Australian doctors urge more regulation of circumcision after WA boy’s death
Doctors are calling for greater regulation and Western Australia’s Health Department says it will investigate whether there are lessons to be learnt from the death of a young boy after a circumcision procedure in Perth four years ago.
David Flynn was two years old when he and his brother were admitted to Gosnells Medical Clinic in December 2021 for circumcisions.
David Flynn was two years old when he died after a circumcision procedure in Perth in 2021.
David was sent home while sedated on morphine following the procedure, and later died from opioid toxicity.
His brother was sent to Perth Children’s Hospital due to excessive bleeding from his frenular artery.
A number of experts gave their opinion at the inquest, with two concluding that, while it was appropriate for the boy’s practitioner to perform procedural sedation on David in a general practice setting, it seemed a number of steps were not followed.
“Both [experts] were at pains to point out that it was only appropriate if an onerous list of requirements in relation to training and number of personnel, equipment, monitoring, medication management, procedures for resuscitation and rescue and discharge criteria could be met,” the inquest found.
The inquest heard Dr Raad Hassan’s clinical decision-making fell short in many aspects, including sending David home without proper post-operative monitoring.
“Ultimately, it was concluded that, had David been monitored after the procedure and only discharged from the clinic once he had returned to baseline observations, his death would very likely have been preventable,” the coroner found.
A spokesperson for WA Health Minister Meredith Hammat’s office said the state’s Health Department would be looking at the coronial findings.
“This is an incredibly tragic case, and our thoughts are with the Flynn family,” she said.
“Although the responsibility of regulation of private general practitioners sits with the Commonwealth, the Department of Health will look at the findings to see if any lessons can be learned.”
Dr Melanie Jansen has previously written on the need for regulation of circumcision in Australia, and told this masthead the inquest revealed gaps in the country’s regulatory framework.
“In my opinion this area needs to be more highly regulated,” she said.
“Currently, a significant proportion of circumcisions in Australia are performed in a way that does not comply with statements from legitimate professional bodies.
“These statements have existed for years but despite this, a significant proportion of clinical practice continues to not comply with these standards.
“Babies and young children are some of the most vulnerable people in our society and they should have access to high-quality care.
“Parents should have access to accurate, unbiased information on the risks and benefits of the procedure, as well as the use of pain relief and sedation.”
In a statement released through lawyer Noor Blumer, who represented the family during the inquest, the Flynns said they hoped no other family would suffer the loss of a beloved child as they had.
“The family has asked for strict provisions be put in place for the use of morphine and the post-surgical care after the administration of morphine be a requirement in all practices using morphine for minor surgical procedures, particularly involving young children,” the statement read.
The Australian Medical Association declined to comment on how parents could best choose providers for circumcision.
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