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Mohammed Akeel Khan

A five-year-old boy has died from meningitis - just hours after being sent home from the Rochdale Infirmary with antibiotics.

Mohammed Akeel Khan was taken to the Rochdale Infirmary on Friday afternoon (8 April 2011) by his mother Safina Akram because he had been vomiting at school.

Mohammed's family say that he was sent home by a doctor, who said he had tonsillitis and needed to 'sleep it off.'

Around four hours later, Mohammed's condition had deteriorated and the family returned to the hospital. He was diagnosed with meningitis and was pronounced dead in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Safina, said: "I feel badly let down. I put my trust in the NHS and the doctors, what I saw was ridiculous, it was unacceptable.

"I phoned the NHS to check the Infirmary was still open, I didn't want to get there and have wasted my time. I wish I had directly taken him to Oldham. If I had, my baby would still be here."

Mohammed's grandmother, Christine Akram, described the situation as "not acceptable."

Safina took Mohammed to the Critical Care Unit at the Infirmary at around 4.00pm, after staff at Kentmere Primary School alerted her to him vomiting.

When Mohammed was discharged at 7.30pm he was sick in the car park; Christine went back into the hospital and said she was verbally "attacked" by a doctor who said 'I've told you to take him home and let him sleep'.

Mohammed was taken back to the hospital at around 11.00pm.

Christine said that she had spotted blotches on his stomach but when she asked the Doctor what they were they were dismissed as a heat rash.

"I am disgusted. The people of Rochdale deserve a lot better," said Christine.

Christine said: "They didn't know what they were doing, they all seemed like students to me, people's lives in Rochdale are worth more than students.

"They didn't have any syringes for children. They didn't have anything in the room to treat a child.

"They need to open their eyes," added Christine.

Mohammed was diagnosed with meningitis at about 1.00am on Saturday and a consultant was called to treat him, but he was pronounced dead at 3.30am.

The family say the chain of events from the initial visit to the hospital right up until Mohammed's body was released were "disgusting." They said they were made "false promises" about when Mohammed's body would be released and that it was like a "circus" with "strangers" standing around his bed after he had died, they also said that the Infirmary wasn't accommodating regarding their faith needs.

Mohammed's funeral was held on Monday.

His family have described him as "cheerful," "popular" and "intelligent" and said he loved school and going to the park.

On the 26 March, Mohammed took part in the Save our Hospital march. Christine said: "He wanted to save Rochdale Infirmary on that march. My Grandsons arms were going in the air, he was saying I am going to save the Rochdale Infirmary.

"There weren't enough people at the march, why didn't people realise how serious it is. People in Rochdale must be aware and wake up and see what is happening.

"I am doing this now, to raise awareness and to save lives.

"My grandson went on that march to fight for the hospital, let's back him, let's be united. My grandson lost his life. Don't let anyone else."

A spokesperson for the Pennine Acute trust said: "Despite the recent replacement of the A&E department at Rochdale Infirmary with the Urgent Care Centre the doctor who saw Mohammed was the same as had the unit still been an A&E Department."

Dr Anton Sinniah, Clinical Director Medicine for The Pennine Acute Trust which runs Rochdale Infirmary said: "Mohammed was brought to Rochdale Infirmary on Friday 8 April. He was seen by the doctor in the Urgent Care Centre. Full checks were carried out. Mohammed was then discharged and the family was advised to come back if he became unwell again or if they had any concerns. It would appear that his clinical condition deteriorated despite his initial improvement.

"Mohammed was brought back to the Urgent Care Centre six and a half hours later by family concerned that he had developed new symptoms. A consultant paediatrician at Rochdale Infirmary assessed Mohammed but despite every effort by staff Mohammed sadly died in the early hours of Saturday morning (9 April).

"The case has been referred to the Coroner as we would normally do. The Coroner will conduct an enquiry and we are therefore not allowed to comment further on this case.

"Our thoughts and condolences are with the family at this sad and tragic time in their lives."

Mohammed's family disputed that it was six and a half hours later when they returned.

