Category Archives: headline

headline

Deadly gas mix-up at major Sydney hospital took a week to detect

An inquest into the death of a newborn baby at Bankstown Lidcombe Hospital has heard it took a week to discover the gas lines had been mixed up at installation.

Baby John Ghanem lived for just one hour after birth, given nitrous oxide instead of oxygen during resuscitation in 2016.

Amelia Khan was left with severe brain injuries in similar circumstances a month earlier.

READ MORE: Hospital subcontractor fined $100k over gas mix up that killed Sydney newborn

Today Lidcombe Coroner's Court was told the "shocking chain of events" made "no sense" to staff to begin with.

"It should be noted that his death also affected the doctors and nurses at Bankstown Lidcombe Hospital who had fought so hard to keep John alive."

One nurse had heard of a strikingly similar event in India and lodged a request that the gas lines be tested.

Baby John's family in a 2017 interview with 9News.

READ MORE: Charges over deadly gas mix-up at Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital dropped

But the court heard they were not checked by BOC until a week later, exposing the tragic error.

Installer Christopher Turner was fined $100,000 for failing to test the lines in accordance with the Australian standard when he signed off on the work. 

Counsel Assisting said the inquest would try to build on what has already been done.

"What would any of us expect to see happen … to try to minimise the chance that a similar thing could ever happen again."

It will examine what changes have been made and if more has to be done.

headline

Rudd says letter to Pfizer not part of 'botched' vaccine program

Former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has said he would never associate himself with the government's "comprehensively botched" COVID-19 vaccine program.

His latest statement comes after reports he intervened to speed the delivery of Pfizer vaccines to Australia were denied by the Federal Government.

Health Minister Greg Hunt earlier rubbished suggestions an intervention from former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd had any impact on the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines from manufacturer Pfizer.

Pfizer has also denied any "third party" had been involved in their negotiations with the Federal Government.

"Mr Rudd would definitely not seek to associate himself with the Australian government's comprehensively botched vaccine procurement program."

A report by the ABC said Mr Rudd had been approached by a group of senior Australian businessmen to get in touch with the US pharmaceutical company to bring forward vaccine delivery.

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Former Prime Minister Kevin Rudd during his address to the National Press Club of Australia in Canberra

It was reported the Federal Government had displayed a "rude" and "penny-pinching" attitude in initial negotiations, and that Pfizer executives had been reduced to dealing with junior government representatives.

Former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, from Mr Rudd's opposing political party though also dumped by his colleagues, tweeted congratulations to Mr Rudd for getting involved and said he was "staggered" by the news.

READ MORE: When will Sydney's lockdown end?

https://twitter.com/TurnbullMalcolm/status/1414349397337407489?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

In a letter dated June 30 to Prime Minister Scott Morrison's office, and obtained by the ABC, Mr Rudd said he had been acting as a private citizen and at no point had claimed to be a government representative.

The letter states Mr Rudd had asked Pfizer chairman Albert Bourla whether there was an opportunity for "significant quantities" of the Pfizer vaccine to be advanced to Australia in the third quarter of the year.

"In response to my representations, Dr Bourla said he would personally look at 'what further might be able to be done'," the letter read.

Mr Rudd this afternoon issued a statement, saying before contacting Dr Bourla, he had contact Mr Morrison asking if there was anything he could "say, or not say" to benefit Australia's vaccine rollout program.

"Mr Morrison provided some advice and later thanked Mr Rudd for his letter summarising the conversation," the statement read.

Mr Rudd confirmed again he had been acting as a concerned private citizen and that all negotiating powers rested with the federal government.

"Mr Rudd would definitely not seek to associate himself with the Australian government's comprehensively botched vaccine procurement program," the statement read.

Mr Morrison today told Sky News the government's work with Pfizer had been responsible for bringing forward the delivery of the contracted 40 million doses.

"I welcome the support from anyone who wants to assist with these things, and that's fine," he said.

"But ultimately, as Pfizer has made very clear, I mean, this is a contractual relationship between the federal government … and Pfizer."

Both Mr Hunt and Pfizer also sternly rebutted claims that negotiations between the Federal Government and the company were influenced by anybody else.

READ MORE: Help for struggling Sydney businesses 'imminent'

"Recent media reports suggesting that any third party or individual has had any role in contractual agreements reached between Pfizer and the Australian government are inaccurate," Pfizer said in a statement.

