Starting school should be a happy milestone. For this family, it's a reminder of tragedy

Sydney Morning Herald

22-06-2025

'We were told a lot of it was because [the hospital] had just opened, but five years on, those problems still appear to be going on,' Helen said.
Now, they are telling their story for the first time, hoping to have their son's death re-investigated and ensure the hospital learns from mistakes made under Healthscope as it moves into public hands.
'Life or death'
Asher and Finn were monochorionic diamniotic identical twins, meaning they shared a placenta but each had their own sac.
The Broadleys knew the pregnancy was high-risk. They were diligent, easing their parental anxieties by counting fetal kicks and regular visits to specialists. They wanted to manage the pregnancy through Royal North Shore, wary about a string of highly publicised mishaps at Northern Beaches in its first year. But they were assured the hospital could care for high-risk pregnancies and, despite never seeing the same obstetrician twice, the first 30 weeks went relatively smoothly.
Then, one Sunday evening, the twins went quiet. They were moving less, their kicks were softer. The hospital's birthing unit told them to come in for precautionary checks.
Busy midwives struggled to detect their heart rates and, at one stage, gave the monitor to Dan while they saw other patients. 'I'm a graphic designer, I'm not a doctor. It just seemed bizarre,' he said.
Helen was kept overnight for monitoring, but medical records show the twins' vitals were not monitored from 11pm until 8.30am. When midwives conducted morning observations, they discovered one twin had an abnormal heart rate.
The investigation found this should have triggered a 'rapid response' escalation under the hospital's own protocols. Instead, a specialist doctor didn't assess the twins until 9:30am, when an obstetrics consultant told Helen it was a 'life and death situation' and called for an emergency caesarean.
What had been a calm Monday morning descended into a blur. People rushed to Helen's bedside – shouting, pulling her clothes off, sticking needles in her arm. She had only just told Dan to go into work, but now she was given her phone to tell him they were going to deliver their twins.
'We were told a lot of it was because it [the hospital] had just opened, but five years on, those problems still appear to be going on.'
Helen Broadley
When Dan arrived at the hospital half an hour later, the twins had been delivered. Neither were breathing. Reunited in the recovery room, Dan and Helen were told they had lost Finn, and Asher had been rushed to Royal North Shore in a critical condition. They were left holding Finn, unable to fathom what had just happened as they watched cars pass on the highway below.
Life after Healthscope
Several findings from the root cause analysis – including that staff had developed 'work around' methods to document and locate key information on the EMS – have since been echoed in a scathing audit and the investigation into Joe Massa's death.
These revelations compelled the Broadleys to share their story and call for Finn's death to be re-investigated 'without the involvement of Healthscope'.
'​​I don't want to make a woman who's already anxious about her pregnancy feel more anxious,' Helen said. 'But, to us, it feels like there were some real failings in the care we received.'
A spokesperson for Northern Sydney Local Health District said they had provided ongoing support to Dan and Helen since the loss of baby Finn.
They said all 12 recommendations had been implemented, and Healthscope was required to submit regular quality improvement plans for maternity services. But the government could not control the IT systems Healthscope chose to use, they said.
On Monday, state parliament will debate a bill seeking to legislate an end to the public-private partnership with Healthscope.
Asked if he would support another investigation, Health Minister Ryan Park said it would be inappropriate to 'duplicate or circumvent' the original report or a review under way by the Health Care Complaints Commission.
'My deepest sympathies are with the Broadley family for this unimaginable tragedy,' he said.