Arabic version: قاضية التحقيق تعتبر وفاة بيبا وايت قابلة للمنع بالكامل

According to ABC News, Deputy State Coroner Joan Baptie found the 2022 death of two-year-old Pippa Mae White at Orange hospital was “wholly preventable” after delayed diagnosis and treatment of sepsis and bacterial pneumonia.

Pippa was transferred from Cowra hospital to Orange hospital after her family presented at Cowra on the afternoon of June 12, 2022. She died 18 hours later. Judge Baptie found she died of natural causes due to sepsis and bacterial pneumonia, but said her symptoms should have triggered the paediatric sepsis pathway in a timely manner. The protocol escalates medical oversight and shortens the time between reviews.

Pippa’s mother, Annah White, recorded nine short mobile phone videos showing her daughter’s deterioration during care at the two regional NSW hospitals. The coroner said the recordings were invaluable. Experts described them as striking and as showing “a clearly septic child”, while Judge Baptie said the inquest was highly likely to have reached different conclusions without that primary source material.

Judge Baptie recommended the videos be provided to the state’s Clinical Excellence Commission to develop training for junior doctors working in emergency departments or paediatric wards. The Western NSW Local Health District supported the recommendation. Annah White said she and her husband Brock supported the proposal, saying the videos could help with early detection, earlier use of the sepsis pathway and better outcomes for other children.

The family had sought a coronial inquest after Orange Hospital determined Pippa’s death was not reportable because it was not an “unexpected outcome”. Ms White said the conclusion of the inquest marked the beginning of work to seek improvements in healthcare in her daughter’s honour.