will be "astounded" to learn that these children's misfortunes are not a result of rural front line ambulance staff being untrained in and ill equipped for the practice intensive care medicine in situ.
We did a post on the initial story here: Ambulance at the bottom of a cliff
ReplyDeleteWell someone must be to blame right?
ReplyDeleteA child with a life ending head injjury does need tubing before transport. They made the right call calling for the tube, responded inadequately in the timing of insertion of the tube.
But they were attempting to save her life.
Life ended by member(s) of the family.
Some perspective is good, she was very badly brain damaged, I do not think the delay to the safe airway was the reason for her death.
I agree with Amnion - the child may well have died anyway, and the ambulance crew shouldn't be blamed for that. But it is eyebrow raising that a doctor couldn't insert a breathing tube...
ReplyDeleteIntubation is a real art,especially in an unconscious head injured 3 year old. To be good at it you need to do it often. Most GPs rarely have to tube anyone, let alone a 3 year old.
ReplyDeleteIts not easy and not a skill it is easy to maintain when you might need to use it once a decade
And people arent really that keen on you practicing on them to keep up your skillz
The tragedy is that the emergency services can't deliver the neurosurgeon,anesthetist,cardiothoracic specialist and theatre staff to all calls but we still do our best and sometimes it just cant be enough.In this case outside the hospital may not have made for a different outcome. Puleese remember a lot of us are volunteers particularly at night and when someone with the profile and salary of the said mayor has a go at us it makes us quietly wonder if they have any understanding of the sacrifices made so they enjoy the mostly awesome outcomes we achieve.
ReplyDeleteRest assured Muz, most around here have nothing but respect and thanks for the service rendered by all emergency crews, both volunteer and pro.
ReplyDeleteEyebrows duly lowered...thanks Amnion, for the explanation. I assumed it was clearing the mouth, not insertion of an actual tube into the airway, which would be tiny on an infant.
ReplyDeleteAnd second the thanks to Muz and other ambo crews... :)