‘Very unwell’: Nurse rushed dying toddler to resuscitation alone, inquest told
A senior emergency nurse bypassed attending doctors to rush a rapidly-deteriorating toddler into resuscitation, moments before he suffered a cardiac arrest, a coronial inquest has been told.
Senior registered nurse Felicity Melville held back tears as she gave evidence at an inquest examining the final hours of Joe Massa’s life on Thursday.
Ms Melville said she recalled taking over the two-year-old’s care at Northern Beaches Hospital at 10am on September 14, 2024.
She described finding the toddler with “dark and sunken” eyes and mottled skin.
Ms Melville told the inquiry, before Judge O’Sullivan, that attending doctors were standing by and discussing waiting for ultrasound results.
She gave evidence she felt waiting for an ultrasound was the wrong approach.
The inquest was told Ms Melville took matters into her own hands, phoning resuscitation staff herself to request an emergency bed.
“Joe was very unwell, he was lying on the bed,” Ms Melville told the court.
“Mrs Massa … she spoke to me about a rash on his back and I checked that, and he didn't have a rash but he was quite mottled on the back.”
During questioning, Ms Melville confirmed neither attending doctor accompanied her down the hospital corridors, despite policy and expectation that doctors remain with patients during a resuscitation transfer.
Footage from 10.42am allegedly showed Ms Melville leaving the pediatric department unescorted and reaching the resuscitation bay after pushing the heavy 300kg hospital bed through a crowded triage area.
“I picked Joseph up and Mrs Massa said to me ‘my son is very sick’ and I said ‘yes he is’ and ‘I’m getting help’ and I popped him down onto the emergency trolley which are much smaller in order to not waste time,” Ms Melville said.
“I was able to see Joe where I was standing, and that’s when Sam said that he had arrested.
The inquiry was also told missing and faulty equipment delayed vital observations and monitoring in the time leading up to Joe’s death.
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