"Missed diagnosis of toddler"

Dear cygnusbd48,

Thank you for taking the time to share with us, your recent experience attending our Emergency Department (ED) at Kalgoorlie Hospital. I am sorry to read that your child has been unwell and I trust that the antibiotics have been helpful and that your child has now recovered well?

From the information you have shared, it is my understanding that your partner rushed your toddler to the ED for a high temperature, which can indicate a possible infection, amongst other things. It can be difficult to identify infection in the early stages and I can see in your post that your child had their ears examined and their urine checked whilst in the Emergency Department. These tests would have been completed to try and identify the source of infection, and is one component of a thorough examination that should occur in order to make a definitive diagnosis.

As your post is anonymous, I am not able to review your child’s medical records. However, given that no antibiotic was prescribed with your toddler’s discharge from the ED, it would appear that at the time of presenting to ED, the test results and presenting symptoms did not indicate a requirement to prescribe oral antibiotics. We know that time is also a great diagnostic tool, and that any presentation at the ED is always a snap-shot in time. In some cases, and this appears evident with your child, the progression of illness does eventually make diagnosis a lot clearer for the next clinician.

We would expect that the reasoning behind clinical decisions are fully explained to our patients, families and carers at the time of discharge, along with symptoms to keep an eye on that indicate that you should re-present with your child for further medical care. I’m very sorry if this didn’t occur and that your partner felt that they were treated as if your child’s health care was an inconvenience to the treating staff. It is so important that you feel and trust that you will receive high-quality healthcare, should you need it. I would very much appreciate it if you would contact Mr Scott Jones, Operations Manager at Kalgoorlie Hospital. Scott can facilitate a review of your child’s care and can provide you with more specific information and reasoning behind the clinical decisions that were made. Scott can be contacted on 08 9080 5817 or via email at Scott.Jones2@health.wa.gov.au and would welcome hearing from you.

Once again, I thank you for taking the time to share your story, it is through feedback both negative and positive that we are able to improve our patient experience and clinicians practice overall. I sincerely apologise for your experience and do hope that your toddler is healthy and happy once again.

Kind Regards,

Peter Tredinnick

Regional Director

WACHS Goldfields