Western Australia's troubled health system is facing further scrutiny after the death of a young girl forced to wait for care at a Perth hospital.
Seven-year-old Aishwayra Aswath died at Perth Children's Hospital on Saturday after spending two hours waiting for treatment in the emergency department.
She had been rushed to hospital with a fever.
Aishwayra's parents told Nine News they had pleaded for their daughter to be seen by doctors after her eyes became cloudy and her hands turned cold.
She died within hours of eventually being seen by doctors.
"I went to the reception maybe four or five times and I asked them to have a look at her," Aishwayra's mother Prasitha Sasidharan told Nine News.
"They were actually neglecting us. We pleaded with them to have a look. They didn't think it was an emergency."
Health Minister Roger Cook has requested an urgent briefing from his department into the circumstances surrounding Aishwayra's death.
Perth's hospitals have experienced record levels of ambulance ramping in recent months and patients have experienced severe delays, including at the King Edward maternity hospital.
The government has blamed increased demand for mental health treatment, staff shortages and stricter cleaning protocols linked to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mr Cook on Tuesday said the system was facing "challenges" and international border closures were making it difficult to hire staff.
"I'm absolutely shocked at the moment about how these parents must be feeling today, having taken their daughter to a place where she should have received the best possible care," he told Perth radio 6PR.
"My instinct is that there's a gap in the communication process ... clearly these parents feel let down. They need answers and I want answers for them."
Australian Medical Association WA president Andrew Miller has called for an independent inquiry into Aishwayra's death.
He said emergency departments had been "crying out for help" for months.
"We know that bad things happen, we know that people get sick and die, even children, but what families need at this time is to know that everything possible was done, even if the worst outcome was unavoidable here," Dr Miller said.
