A confronting report into the death of Aishwarya Aswath has highlighted glaring issues in the running of Western Australia's hospitals, the state opposition says.
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The report by WA's Child and Adolescent Health Service has found staff at Perth Children's Hospital missed a "cascade" of opportunities to escalate the seven-year-old's care as she succumbed to a fatal infection on Easter Saturday.
Within 20 minutes of arriving at the emergency department, Aishwarya's hands were cold, her eyes were discoloured and her respiratory rate and heart rate were significantly elevated.
But the severity of her condition wasn't recognised until an hour and 17 minutes later, when a doctor noticed she had cold peripheries and slurred speech.
She entered a resuscitation bay but was pronounced dead within two hours.
Aishwarya's parents had pleaded on five separate occasions for staff to escalate their daughter's care.
The report highlights a 30-minute period where it was left to one nurse to watch over eight waiting room cubicles as Aishwarya continued to deteriorate.
In meetings with hospital executives dating back to October last year, emergency department staff raised "concerns around the safety of children in the waiting room".
Plans for the new hospital to have a triage support nurse who would check patients' vital signs did not progress after it opened in 2018.
Opposition health spokeswoman Libby Mettam said Health Minister Roger Cook had downplayed staffing issues, "particularly in relation to the skill mix and ratio".
"This government has repeatedly ignored the warnings and tragically, it has now resulted in the devastating death of a seven-year-old girl," she said.
PCH chief executive Aresh Anwar on Monday remained adamant that staffing was "not an issue" on the night in question.
Mr Cook, who has fended off calls for his resignation, said the government was working to recruit more staff and bring more hospital beds online.
"All our hospitals have got human resource challenges at the moment because the demand on our hospitals has significantly increased," he said.
Aishwarya's death will be the subject of a coronial inquest.
Mr Cook is yet to reveal details of a planned independent inquiry into the PCH emergency department.
Aishwarya's parents say it should also examine other critical incidents at the hospital.
Australian Associated Press
