An inquiry into Queensland’s child protection system has produced another disturbing example. A 16-month-old girl had persistent scabies for an astonishing eight months without getting a diagnosis. On October 13th, 2017, the girl was seen by child safety officers. She had at one point very severe symptoms, with blisters on the verge of bursting and a rash all over her feet and legs. Even with these red flag warning signs, there was no action taken immediately by the officers who observed the signs.
The inquiry uncovered systemic failures in the care of the girl’s health plan. In doing so, it exposed critical questions about the protocols child safety officials were using. The patient had a medical record history of scabies. This critical medical history should have been recorded in her placement referral and on her information sheet.
Lack of Action by Child Safety Officers
Mr. Boyd, a participant in the inquiry, described the situation:
“There it was observed that the child’s skin was blistering, some dry skin irritations and blisters that were about to burst, feet covered in the rash, the rash had spread to her legs, between the knees and thighs, stomach and light irritation on her face.”
Despite such indisputable proof, the officers did not intervene. Due to the lack of oversight, the child’s medical diagnosis and treatment were severely delayed. Following her early caregivers’ visit to a doctor, the general practitioner recommended that the girl should have an immune sickness. He subsequently ordered a blood test to find out more. Yet, there is not one record of a blood test being done.
Missed Medical Referrals
The investigation found that the GP took the appropriate step of referring the young child to a dermatologist. By October 21, 2017, she had yet to see one. Later that same day, the GP ordered more testing and similarly admitted the girl to the hospital for a more comprehensive workup. To Ms. Alanko’s credit, a child safety manager at the time, she knew this info about the child’s state was crucial. She explained that she was not involved in that decision-making process at the time.
Ms. Alanko noted that there should have been no hurdles to receiving cost approval for a dermatologist. This is particularly the case when it has been recommended by medical specialists. This breakdown in the system to get her the care she desperately needed led to this little girl suffering longer than she should have.
Transition to Foster Care and Diagnosis
The girl went into the care of her second and current permanent foster carer on 23 October 2017. The foster parent, who is a qualified nurse, promptly took matters into her own hands and arranged private care for the child. The young woman had a positive attitude when it came to her health. After seven months of suffering with this grievous affliction she finally got the department to acknowledge a medical condition.
To this, Ms. Alanko replied yes, going on to explain that it was quite obvious that the scabies was cyclical. She stressed that intervention needs to happen well before that time.
“Should it have taken seven or eight months for this type of medical review to have been performed on this child? Should there have been more proactive steps taken by child safety in that period?”
Ms. Alanko responded affirmatively, stating that it was evidently clear that the scabies was recurring. She emphasized that timely intervention should have occurred much earlier.
