In the depths of Melbourne's harshest lockdown, Siya Patel's parents knew something was wrong with their newborn daughter. or signup to continue reading Yet despite their best efforts to navigate the state's then-heavily restricted healthcare system, 10 days later their baby had died. Chaitali and Yoginkumar Patel had only moved to Australia three years earlier and weren't yet eligible for Medicare.
Because of this, neither was their Melbourne-born daughter, who died on September 12, 2020 from a brain injury caused by dehydration due to insufficient oral intake. The family instead had "international visitor" private health insurance, which didn't cover some of the standard and otherwise fully funded postnatal reviews under Medicare. This meant there were out-of-pocket costs for Siya's parents to receive free equivalent care afforded to Medicare-eligible families.
Siya's care was also impacted by Victoria's COVID-19 lockdown, which had Melbourne in stage-four restrictions at the time. This included an initial maternal children health nurse visit being conducted by telehealth, with no video, instead of in-person. These factors meant Siya's parents were not supported as new parents, and her insufficient intake and subsequent weight loss went unnoticed.
Her death was entirely preventable, Victorian Coroner Katherine Lorenz has now found. Mr and Mrs Patel took Siya, who was born on August 20, to the Royal Children's Hospital on September 2 after she became unwell, encephalopathic,.