The death of a third baby in a regional hospital is being investigated by a healthcare watchdog.
Three babies have died at Gippsland’s Latrobe Regional Hospital in eastern Victoria in less than two months.
The hospital is doing clinical reviews of the deaths and one has been referred to Safer Care Victoria as a sentinel event – a case of serious harm or death that could have been prevented.
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The hospital’s clinical review has not identified the other two deaths as “adverse” or “sentinel” events, but investigations continue.
“Providing safe care is Latrobe Regional Hospital’s priority and we review patient deaths or adverse outcomes in close consultation with Safer Care Victoria,” a hospital spokesman said in a statement.
“Latrobe Regional Hospital offers its sincere condolences to those affected by these deaths.”
The spokesman said the hospital had occasionally faced challenges attracting doctors, but did not link the deaths to staffing issues.
“In particular, LRH currently has a full complement of specialist obstetricians and paediatricians,” he said.
A Safer Care Victoria spokesman also sent condolences to families.
“Safer Care Victoria continues to work closely with Latrobe Regional Health to ensure the appropriate reviews are carried out,” the spokesman said.
Victorian premier Jacinta Allan was unable to comment the investigation, but confirmed one of the deaths had been identified as a sentinel event.
“That’s a tragedy for any family and they must be experiencing an incredibly tough time and my thoughts are with them,” she said.
Any issues found by the investigation needed to be fixed, Opposition health spokeswoman Georgie Crozier said.