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Boy, 5, dies after being sent home from Infirmary

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Mohammed Akeel Khan A five-year-old boy has died from meningitis - just hours after being sent home from the Rochdale Infirmary with antibiotics. Mohammed Akeel Khan was taken to the Rochdale Infirmary on Friday afternoon (8 April 2011) by his mother Safina Akram because he had been vomiting at school.

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Neglect - Nurse falls asleep on ward

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A nurse who took a cannabis-laced chocolate bar into a cancer unit at Alder Hey Children's Hospital will be banned from the profession for nine months, a tribunal ruled.

Alison Murphy also fell asleep on a night shift and allowed a student nurse to work unsupervised, the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) said.

Murphy, who was employed at Alder Hey from 2007 to 2012, first appeared before a misconduct panel in May last year but was allowed to keep her nursing licence, providing her work was monitored at all times from then on.

Now the NMC has decided to make her punishment more severe by disqualifying her from the profession for nine months.

Murphy did not attend last week's hearing, leaving the panel with "nothing to satisfy it that the concerns raised (in May 2014) have been satisfactorily addressed or the risk to the public mitigated".

The panel added: "There remains a risk of repetition and a risk of harm to patients and... Mrs Murphy's fitness to practise remains impaired."

Murphy, who previously had an "unblemished career", was found asleep in a children's play area on a cancer ward at Alder Hey during the small hours of September 12, 2011.

Later that night she was discovered by a colleague lying down on a couch when she was meant to be on duty.

She also had a "chocolate bar containing cannabis" hidden in her handbag, which was handed to a co-worker who reported her.

Murphy was given a police caution under the Misuse of Drugs Act. There was no evidence she had consumed any of the cannabis.

Murphy's actions that night came two months after she left a student nurse unsupervised in the hospital's teenage cancer unit for half an hour.

The NMC tribunal, sitting in London, said it would be "disproportionate" to ban Murphy from ever working as a nurse again, but said: "The panel was disappointed to have received no information from Mrs Murphy.

"In the circumstances, the panel could not be satisfied that Mrs Murphy has developed insight into her misconduct.

"For these reasons, the panel determined that a period of suspension is necessary in order to protect the public."

An Alder Hey Children's Hospital spokesman said: "This person is no longer working in the trust. The trust has no further comment."

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Alder Hey Children's Hospital nurse who took cannabis-laced chocolate bar onto cancer ward banned for nine months

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A nurse who took a cannabis-laced chocolate bar into a cancer unit at Alder Hey Children's Hospital will be banned from the profession for nine months, a tribunal ruled. Alison Murphy also fell asleep on a night shift and allowed a student nurse to work unsupervised, the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) said.

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Education - Child left behind on a school trip

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A High Wycombe nursery that launched an investigation after toddler was allegedly left behind on a trip to the park, told the BFP today the complaint has been dealt with in a "full and thorough manner".

Sajid Sardar from High Wycombe told the BFP on Monday (June 13) he was outraged after hearing from a neighbour that his daughter Zainab was crying alone for almost an hour after pupils from Bowerdean Nursery School on London Road were taken to the Rye across the road.

In a statement, head Sue Skinner said the nursery disagreed with the neighbour's version of the events.

The neighbour, who did not want to be named, said she was asleep when she heard a child crying at around 9am and an hour later, overheard who she thought was a teacher laughing at her.

She said: "I found it weird that the teacher was laughing when the child was crying. I heard the little girl say 'don't laugh at me, call my mummy'."

She then called to inform the nursery where she was told by the receptionist that all the teachers and children had gone to the park and so the crying could not be coming from within the nursery.

Upon checking, it was found the child had been left behind.

She added: "My sister decided to call the police and we then went to check the little girl was ok.

"We asked the receptionist to call her mum but she said she had to call the main teacher in charge first.

"When I spoke to the girl, she told me it was the receptionist who had laughed at her.

"I was so angry this could happen to a child."

Mr Sardar told the BFP he has since met with Mrs Skinner and said he is satisfied with the "professional" way in which the nursery dealt with the incident.

Mrs Skinner said: "The parents are happy and continue to send their child to the Nursery and will be doing so next year.

