Eleven young Victorians have died and nine others have permanently lost function as serious failures in emergency departments become more frequent. Workforce shortages and a pandemic-related increase in demand have been linked to critical delays in recognising and treating deteriorating children, including sepsis patients nearing collapse.
The state’s hospital watchdog, Safer Care Victoria, has raised serious concerns about a shortfall of paediatric expertise among some doctors and nurses caring for children, saying it has become normal for clinicians to provide services to children “outside of their comfort zone”. One emergency department manager said their unit saw 120,000 patients a year, yet it had no staff with speciality training in paediatrics after hours, while regional or rural centres were “more often” staffed by locum medical staff with only a few years’ experienc
Emergency Departments Deaths Disabilities Workforce Shortages Pandemic Paediatric Expertise Doctors Nurses Children Sepsis