A senior doctor has cried during the inquest into the death of her former patient, five-year-old Rozalia Spadafora, who died at Canberra Hospital last year.
Paediatrician Dr Anne Mitchell on Friday gave evidence at an inquest into Rozalia's death.
After spending hours giving evidence, Dr Mitchell became emotional when coroner Ken Archer asked how the death had impacted her.
"It had a significant effect. I cannot imagine how her family [cope]," Dr Mitchell said.
"I'm very, very sorry that this happened to her."
Dr Mitchell said the death made her doubt herself.
"You go [to work] everyday trying to do the best that you can," she said.
"You doubt everything that you do when something like this happens. It's very hard to work when you doubt yourself all the time."
Dr Mitchell said she took "solace" in having since resuscitated two babies.
"[They] are now well and thriving in the community," she said.
"[But] it doesn't bring Rozalia back. I just cannot [imagine] how the family manage day to day."
Rozalia died from myocarditis - a complication from influenza A - on July 5, 2022.
The little girl arrived with her mother and grandmother at Canberra Hospital's emergency department about 7pm on July 4, but was first seen by a doctor after midnight.
Dr Mitchell agreed it was "unacceptable" Rozalia waited five hours before being seen by a medical officer.
She first became involved in Rozalia's care almost 12 hours later, just before 6am the next day.
A bit over an hour later, Dr Mitchell ordered a test which would ultimately confirm Rozalia had myocarditis, the condition she is believed to have died from.
She ordered the troponin blood test, which usually assesses whether an adult is having a heart attack, after speaking with a specialist at Westmead Hospital in Sydney.
That test wouldn't come back until 10.56am, and Dr Mitchell wouldn't see it until midday.
"I would have expected a quick turnaround on that test," she told the court, adding she did not know how long it would usually take.
This result, which confirmed Rozalia had a life-threatening condition, was found handwritten on a slip of paper.
The person who wrote it has not been identified, despite an investigation.
Dr Mitchell said she was upset when she found the note.
"I recollect being surprised it had come back earlier and I wasn't alerted to it," Dr Mitchell said.
"It was a highly significant result and should have been acted on when it was received."
By the afternoon of July 5, Rozalia was too unstable to transport to Sydney and ultimately died after going into cardiac arrest.
The inquest will continue on Monday.
