The parents of a baby girl who has been left with brain damage after she was accidentally given nitrous-oxide instead of oxygen at a Sydney hospital shortly after birth have spoken for the first time about the “devastating” mix up.
Baby Amelia’s was delivered via caesarean at Lidcombe-Bankstown Hospital on June 20 but her parents excitement soon turned to anguish when they quickly observed their child was seriously unwell.
Through a statement released by their lawyers, Maurice Blackburn, heartbroken parents Benish and Danial Khan have opened up about how their daughter Amelia now has permanent brain injury and requires persistent care as she is feed through a tube and suffers constant seizures.
“It’s devastating as a parent to be told your precious daughter has suffered permanent brain damage,” Mr and Mrs Khan said in a statement.
“We remain full of hope for Amelia’s future but we worry for her and want to do everything we can to make sure she has the best life she possibly can.”
“We just want everyone to know what happened to Amelia won’t ever go away. She will always have to live with the consequences of what was done to her at the hospital. But we will always be by her side and we’ll do everything we can to give her the best possible future.”
Maurice Blackburn is investigating a claim for compensation on behalf of the Khans.
The Khan family also expressed their sorrow for the Ghanem family, whose newborn son John was also administered nitrous oxide and died at the Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital in June.
“We can only imagine the intense pain this family is going through and our hearts go out to them,” the Khans said.
Bankstown Hospital General Manager Chris Leahy and an engineer involved in commissioning the gas line have since been stood down and NSW Health Minister Jillian Skinner has confirmed the operating theatre in question had been corrected but remained closed.
“I deeply regret these families have suffered through such a devastating error,” Ms Skinner said at the time.
“NSW Health will do all it can to support them.”
Premier Mike Baird told the Sydney Morning Herald on Tuesday compensation is being fast-tracked for the Khan family.
Mr Baird said: “We will expedite anything we can and certainly that’s what we are doing at the moment … we [want to] take as much stress off as we can.”
The SMH reports that Ms Skinner also confirmed Ghanem family will also be compensated.
“NSW Health has invited the Ghanem family’s legal representative to make a compensation claim, which will be considered without the need for litigation.”
The minister has been under scrutiny since the gas mix up incident – as well as more recent claims that two stillborn babies were cremated by mistake at Sydney’s Royal North Shore Hospital.
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