Royal Darwin Hospital (RDH) General Manager Dr Len Notaras today offered his condolences to the family of Declan McConville and expressed sadness at the baby's death, following the release of the findings of the Coronial inquest conducted in February this year.
Dr Notaras said RDH accepted all of the recommendations made by the Coroner and in fact had implemented these clinical changes prior to his report being handed down.
He said it was now routine for the trial of instrumental delivery to occur in theatre and a specialist consultant to always be present.
"Further guidelines are being developed to assist with identifying which cases need to be considered. However, once cases are identified they are prioritised for theatre access in the same way as emergency caesareans," he said.
"RDH has restructured its Safety and Quality Unit and appointed a clinician to lead the team. Multi-disciplinary case reviews are now conducted and all outcomes recorded.
"An essential component of RDH's review and investigation process is the inclusion of an appropriate person, external to the work area that is the subject of the review, on the Review Team.
"Ultrasounds are also routinely performed to assess foetal and repeat ultrasounds are performed when clinical indicators are present that would include fundal height measurements out of the normal range.
"I again extend my condolences to the family and acknowledge with sadness that the death of baby Declan McConville also impacted on the RDH staff.
"RDH delivers more than 1700 babies a year and has a dedicated team of professionals who are focused on offering the best care to mother and babies in the Top End."
Media inquiries: Michelle Foster 0419 818 414
Release date: Thursday 28 May 2009
