The parents of toddler Joe Massa who died at Northern Beaches Hospital after failure of the REACH protocol are urging action to ensure widespread awareness and use of the program.
Daniel and Elouise Massa met with Health Minister Ryan Park and Health Secretary Susan Pearce on Wednesday 30 April for a NSW Health Roundtable on the REACH protocol.
REACH (Recognise, Engage, Act, Call, Help is on its way) was enacted by NSW Health in hospitals a decade ago to help patients, carers and families escalate their concerns with staff about worrying changes in a patient’s condition.
When the Massas took their son Joe, 1, to Northern Beaches Hospital (NBH) in September last year, he was displaying symptoms of dehydration after vomiting repeatedly.
“Despite Joe’s dangerously high heart rate and visible deterioration, he was misclassified at triage as a lower-priority patient,” his parents recounted.
His heart rate jumped from 182 beats per minute (BPM) to 197 BPM in just 30 minutes, yet the NBH Escalation Policy failed due to human error and poor IT infrastructure, they claimed.
The Massas said that after three hours, NBH staff failed to initiate the necessary rapid response pathway for someone with an imminently life-threatening condition, ignoring critical warning signs – Including Joe’s skyrocketing heart rate, limpness, rash and loss of consciousness. “Joe was suffering and in pain,” they said. “When pushed on how this horrific oversight could have happened, hospital management blamed their failure to act on ‘individual performance.’”
Joe suffered a cardiac arrest at the hospital, and while he was transferred to another hospital, he did not survive.
The parents argue that requests by Elouise for an intravenous drip were denied three times by hospital staff.
“The REACH Program failed to keep Joe safe,” Elouise said after the Roundtable. “Evolving the REACH program is imperative in our campaign to save lives and reform the healthcare system in NSW. It can no longer be a passive program.”
NSW Premier Chris Minns undertook to investigate REACH through the Roundtable and rename the program ‘Joe’s Rule.’
Elouise said that actions from the roundtable needed to be put in place ‘without delay.’
“Since sharing Joe’s story, I have received heartfelt messages from people who because of our advocacy have mentioned his story in hospital and asked to use the program,” Elouise stated. “They tell me that knowing Joe’s story and that the program exists has helped them on some their toughest days in hospital. That is an achievement, but we need to do more.”
The Massas said REACH needed to be simplified with better education about its existence and use.
The Roundtable also agreed that it could be expanded so that when a person entered an emergency department in NSW, they would receive a text message about it upon admission.
“Knowledge is power and will save lives,” Elouise said. “Everyone has a right to ask for a second opinion and it cannot be ignored. Knowing your rights is the first step in confidently advocating for your child, yourself or a loved one.”