"Pfizer is committed to delivering 40 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTechCOVID-19 vaccine to Australia over 2021.

"Pfizer has met its contractual agreements to date and is on track to deliver the remaining doses by the end of the year."

Mr Hunt similarly brushed the reports aside, saying they were "unattributed" and "unverified".

He said the government had secured the best deal possible from Pfizer.

"I had a little chuckle when I saw the story," he said.

"We received a letter from the individual in question, I think, not long ago and we said to ourselves, 'well, no doubt that will be released when our current negotiations are announced publicly'.

"That is exactly what happened."

Mr Hunt said he welcomed Mr Rudd's input into the vaccine rollout, but said it had not had any impact.

"We just got exactly the best outcome that we were seeking on exactly the terms and on exactly the time frame," he said.

"So I respect that individuals will sometimes take initiatives and we welcome and thank them, but did it make a difference? No."

He suggested the letter was part of "a little game".

headline

Calls for 'killer' dog breed to be banned after two maulings in one day

A pet American Staffordshire terrier has been seized by council officers after it attacked a dog and one of its owners, who was trying to intervene, in Sydney's west yesterday.

The mauling, which happened in Pemuluuy about 12pm, left the pet groodle with life-threatening internal injuries, owner Damien Aggio told nine.com.au.

Mr Aggio said his wife, Tina, was also hurt in the attack, suffering injuries to her left hand and arms.

READ MORE: Five-week-old baby killed by family dog

Dog owner Tina Aggio was also injured in the attack.

The incident came just hours after another pet American Staffordshire terrier mauled and killed a five-week-old baby boy on the NSW Central Coast.

Mr Aggio said the attack on his dog Peaches happened out of the blue while he and his wife were out taking it for a walk.

The American Staffordshire terrier managed to escape from its harness and ran across the street before the owner could stop it, Mr Aggio said.

Damien and Tina Aggio's pet groodle, Peaches, needed four hours of surgery after the attack.

"I heard the owner yelling, 'watch out' and I saw this big dog running across the road straight towards us," he said.

"It all happened so quick. I tried to pick up our dog, but it was too late. The big dog had latched onto her by then.

"I was trying to wrestle it off. I was kicking and punching and I had my thumbs in its eyeballs. But it all made no difference."

It took five people to tear the dog off their pet groodle, Mr Aggio said – himself, his wife Tina, the dog's owner and two bystanders who stopped to help.

Mr Aggio said his dog suffered major injuries in the attack and underwent more than four hours of surgery yesterday.

"We were hanging on tenterhooks, not knowing whether she would live through the night, but she did," he said.

"She was ripped to her hindquarters. The total cost of the surgery so far is $6000, which indicates the extent of her injuries."

Mrs Aggio was treated for a bite wound on her hand at Blacktown Hospital before being released yesterday.

The same breed of dog, American Staffordshire Terrier, was involved in two attacks on Sunday, one of them fatal.

A spokesperson for NSW Police confirmed officers attended the scene and the dog had been seized by Cumberland City Council.

The spokesperson said police would not be investigating the incident.

Nine.com.au has contacted the council for comment, which is yet to respond at the time of publication.

It is not yet known if the dog will be euthanised.

As reported by 9News, it was a family's pet American Staffordshire terrier which attacked their baby boy at the family home in Kariong, near Gosford, at about 2am yesterday morning.

First on the scene were the Brisbane Water Police, who began performing CPR on the injured five-week-old before paramedics arrived and took over.

However, the baby was unable to be revived.

Mr Aggio said American Staffordshire terriers were "ticking time bombs" and should not be allowed to be kept as pets.

"They definitely should be banned," he said.

"They are dangerous dog breeds bred to kill, not protect.

"If we didn't have the help that we did our dog would be dead.

"The owner had zero control. We were totally helpless.

"It took 350kg of people to take back control. We were very, very, lucky. It was five minutes of absolute mayhem."

In NSW, there are five breeds of restricted dogs that can no longer be sold or given away – American pit bull or pit bull terriers, Japanese Tosas, Dogo Argentino (Argentinean fighting dogs), Fila Brasiliero (Brazilian fighting dogs) and Perro de Presa Canario or Presa Canario dogs.

Contact reporter Emily McPherson at em********@******om.au.