An investigation into the tragic death of an Australian toddler has heard how her family’s life changed forever in a mere matter of minutes.
Toddler Emerson Boyle lost her life back in September 2014, after mum Pauline found her face-down in bath water in their tub.
According to reports on last week’s hearing into the tot’s death, Pauline was with her three-year-old daughter for the duration of her bath. When she took Emerson out of the bath and went to dry her with her brother’s towel, the toddler requested that she find her own one.
Pauline told the hearing that she ran downstairs, grabbed a fresh towel for her daughter, and ran back up to the bathroom to find Emerson face-down in the water. In all, she insisted, she was only gone for a couple of minutes.
The inquest heard how Pauline pulled her daughter out of the bath, asking her son to call a neighbour for help. The family’s neighbour, a fireman, then helped Pauline to carry out CPR while emergency services were contacted.
Throughout the investigation and inquest, questions were raised over the delay in the arrival of the ambulance service to the Boyle house. Paramedics were last to arrive at the house and, after an hour of efforts to revive Emerson, they eventually decided to stop.
Experts speaking at the inquest revealed that Emerson’s case was mistakenly marked as low-priority by emergency services, while a series of technical glitches led a to seven-minute delay in dispatching an ambulance close to the scene.
Ultimately, the inquest was unable to determine whether or not Emerson would be alive if ambulances had reached her quicker. Medical experts do believe, however, that the toddler – who was a strong swimmer – may have hit her head or become disoriented due to having a head cold, leading to the tragedy.
Speaking at the hearing, a medical advisor from the Royal Life Saving Society took the opportunity to remind parents everywhere that it takes just two minutes for a child to lose consciousness under water. He went on to urge parents touched by Emerson’s death to stay on top of their first aid and remain with their children during bath time.