"The staff at the Nursery will continue to provide outstanding care and education for many children in High Wycombe and we are grateful for the continued support of the local community."

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Complaint over 'nursery neglect' dealt with in 'full and thorough manner'

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A High Wycombe nursery that launched an investigation after toddler was allegedly left behind on a trip to the park, told the BFP today the complaint has been dealt with in a "full and thorough manner".

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Education - two teaching assistants neglects child

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Neglect - Nurses Suspended

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But it is believed the parents of a baby being treated on Disney Ward complained that nurses had been too forceful.

Sometimes it may take several members of staff to keep a small child still, particularly if they are in a lot of pain or distress.

'This is currently in the very early stages and police are working closely with the NHS trust to fully establish the circumstances of the case.'

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Five nurses suspended from children's ward for 'being too rough with baby'

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But it is believed the parents of a baby being treated on Disney Ward complained that nurses had been too forceful. Sometimes it may take several members of staff to keep a small child still, particularly if they are in a lot of pain or distress.

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death because of neglect.

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Nurse found guilty of manslaughter after Leicester child death

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Health - Neglect

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Multiple baby death cover-up at UHBristol

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Bristol childrens Hospital at the heart of another child death scandal. We are pushing for a public inquiry into UHbristol following the death of Luke Jenkins and Sean Turner.

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patient dies after neglect in a children's hospital

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A GRIEVING mum sobbed as she told an inquest her baby daughter died of heart failure after allegedly being "overlooked and neglected" by staff at Birmingham Children's Hospital.

Little Hayley Fullerton died at the hospital in November 2009, just weeks after her first birthday.

Her heartbroken mum Paula Stevenson gave evidence at her inquest yesterday and claimed Birmingham staff had failed her daughter.

She later told the Birmingham Mail her own mother, Sylvia, later took her life because she was so traumatised by the loss of her grandchild.

Hayley was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland, with a heart defect and a hole in the heart in October 2008, and underwent surgery weeks later.

In October 2009 she was flown to Birmingham Children's Hospital for corrective heart surgery. The operation was a success and Hayley was transferred to the Paediatric Intensive Care Unit.

But her right lung later collapsed and her health started to deteriorate, said Ms Stevenson, who now lives on Australia's Gold Coast with husband Bobby.

The mum, 40, told the Birmingham Coroner, Aidan Cotter, that she was unhappy when her daughter moved wards, away from a nurse's station.

"I was extremely upset and felt that Hayley was being punished and placed as far away as possible because of my reluctance for her to be moved," she said.

Both the mum and her Northern Ireland parents, Sylvia and Edward Stevenson, later raised concerns the little girl was having trouble breathing. But she claims their fears were dismissed and the family was assured everything was 'fine'.

On November 11 both of Hayley's lungs collapsed and she suffered a cardiac arrest.

Ms Stevenson, who was by then in an isolation room with her daughter, raised the alarm after seeing her gasping for breath.

She said: "He [the doctor] came towards me and he confirmed me worst fears and said 'sorry mum, we've lost her'.

"All I could think was that I was no longer a mummy, as Hayley was my only child, and she was dead.

"The treatment has led me to question how can the staff at Birmingham Children's Hospital fail Hayley so abominably?"

Ms Stevenson tearfully recalled the moment she broke the tragic news to her husband Bobby, who was in Australia.

"I cuddled Hayley up in my arms and then called my husband Bobby in Australia," she said.

"I told him his little baby girl was dead. I held the phone to Hayley's ear and told him to say goodbye, because she was still warm."

Ms Stevenson later claimed her mum Sylvia, 61, committed suicide in November last year because she was so distraught over the death.

She said: "There were two casualties here.

"Mum died when Hayley died, everything broke down."

Pathologist Dr Tamas Marton said Hayley's death was caused due to a failure of her heart to pump blood to the lungs.

This failure can sometimes be caused by a collapsed lung which could have been the case with the infant, he added.

Dr Oliver Stumper, a consultant paediatric cardiologist who saw Hayley the day before she died, said: "Though she was in respiratory distress, I felt we had taken the right steps to make her better."

