Trudy, Andy and Laura Olive with an oil painting of son Tom. Source: News Limited
Tom Olive died from a rare and undiagnosed disease. Source: News Corp Australia
QUEENSLAND Health missed a number of opportunities to save a little boy’s life, a Coroner has found.
Deputy State Coroner John Lock has handed down his findings into the death of four-year-old Tom Olive at Nambour Hospital on August 25, 2010.
This followed an almost four-year battle for answers by parents, Trudy and Andrew, highlighted by The Courier-Mail.
TRAGEDY: No closure over little Tom’s death
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Mr Lock blasted Queensland Health for a lack of communication and common sense, saying “it should not require a policy for obvious good sensible practice to occur’’.
He found Tom died of rhabdomyolysis (muscle breakdown), linked to a metabolic gene mutation called LPIN1.
This was the first such case recorded in Australia, but nine more have now been identified, including six other fatalities.
The Olives have since set up the Shine for Thomas Foundation to spread awareness.
The Coroner conceded that on the day of his fatal episode, there was little chance the boy could have been saved.
However, as the Sunshine Coast child had presented on a number of occasions in preceding months, there was a chance he could have been saved.
“There had been a number of missed opportunities to diagnose the condition and put in place a treatment and management plan, particularly if such an event occurred again,’’ Mr Lock said.
The Coroner said experts had said Tom should have been admitted to the ward and subjected to further testing after an “acute episode’’ on June 30 that year.
The hospital had said it sent a discharge letter with further details to Mrs Olive and the family GP, but neither party had received it.
If received, this would have triggered further investigation of the boy’s severe condition.
The Coroner said Nambour Hospital had made changes to procedures since the incident.
He said while policies were all very well, such matters should in reality be matters of sensible and good clinical practice.
“This is not the first case I have been involved in where similar issues have arisen and recent media has highlighted concerns about widespread failures to review thousands of X-ray results at another hospital in southeast Queensland,’’ Mr Lock said.
“It should not require a policy for obvious good sensible practice to occur.’’
The Olives told The Courier-Mail the findings contained positive elements.
They said their goal had always been to highlight shortcomings to help prevent other families going through a similar ordeal.
“We have done all we can,’’ Mrs Olive said.
“Some policies have changed and hopefully they will be followed more closely,’’ she said.