Moreland, the triage nurse working on the day Noah’s first arrived at Wangaratta hospital, described the days leading up to his presentation as being a “shit storm” and recalled she had texted others to say: “I don’t know we’re all going to survive ... over the next few weeks/months.”
She told the court everything had been controlled during lockdowns but once everything opened back up, there were no extra resources provided to help manage the increasing workload from holidaymakers.
Ben Souvatzis cradles his unwell son.Credit: Coroner’s Court of Victoria
Moreland noted it was common to hear patients had tried to get ambulances but were told it would be faster to drive themselves, as occurred in Noah’s case, “which is frightening for those people and us sometimes”.
Noah’s parents Ben and Steph Souvatzis, who were holidaying in the area, have previously told the court they were forced to repeatedly take their increasingly unwell son to a string of regional health services only to be mostly turned away.
After first arriving at Alpine Health Care Centre in Myrtleford at about 2.30pm the family were sent to the Wangaratta emergency department, arriving about 3.45pm. They were then discharged, with what Ben Souvatzis said was a sicker child than they arrived with, at about 7.20pm.
TIMELINE
December 29, 2021
- At 3am the family wakes to find Noah vomiting with a fever.
- At 1.45pm they call Nurse-On-Call, which advises them to visit the Alpine Health Care Centre in Myrtleford.
- At 2.30pm they arrive at Myrtleford.
- At 2.40pm the nurse at Myrtleford recommends they drive to Wangaratta hospital.
- At 3.45pm the family arrives at Wangaratta hospital.
- At 4.10pm Noah is first attended to by a doctor. His respiratory and heart rates are too fast and his temperature is high. He is given pain relief which he vomits up.
- At 4.50pm a rash appears on his chest and legs.
- At 6.30pm Noah’s vital signs improve.
- At 7.20pm Noah is discharged.
- At 9.30pm the family takes Noah to the Benalla Urgent Care Centre as he worsens.
- At 10.55pm Noah is assessed as being suitable to be taken by road transport back to Wangaratta hospital, but on the way he suffers seizures.
December 30
- At 1am the paediatric team at Wangaratta hospital determine Noah’s condition exceeds the facility’s capabilities and a specialist team is dispatched to take the boy to the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne.
- At 6.45am Noah arrives in Melbourne.
- At 3.11pm he is declared brain-dead.
December 30
- Noah’s organs are donated and his life support is switched off.
During his evidence, the father said he recalled that panic and disagreements between staff were rife as he stood cradling semiconscious Noah in the waiting line of the emergency department.
In 2023, this masthead revealed the state’s hospital watchdog, Safer Care Victoria, had raised concerns about a shortfall of paediatric expertise among some doctors and nurses caring for children.
The watchdog said it had become normal for clinicians to provide services to children “outside of their comfort zone”.