Mother describes stress, anxiety of daughter's incorrectly mapped cochlear implant
A mother has spoken of her heartbreak after her daughter was one of dozens caught up in Adelaide's cochlear implant bungle. Over nearly two decades, the city's Women's and Children's Hospital botched implants for dozens of young patients. And there are warnings the lack of nationally consistent guidelines is putting other people at risk around the country.
Transcript
00:00 Asparzia Paspiliaris's triplets are almost 10.
00:06 One of her girls, Amelia, got cochlear implants around 3 years of age.
00:11 But like dozens of others who were treated at Adelaide's Women's and Children's Hospital,
00:15 her device wasn't working properly.
00:18 Not knowing how far back her mapping's been incorrect, it's devastating.
00:24 My heart breaks for my child.
00:26 Problems with the hospital's cochlear implant program were found to date back to 2006.
00:31 The South Australian Government has apologised, but it's cold comfort to families whose children
00:37 faced years of developmental delays.
00:40 She's got two triplet sisters who are so much more advanced than her and she's in year four
00:46 being graded at a year two level, but technically at a year two level just.
00:51 Audiologist Nicole Eglinton blew the whistle on the issue last year after multiple patients
00:57 presented with problems.
00:58 This little bit here is what curls around inside the cochlea.
01:02 She says the review is vindication for parents whose concerns went ignored.
01:06 What they felt, what they saw and what they reported for their children is what was happening.
01:11 And you know, the mum and dad gut was right.
01:14 While hundreds of families have now been offered ex gratia payments, some are pursuing more
01:20 compensation.
01:21 Please hope that there won't be too many hurdles in relation to proving that there's some fault
01:25 on behalf of the government for each of these children.
01:27 The South Australian bungle isn't the only one, with a similar problem emerging at Townsville
01:32 University Hospital earlier this year.
01:36 The SA Government's own review warned a lack of nationally consistent accreditation and
01:41 training standards for audiologists may mean issues are going undetected in other states.
01:48 We need national guidelines.
01:49 We need all of the people working in this area to actually come together and share information
01:53 and share protocols.
01:54 A warning she hopes the nation will hear.
01:57 [BLANK_AUDIO]