Coroner finds delayed response contributed to Melbourne girl’s preventable death
A coroner has found that eight-year-old Amrita Varshini Lanka’s death from heart inflammation at a Melbourne hospital was preventable. She criticised the emergency department doctor’s response, finding that his care contributed to Amrita’s death.
Amrita arrived at Monash Medical Centre on 29 April 2022 with stomach pain, nausea and vomiting. An abnormal ECG and elevated lactate were available by about 4am, but her condition was not escalated promptly; she later suffered cardiac arrests and died the following morning. Monash Health acknowledged staff had failed to recognise the seriousness of her condition and introduced changes after an internal review.
- A coroner ruled Amrita Lanka’s death was preventable.
- An abnormal ECG and elevated lactate signalled deterioration.
- Monash Health made changes after an internal review.
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Amrita Varshini Lanka was eight when she became seriously ill with myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle. The condition can disrupt the heart’s ability to pump blood and may cause cardiac arrest.
She went to Monash Medical Centre in Melbourne with stomach pain, nausea and vomiting. An ECG, which records the heart’s electrical activity, and a blood test showed warning signs; Monash Health later said staff had not recognised how serious her condition was. The case concerns how hospitals identify and respond to signs of a child’s rapidly worsening illness.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “Coroner rules that doctors missed warning signs before a Melbourne schoolgirl died in hospital”.