(proceeding)

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Baby Hayley died after neglect at Birmingham Children's Hospital, heartbroken mum tells inquest

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A GRIEVING mum sobbed as she told an inquest her baby daughter died of heart failure after allegedly being "overlooked and neglected" by staff at Birmingham Children's Hospital. Little Hayley Fullerton died at the hospital in November 2009, just weeks after her first birthday.

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children being neglected

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The ten cases include:

* Luke Jenkins, 7, who died of a cardiac arrest within a week of heart surgery last April after hospital staff failed to recognise that he was deteriorating. His parents say they witnessed nurses "resetting" alarms which indicated his condition was deteriorating.

* Sean Turner, 4, died of a brain haemorrhage last March after staff did not identify that his condition was worsening. All around the ward, alarms were left unanswered, his parents said.

* Maisie Waters, just one week old when she died last August, after a nurse accidentally fed her a day's worth of food in just one hour, using an infusion machine.

* Oscar Willcox, died aged 9 weeks last April. His mother said his death followed a catalogue of failings, with nurses failing to clean up his vomit or change his nappies while he was dangerously ill.

* Jack Casey, left with brain damage, causing developmental problems, since complications following surgery in 2010, aged just 10 months, and a subsequent procedure in which his lung lining was pierced.

Bereaved parents said they had been left devastated after their children's deaths, which they say followed a catalogue of failings and severe neglect.

Luke's father, Stephen Jenkins, 31, from Cardiff, said he and his partner were left "screaming and shouting for help" because they could see their child was dying, yet nurses refused to listen, and failed to call senior doctors.

Although monitoring alarms were repeatedly sounding, warning that the child's condition was worsening, nurses reset the alarms to a lower threshold, so they were less likely to go off, he said.

Laywers will accuse the trust of negligence in the post-operative care given to children, and in some cases in the surgery they received. They will say that without the failings, such as missing clear signs of deterioration, the children who died could have survived, while others might have suffered less extensive damage.

The trust has already admitted that failures to detect the worsening condition of Sean and Luke may have contributed to their deaths.

The cases, which occurred between 2008 and last autumn, will also deepen concerns about failings in NHS systems of regulation.

The legal actions come after the trust was censured by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), after an inspection found that too many children were receiving unsafe care and treatment, because there were not enough nurses to care for those recovering from surgery.

That visit only took place after regulators were repeatedly contacted by the bereaved parents of Sean Turner and Luke Jenkins, who expressed their fears that more children would die, if action was not taken.

CQC then issued a warning notice in October which said that staffing levels were unsafe on the cardiac ward for children who had undergone surgery.

Seven weeks later, it declared the hospital "compliant" with its standards. In fact the hospital only achieved this by reducing the number of patients it would accept for heart surgery, so that there are fewer children for nurses to care for.

Experts said the move by the hospital was a desperate measure, which could ultimately increase the risks to children treated at the cardiac unit as surgeons are supposed to carry out hundreds of procedures each year, in order to maintain their skills.

The cases are disclosed the day before a judicial review attempts to halt changes to children's heart surgery, which were proposed to improve the safety of all of England's 10 units.

The recommendation to centralise hospitals, so that ensure all centres had enough surgeons carrying out high numbers of specialist procedures, followed a public inquiry into dozens of baby deaths in Bristol during the 1990s.

Most of the cases disclosed today occurred at the cardiac unit of Bristol Royal Hospital for Children.

The hospital was opened in 2001 after the children's cardiac unit based in the Bristol Royal Infirmary was closed, having been dubbed "the killing fields" after the deaths, which followed botched operations by surgeons.

Lawyers acting for the families say children are being put at risk because successive Governments have failed to act on the recommendation, which was made by Prof Sir Ian Kennedy in 2001. Twelve years on, a decision on which units should close has yet to be taken.

Plans were finally drawn up last July to close specialist cardiac children's services in Leeds, Leicester and from Royal Brompton Hospital, and to expand the seven remaining units, including Bristol, so that each performs at least 400 procedures a year.

