Parents speak out after baby dies in Northern Beaches Hospital

News.com.au - 16/04
The parents of a baby girl who died at Sydney’s troubled Northern Beaches Hospital have shared their “anger and frustration” over the tragedy, alleging time delays contributed to what they believe was the “completely avoidable” death of their daughter.

The parents of a baby girl who died at Sydney’s troubled Northern Beaches Hospital have shared their “anger and frustration” over the tragedy, alleging time delays contributed to what they believe was the “completely avoidable” death of their daughter.

Sydney couple Leah Pitman and Dustin Atkinson lost their baby daughter, Harper, in February, shortly after a problematic birth.

Speaking out for the first time to ABC’s 7.30 on Wednesday night, the pair, who share a young son, said Harper “was let down”.

“We were let down as well, and it’s not fair. We have to carry this for the rest of our lives, knowing that something could have been done to prevent this,” Ms Pitman told the program.

The 34-year-old said she had “a really positive, straightforward experience” when welcoming her son, Ziggy, at Northern Beaches Hospital – which is run as a public-private partnership between the NSW government and Healthscope.

However, while she was at the hospital, she remembers reading about two-year old Joe Massa, who died last September after he received care at Northern Beaches.

“I was actually lying in bed being monitored – I was on my phone and saw the story pop up -and I just remember thinking, ‘Oh, my God, those poor parents, that is ...
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