A coroner's inquest will investigate the care and circumstances surrounding the death of a two-year-old Oaklands girl who died after ingesting a cleaning chemical behind the bar in a local pub.
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Callie Griffiths l'Anson died from injuries resulting from drinking caustic soda in the Oakland's hotel on December 11, 2017.
The youngest daughter of Thomas and Natalia Griffiths I'Anson died a month later on January 12, 2018 at Corowa hospital.
At a directions hearing in the Coroner's Court yesterday before Coroner Paresa Spanos, the court heard Mrs Griffiths I'Anson had stepped out of the pub, where she worked part-time, to pay some bills at the local post office.
Callie and her older sister were left in the care of colleagues at the hotel, while they played in the courtyard.
At some stage Callie went inside, entered the front bar area and accidentally ingested caustic soda, or sodium hydroxide, which is used to clean the drinking glasses.
Following the accident, Callie was subsequently flown to the Royal Children's Hospital for treatment and was placed in a medically-induced coma for one week.
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An autopsy was performed on January 27, 2018 with a report attributing Callie's death to a perforated esophagus, due to complications of treatment of esophageal injuries and following caustic soda ingestion.
Her death was reported to the NSW Coroner, who reported the matter to the Victorian Coroner as the "circumstances by which the death occurred suggested the need to investigate the clinical management and care provided at the Royal Children's Hospital".
The court heard the scope of the inquest, at this stage, plans to examine the nature of the medicine used, the decision to discharge Callie and the discharge arrangements given the family residence in regional NSW, four hours drive away from Melbourne.
Coroner Spanos noted the inquest would not look into how Callie ingested the caustic soda, the clinical management and care provided to her at the Corowa hospital or the Royal Children's Hospital immediately following the incident, nor the emergency response on the morning of January 12.
Coroner Spanos adjourned the matter to a date to be set for inquest, but suggested they were aiming to book it over three days in the Coroner's Court in the first week in October.
Both Callie's mother and father plan to give evidence during the inquest.
