Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains details of a finding referring to a person who has died.

The nurses union has urgently asked for changes in Kimberley's health care following an investigation into the death of an 11-year-old girl at Halls Creek Hospital.

The inquiry revealed that a lack of resources might have contributed to her worsening condition.

ABC Kimberley reports that the girl, referred to as Child R, arrived at the emergency room in January 2017 with a sore, swollen stomach and vomiting due to complications from an intestinal obstruction.

She was under the care of hospital staff for 12 hours, starting from 7 am, and during this time, she was occasionally "screaming in pain."

The child's heart rate became elevated, and when examined by the Royal Flying Doctors Service, she was determined to be in cardiac arrest.

Tragically, she passed away shortly after.

The ABC reported that State Coroner Ros Fogliani's report outlined four recommendations for improvements at Halls Creek Hospital. It suggested that with better resources, the patient might have had a higher chance of survival.

"This inquest highlighted the need for better resourced primary care services in Halls Creek and better resourcing of the Halls Creek Hospital," Ms Fogliani said.

Ms Fogliani, mentioned that the girl's pain and discomfort could have been addressed earlier if the hospital had provided better, culturally appropriate care.

The report included four recommendations for improving the hospital's services.

To protect readers from further distress, the coroner decided not to disclose the girl's name in the report.

The coroner made recommendations that focused on hiring nurse practitioners with cultural awareness training for ongoing positions at the hospital.

The report stressed the importance of "continuity of care" as the child's treatment was slowed by the doctor's lack of information and challenges in obtaining consent from the family.

Australian Nursing Federation WA secretary Janet Reah emphasised the significance of having ongoing staff in regions like Kimberley, where patients require continuous care due to complex needs.

Ms Reah told the ABC: "We've got this … revolving door of agency nurses working in the regions. They're there to be the backup."

"The big thing in the regions is the Indigenous patients, and their families particularly, they don't get any sense of trust in the health staff. They're constantly having to repeat their history.

"Full-time nurses and doctors usually have a better understanding of cultures and communities the longer they stay there."

Ms Reah also told the ABC that part of the solution lies in the state government improving nurse-to-patient ratios. Without such improvements, hospitals would continue to face difficulties and incidents like that of Child R may persist.

The coroner's report discovered that there were misunderstandings between hospital staff and Child R's family during her treatment, mainly due to a lack of culturally appropriate care.

Hospital staff mistakenly linked the girl's elevated heart rate to the presence of her family, and as a result, they asked most of the family members to leave the room, except for the child's mother.

The report highlighted that care sensitive to the girl's Aboriginal culture could have led to the realisation that her increased heart rate was more likely a result of the severe pain she was experiencing.

"Greater availability of Aboriginal liaison officers and/or Aboriginal healthcare workers may have encouraged a greater engagement with Child R's family and avoided the misunderstandings," Ms Fogliani said.

Despite the tragedy, the report acknowledged that the hospital had implemented several measures to enhance its culturally responsive care.

These measures included adding a second Aboriginal liaison officer and actively seeking to hire more Aboriginal staff members.

The report also recommended a psychologist's involvement in supporting a trauma-informed process at the hospital.

Further, the report is in favor of supporting the GP Remote Vocational Training Scheme at the Halls Creek Hospital GP Outpatient Clinic and addressing any challenges in recruiting for the position as much as possible.

The WA Country Health Service (WACHS), responsible for Halls Creek Hospital, stated they had already put into effect several changes recommended by the coroner.

"We remain committed to providing safe, high quality care to country communities," a spokesperson from the health service told the ABC.

"Part of that involves learning from incidents and making changes to prevent them from happening again."