The investigation was launched yesterday after police were directed by the NSW coroner to look into the death of the toddler.
In a statement this afternoon, NSW Police said Joe’s death was not reported to police at the time.
Police retrospectively reported the death to the coroner yesterday and an investigation was launched by Northern Beaches Police Area Command.
The toddler was first taken to Northern Beaches Hospital on September 14 after he had spent the night vomiting.
The toddler had hypovolemia, a condition that occurs when the body loses too much fluid.
Joe had to wait more than two-and-a-half hours for a bed despite a dangerously high heartbeat and his mother’s pleas for intravenous fluids were rejected.
Joe was later taken to the Sydney Children’s Hospital in Randwick, where he died.
Parents Danny and Elouise Massa say Northern Beaches Hospital failed their son “at every level” and that he would be alive today were it not for the improper care he received.
Yesterday, the bosses of Healthscope, the operator of Northern Beaches Hospital, were grilled in NSW parliament and said they took “full accountability” for Joe’s death.
Chief medical officer and chief operating officer Peter Thomas said staff not providing Joe with an IV drip after his mother asked three times was “a mistake”.
“Retrospectively, it would’ve been appropriate to give baby Joe fluids earlier in his admission,” Thomas said.
Police will now prepare a brief for the coroner.
