Another Sydney child has died at Northern Beaches Hospital, this time after contracting the flu. However, earlier in the day she presented twice to SCHR and was sent home.
A six-year-old has died at Northern Beaches Hospital this week after contracting the flu. According to the Manly Observer, she was a northern beaches kindergarten student whose parents “advocated for her care persistently”.
The patient presented to the emergency department at Sydney’s Children’s Hospital Randwick on Monday 4 August. Following clinical assessment, she was discharged.
She presented again shortly after and was diagnosed with influenza. She was discharged again with at-home guidance.
However, later in the day, she presented at Northern Beaches Hospital, where she passed away.
According to a spokesperson from the Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network:
“SCHN expresses our deepest condolences to the family for the loss of their child.
“SCHN is progressing an initial review into the patient’s care while at the hospital. Based on this initial review, SCHN will work with Northern Sydney Local Health District as part of the joint independent clinical governance process.
“SCHN understands the matter has also been referred to the Coroner,” they said.
A Northern Beaches Hospital spokesperson told Health Services Daily:
“We at Northern Beaches Hospital are deeply saddened by the tragic loss of a young child. Our heartfelt condolences go out to the child’s family and loved ones during this incredibly difficult time.
“Alongside Sydney Children’s Hospital Network, where the child received care earlier in the day, we will undertake the appropriate investigations in line with NSW Health policy, including a joint independent review. A coronial inquest has also been called into the child’s passing.
“While we cannot comment on the specifics of the case during the review period, our thoughts are with the family, and we will continue to offer them our full support.”
Report finds NBH lacks life-saving cameras
The tragedy comes after news this week that Northern Beaches Hospital lacks life-saving equipment that is standard in other NSW hospitals.
After the 2024 death of Northern Beaches toddler Joe Massa, the Clinical Excellence Commission (CEC) was asked to review the hospital’s operations and policies.
A team of independent paediatric, emergency and clinical governance experts completed the review, finding new clinical governance and escalation processes have been implemented since the death of the young boy.
However, progress has been uneven, with some structural and cultural challenges continuing to impact how the hospital makes improvements.
The review noted that there continues to be concern about the culture of escalation.
“Junior staff have reported hesitancy in raising concerns without full certainty, and audits have highlighted inconsistent use of sepsis pathways and Clinical Emergency Response System (CERS) processes.
“These issues are compounded by variable access to senior clinical support and a tendency to minimise or dismiss red flags instead of triggering appropriate escalation pathways,” the CEC report said.
Related
The report also noted concern about the absence of access to the Critical Care Overbed Network (CCON), also referred to Newborn and Paediatric Emergency Transport Service (NETS) cameras.
These are high-definition video systems that enable real-time access to NETS specialists and other paediatric experts. They help support emergency consultations and, where necessary, the safe retrieval of critically unwell babies and children.
“The absence of access to CCON cameras is particularly concerning, as it restricts real-time visual consultation and clinical decision-making support during neonatal and paediatric emergencies—support that is standard in public facilities.
“This lack of access creates a structural inequity, placing NBH clinicians at a disadvantage by forcing them to either operate without essential support tools or develop independent, often duplicative, alternatives,” the report said.
The authors said this disparity underscored a broader systemic issue: NBH doesn’t benefit from the economy of scale offered by NSW Health.
“This appears to be an unanticipated repercussion of the public-private partnership [between NSW Health and private operator Healthscope] and addressing this gap is critical to ensuring equitable, high-quality care and supporting staff in delivering safe and effective clinical outcomes to the people of Northern Beaches,” the report said.
In a statement to Health Services Daily, a Northern Sydney Local Health District spokesperson said the LHD was currently working with Healthscope on implementing the recommendations from the review.
“Three NETS cameras are to be installed at Northen Beaches Hospital. These are currently being configured to integrate with NSW Health IT systems, ensuring Northen Beaches Hospital has the same access to technology as other public hospitals across the state.
“Once operational these cameras will be in the Emergency Department, children’s ward and special care nursery.
“Installation, testing and staff training is expected to be complete in the next four weeks,” the spokesperson confirmed.
Healthscope provided a statement in relation to the CEC report, referring HSD to the executive summary.
“We thank the Clinical Excellence Commission (CEC) for their Independent Inquiry into Northern Beaches Hospital (NBH), which Healthscope commissioned following the tragic death of baby Joe Massa. The report highlighted that the hospital is ‘staffed by a committed and professional workforce with a shared focus on delivering safe, high quality care.’ The CEC found that the level of serious incidents at the hospital (Harm Score 1) are ‘broadly comparable to B1 peer hospitals’,” the statement said .
“The CEC Inquiry report also noted that the public private partnership model has resulted in ‘complex reporting metrics’ for NBH when compared to other public hospitals, and has also ‘limited access to critical clinical reporting systems that are readily available to staff in public hospitals’.
“Despite these challenges, the team at Northern Beaches Hospital continue to meet or exceed the performance of comparable NSW public hospitals on most clinical measures, including elective surgery access, ambulance transfers, and emergency department performance.
“The CEC inquiry has made a number of recommendations to further enhance performance at the hospital, and noted that many of these have been addressed as part of the implementation of the SAER that followed the death of baby Joe Massa. NBH will work with the CEC and the NSLHD to enact all recommendations in the proposed timeframes.
“In relation to Critical Care Overbed Network (CCON), also known as NETS Cameras, we have been working with the government to progress their installation. The cameras have been delivered to site, and are expected to be operational from 4 September, prior to a period of testing and staff training. This is within the three-month installation timeframe recommended by the Clinical Excellence Commission (CEC).”