A NSW pediatrician accused of failing to do enough to prevent a six-month-old baby's death has defended his treatment of the boy.
Toby Greenacre diagnosed Kyran Day with gastroenteritis at Nowra's Shoalhaven Hospital on October 19, 2013.
But the baby died three days later in Sydney Children's Hospital, with the cause of death listed as hypoxic ischaemic encephalopathy, a condition in which the brain does not receive enough oxygen.
Dr Greenacre has told an inquest he believed only a very small proportion of babies presenting with similar symptoms to Kyran, which included vomiting and dehydration, would have had something other than gastroenteritis.
He also said he and senior nurses who treated Kyran had acted within the guidelines for treatment of his symptoms, but highlighted the busy nature of Shoalhaven Hospital's children's ward.
"I might say that if there had been no other patients in the hospital I would have spent the entire time caring for Kyran," he told the inquest in Sydney on Wednesday.
Dr Greenacre began his evidence by telling Kyran's emotional parents, Naomi and Grant Day, that he was sorry they had to witness the child suffering in his final days.
"You are not alone in your grief," Dr Greenacre said in a prepared statement.
"Kyran has been and will continue to be in my mind every day. I will never reconcile to his death."
The doctor said he believed Kyran's death had brought about improvements in the health system and encouraged his parents not to give up their fight for answers.
The baby's father, Grant Day, said he was disappointed it had taken more than two years to receive any form of apology from Dr Greenacre.
"It's a bit hard to take," he said outside Glebe Coroner's Court.
"You think that considering he works in the same hospital as my mother that he would have offered an apology earlier."
Dr Greenacre also expressed concern at delays to organise Kyran to be transferred to a Sydney hospital, but he admitted he could have been more proactive in ensuring an ambulance was organised as soon as possible.
Dr Richard Allen, a colleague of Dr Greenacre at Shoalhaven Hospital, also examined Kyran on two occasions.
He told the inquest on Wednesday that even upon reflection, he did not believe the correct diagnosis could have been made.
The inquest continues.
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