A toddler died two days after doctors rejected his parents’ repeated and desperate requests for blood tests, with a post-mortem confirming he died of leukaemia.
Sandipan Dhar, who was 21 months old, died on March 24 after prolonged fever.
His parents, who live in Joondalup, about 25km north of Perth’s CBD, had reportedly attended Key Largo Medical Center GP surgery three times in the weeks before his death.
They also begged doctors at the Joondalup Health Campus to carry out blood tests, but were refused.
“The doctors said that we did not need to do any further tests and that we should just take Sandipan home and monitor him for at least five days to see if his fever went down,” said the toddler’s father, Sanjoy Dhar. The Western Australia.
Sandipan Dhar (pictured), who was 21 months old, died on March 24 after prolonged fever
He added: ‘The doctors and nurses on duty tried to put all the blame on us and said we were late.
‘But when we told them we had been to the hospital on Friday, they just kept quiet. From that moment on, they never said a word about our baby’s complications.’
Little Sandipan, who his parents said was “strong” and “full of energy” before his rapid decline, developed a fever two days after receiving his standard 18-month vaccinations at Key Largo GP’s surgery on February 19.
His father called the practice, but was told that a fever was normal after the injection and that he had to treat it with Panadol and Nurofen.
But after seeing no improvement, his parents took him back to the medical center on March 14.
Their request for a blood test was denied and doctors reportedly recommended the same course of treatment.
His parents had begged doctors at the Joondalup Health Campus (pictured) to carry out blood tests but were refused
They returned twice more on March 20 and 22, with doctors prescribing antibiotics at the first appointment after Sandipan was diagnosed with tonsillitis.
At the last appointment, his parents demanded a referral to the hospital, which was ultimately agreed to.
His parents begged doctors and nurses at the Joondalup Health Campus for a blood test, but they were refused.
Two days later they returned to the same hospital because Sandipan was having trouble breathing.
Doctors ordered an X-ray of his chest, which showed he was suffering from pneumonia, and he was given oxygen.
“I asked the doctors how quickly pneumonia can develop because we brought Sandipan on Friday and they said he was fine,” Mr Dhar said.
“They didn’t answer me and said they had to investigate further.”
Mr Dhar claimed that a doctor questioned why Sandipan had not been brought in earlier.
Sandipan’s mother was forced to hold his arms at his sides to prevent him from removing his oxygen mask.
That’s when she noticed blood dripping from his mouth and he was being taken away.
Two hours later they were told their son was dead.
A postmortem later revealed he died of leukemia.
Sandipan’s older brother is so upset and confused by his death that his parents have had to remove all photos of the dead toddler from their home.
“Seeing pictures puts the spotlight on Sandipan’s four-year-old brother Mrinal, who still refuses to believe he won’t come back,” Dhar said.
Sandipan’s older brother is so upset and confused by his death that his parents have had to remove all photos of the dead toddler from their home. In the photo: Sanidpan Dhar
“We tried to explain it to Mrinal for days, but it would upset him so much that we eventually started lying and saying his brother had just been away for a while.”
Key Largo Medical Center declined to comment when contacted by Daily Mail Australia.
Ramsay Health Care, which operates the Joondalup Health Campus, told the newspaper it had launched an investigation into the tragedy, which so far found Sandipan’s hospital care was “unlikely to be a factor in his death”.
A spokesperson for Ramsay said that samples collected from the little Sandipan ‘showed features of an undiagnosed longer-term acute illness that may have contributed to his death.
Western Australia Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson (photo)
Health Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson said it was best to wait for the results of the hospital investigation before commenting.
“What happened here is incredibly devastating, but very rare,” she said.
Daily Mail Australia approached Ramsay for further comment.