Little Noah was desperately ill when he arrived at the hospital, but was sent home in an even worse condition. Then the unthinkable happened

A critically ill toddler who died of meningitis was discharged from a regional Victorian hospital in a worse condition than when he was admitted, a coroner has heard.

An inquest is investigating the death of 19-month-old Noah Souvatzis, who was on holiday with his parents in Myrtleford in north-east Victoria on December 29, 2021, when he became unwell.

Even though the boy was vomiting, crying for hours and had a high fever, his parents Ben and Steph were unable to get an appointment with the doctor.

They decided to take him to an urgent care center in the city after he became severely lethargic, unable to keep fluids down and unresponsive.

The family arrived at the Alpine Health clinic, where they spent most of the time waiting in a shipping container as the state’s health care system battled the Covid-19 pandemic.

The nurse at the facility checked Noah’s vital signs and noted symptoms of lethargy. She was alert at times, but had rapid heart rate and breathing and was unable to keep fluids down.

“He was very different that day and making moaning noises,” Mr Souvatzis said.

‘It wasn’t the same as crying. It was a high-pitched whining sound, like he was in pain.”

Fearing Noah’s condition was worsening, nurses told Noah’s parents to take him to Wangaratta Hospital, which had a children’s ward.

During the trip, Ms. Souvatzis recalled trying to wake her son, who had unusually fallen asleep but was still vomiting and panting despite nothing coming out.

Upon arrival, the Souvatzis were concerned to see the “disorganization and panic” among Northeast Health Wangaratta staff responding to COVID-19.

‘It didn’t exactly make me happy that they would take good care of my son. But what other options did we have?’ Mr Souvatzis said.

Noah was cared for by a new doctor who diagnosed the child with viral gastroenteritis and monitored him during the three-hour stay.

Despite his vital signs returning to normal levels, Ms Souvatzis said her son was lethargic, limp, unresponsive and unable to absorb fluids.

‘I was playing a Wiggles song on my phone. Noah loved The Wiggles. They were his life,” Ms. Souvatzis said.

“He didn’t even seem to recognize the sound.”

Despite Mrs. Souvatzis’ concerns that her son was still unwell, the doctor decided to discharge Noah.

“I remember feeling relief when Noah started vomiting again… because I thought that would mean (the doctor) would no longer force us to leave.”

Noah got fired anyway.

‘He looked terrible. He was pale. He couldn’t hold his head up and fell all over the place,” Mr Souvatzis said.

‘He was sick when he went to hospital, but now he has deteriorated. He was so much worse than before he came in.”

His parents took him to a motel but rushed him to the urgent care center in Benalla after he started making strange wheezing noises and his face contorted.

Nurses and GPs ordered Noah to be rushed back to Wangaratta Hospital and during the journey there he suffered seizures.

He was rushed to the Royal Children’s Hospital after he continued to deteriorate and was diagnosed with bacterial meningitis.

On December 30 at 3:11 p.m., Noah was declared brain dead.

Outside the coroner’s court, Noah’s parents remembered their son as a beautiful, gentle boy who loved to cuddle and make others laugh.

“We want a comprehensive investigation into the many failures that occurred that day,” Souvatzis told reporters.

‘We want to prevent what happened to Noah from happening to other Australian children.

“We know that if all medical services provided the expected level of care, our little boy would still be here today.”

A representative from Northeast Health Wangaratta admitted Monday that the care provided to Noah was inappropriate during his initial presentation and apologized to his family.