Even before its surgery programme was scaled back, Bristol was among four units carrying out less than 280 operations a year. Last night, the trust refused to say how many operations it is now carrying out.

After arguments between hospital trusts fighting to keep their services, and pressure from local MPs and campaign groups, ministers have referred the decision to an independent panel, which reports next month.

Laurence Vick, from legal firm Michelmores, who is representing nine of the families has written to the panel, urging them to carry out an analysis of detailed mortality data from all the units, to ensure a fair decision.

Mr Vick, who acted for dozens of those bereaved by the 1990s Bristol babies scandal said: "We have waited far too long already for this. We need a fair decision so that the safety of all units can be improved, instead of being endlesssly open to challenge."

However, before that, a judicial review from a campaign group fighting to save services at Leeds Teaching Hospitals trust will tomorrow argue that the process to decide which units close has been flawed. If it succeeds, the process could be forced to start again. Royal Brompton Hospital in London has already failed in its arguments against the decision.

The trust said data showed that between 2000 and 2008, the trust's mortality were the third best of 11 units which were then in operation.

Robert Woolley, the trust's chief executive, said the latest mortality figures, covering the three years up to 2010, showed a 1.6 per cent mortality rate for children below the age of one, and 1 per cent among older children, but that unaudited figures since then were not yet available.

He said. "All paediatric cardiac surgery carries with it significant risk and these risks are explained to parents. Despite these risks and the complex needs of the children we care for, we have results among the best in England."

The trust said it could not comment on cases which had yet to go to an inquest, but apologised for the death of Maisie Waters. A spokesman said the trust had taken every possible step to minimise the chance of a similar human error occurring.

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Hospital sued over children left neglected and dying on wards

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The ten cases include: * Luke Jenkins, 7, who died of a cardiac arrest within a week of heart surgery last April after hospital staff failed to recognise that he was deteriorating. His parents say they witnessed nurses "resetting" alarms which indicated his condition was deteriorating.

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three patients die after neglect.

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A fourth family says poor treatment led to their son's brain damage. The hospital is to scrutinise its last 50 child heart deaths, it has stated in a document seen by the Sunday Express. All four were heart patients at Bristol Children's Hospital. The allegations have echoes of the scandal in the Eighties and Nineties in which it was found that at least 35 babies died and scores may have been saved if they had not been operated on at Bristol.

Three of the families have begun legal action against the hospital trust and government watchdog the Care Quality Commission has launched an investigation. Laurence Vick, of clinical negligence firm Michelmores, represents the three couples and led the families' legal team during the original scandal.

He said: "Given the catalogue of failings in care I would be astonished if we cannot establish negligence in these cases which have disturbing echoes of the previous heart baby scandal two decades ago. We thought lessons had been learnt and this scandal and subsequent public inquiry had heralded a sea change of attitude in the medical profession. However, my fear is that we are now seeing history repeating itself."

All the children were cared for on Ward 32 at Bristol Children's Hospital, part of the same trust where the original heart babies scandal occurred. The hospital recently admitted failings in its care in two of the cases and has confessed to six other patient safety incidents over the past 12 months, citing low staffing as a "contributory factor".

Seven-year-old Luke Jenkins, from Cardiff, and Sean Turner, four, from Warminster, Wiltshire, had the same heart operation last spring. It is considered relatively low risk but both died with their parents believing they lacked adequate medical and nursing care.

Luke had a cardiac arrest within a week of surgery. By the time a consultant arrived 19 minutes later he had irreversible brain damage. His parents Faye, 27, and Stephen, 30, had to go through the agony of turning off his life-support machine. Mr Jenkins said: "We could live a little easier if his death had been expected but to lose him in the way that we did was gut-wrenching."

In a recent 30-page hospital report into Luke's death in April, the trust admitted low staffing levels had put patients at risk. It accepted a "failure to recognise and monitor a deteriorating patient".

The hospital has also reviewed the case of Sean Turner whose parents allege inept care contributed to his death. Sean died of a brain haemorrhage in March after a cardiac arrest on the ward. His death was six weeks after vital corrective heart surgery.

