- ABC Radio Interview with Toni and David McCaffery, April 28 2009
- Media Release 11 May 2009
Dana McCaffery’s family welcome national review
The parents of baby Dana McCaffery welcome the announcement by Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon that all states will take part in a national review to prevent Whooping Cough (Pertussis).
Dana was only four weeks old when she died of Pertussis on 9 March 2009. She was one of four babies airlifted from the North Coast of New South Wales to the Brisbane Mater Children’s Hospital Paediatric Intensive Care Unit in as many weeks.
“Dana’s death is a direct result of low vaccination rates and the failure of all levels of government to warn the community of the danger of the Pertussis epidemic,” said Toni and David McCaffery.
The Minister’s announcement comes in the wake of thousands of supporters of Dana McCaffery’s website writing to the Prime Minister, Federal Health Minister and state premiers and health ministers calling for a national response to stop the alarming increase in Pertussis.
The McCaffery’s called for a national approach to educate parents about preventable illnesses to increase childhood vaccination, provide free boosters for all adults across Australia, ensure vigilant screening to diagnose Pertussis early including routine tests for pregnant women, and improve alert and infection control processes.
At the Australian Health Workforce Ministerial Council on Friday 8 May, NSW Minister for Health, John Della Bosca sought involvement of all health ministers to take part in a national review of community education and prevention including protocols and new information, which Federal Health officials will implement.
“This news has made a very difficult Mother’s Day that bit easier. We told Dana’s story to raise awareness of how dangerous Pertussis is. We are so proud our daughter has touched the hearts of many Australians and hope that all states will do everything possible to protect our most vulnerable,” said Toni and David McCaffery.
Toni and David McCaffery also met with representatives from NSW Health on 8 May 2009 to confirm the terms of reference into a review of the systemic failures that led to Dana’s death.
“Our meeting was frank and positive, with a clear commitment to make the review transparent. We can’t get Dana back, but we can ensure this does not happen to any other family,” said Toni and David McCaffery.
Over 16 children under 12 months of age have died from Pertussis in Australia since 1993. In the first three months of this year over 8,000 children and adults contracted the disease – which is five times the number of people infected at the same time last year (source: Australia's National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System).
The website www.danamccaffery.com and Facebook group tells Dana’s story and includes the letter sent to Prime Minister Kevin Rudd. With over 27,000 members, the site includes hundreds of messages that demonstrate the severity of Pertussis, the lack of warnings, low awareness of the need for adult boosters and delays in diagnosis.
Further information:
Email: info@danamccaffery.com
Vaccination information can be found via the Dept of Health.
Please direct enquiries to Info@danamccaffery.com.