PERTH CHILDREN'S
HOSPITAL — AISHWARYA ASWATH
10. Ms L. METTAM to the Premier:
I have a supplementary question. Why
is the Premier causing unnecessary anguish for Aishwarya's family when
an independent inquiry is clearly required, given the extraordinary
circumstances of her death and the questions they are asking about this
situation, and given that the Premier can announce this immediately?
Mr M.
McGOWAN replied:
As I outlined to the member earlier,
an inquiry is currently underway. As I understand it, that inquiry involves
around 10 clinicians and others, including a range of eminent child health
experts, paediatric consultants and the like from across the health system. I do
not intend to intervene in that; I do not think that that would be appropriate.
The Minister for Health and I will let that inquiry conclude. At its
conclusion, the report will go to the family and, hopefully, we will have a greater
understanding of what occurred. There is often a coroner's inquiry in
these cases; the coroner, of course, is independent. I do not think that it
would be appropriate to intervene in an inquiry that is underway when that is
the well-established process that happens when these things occur.