The hospital review concluded there had been inadequate nursing staff on the ward and poor recognition of Sean's deteriorating condition after post-surgery complications. His parents Stephen, 47, and Yolanda, 44, believe other children have been affected and urge families to come forward.

Jack Casey, now three, from Bridgend, South Wales, nearly died when surgeons pierced his lung lining in March 2010, leaving him with brain damage. His mother Rachel Puaca, 25, and father Christopher Casey, 29, say she found Jack, then seven months old, "in a dirty nappy, laying in his own vomit".

Tiffany White, 19, and James Willcox, 20, from Gloucester, also allege neglect in the case of their son Oscar who died in April at nine weeks. Ms White said: "There were many occasions when he'd be laying in his own sick and crying."

University Hospitals Bristol Trust said: "It is important to stress how complex the needs of these children are. Incidents do occur in a complex speciality such as paediatric cardiac services where we are caring for some of the sickest children in the region.

"Each incident, no matter how minor it may appear, is recorded, rigorously investigated and actions taken forward as part of our clinical governance process."

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A fourth family says poor treatment led to their son's brain damage. The hospital is to scrutinise its last 50 child heart deaths, it has stated in a document seen by the Sunday Express. All four were heart patients at Bristol Children's Hospital.

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parents are neglected by NHS

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The NHS is adding to the suffering of parents with a child in hospital by not giving them somewhere to sleep, the UK's top children's doctor has warned.

Far too few hospitals provide parents with accommodation so they can stay beside their ill son or daughter, Professor Terence Stephenson, president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, told the Observer.

He said it was "not good enough" that some parents have to sleep on a pulldown bed or an unused patient's bed, sometimes for weeks or even months, in order to keep a vigil by their child. Some end up exhausted and reduced to tears by sleep deprivation and the lack of privacy, he added. He accused the NHS of neglecting the needs of people who deserved a better deal for playing a key role in their child's recovery.

"Every week, hundreds of pre-term babies are born and thousands of children end up in hospital with a broken limb, cancer or cystic fibrosis. But there aren't enough family accommodation facilities across the NHS and the situation is not good enough. In my experience, the majority of parents who are in hospital overnight are on a Zedbed beside their sick baby or child," he said.

"They will be woken frequently throughout the night when other children are admitted, or the ward buzzer sounds, or the lights go on and off. They will often become exhausted. Parents can't be expected to sleep on a put-you-up bed for weeks on end," he added.

"This is a major issue, as more than 40 hospitals are looking to a charity to provide what we as a college regard as an essential service. But there are over 250 children's inpatient services across the NHS and provision is far short of what's required. We believe that, whenever children are admitted to hospital, their parents or carers should be able to stay with them. The NHS is trying as hard as it can, but it can do a lot better," Stephenson said. He wants every parent whose child has more than a short stay to be offered a private room with washing and cooking facilities.

Stephenson praised the role played by Ronald McDonald House Charities, which is backed by the McDonald's fast-food chain. It houses more than 400 parents or families every night in its network of 14 houses and 29 sets of family rooms at 43 hospitals across the UK.

Action for Sick Children welcomed Stephen son's remarks. Some hospitals do provide good parents' facilities, said the charity's Jo Waterson. For example, the new Manchester Children's Hospital has a pulldown bed beside each bed and in each patient's room. But while more hospitals are addressing the problem, it is still a recurring complaint from parents, she said.

The shortage of parental rooms is most acute in neonatal wards. Over 1,000 premature babies are born every week. A neonatal ward containing 25 babies may have just four rooms for mothers and fathers, he said. Emma Pugh's son, Tom, now two-and-a-half, weighed just 1lb 2oz when he was born at 23 weeks in her local hospital in Hereford. He was treated in the special care unit at Birmingham Women's Hospital, 70 miles away, where there were no overnight parental facilities.

Pugh said: "It meant three-to -four-hour, 140-mile round trips for me, Gary and our three-year-old, Nancy, which was horrendous. I did that journey every day for three months. Having to leave Tom, especially on days when things weren't going well - he was given a less than 10% chance of survival - was gutting. That lack of parental accommodation at the hospital added to our stress, cost us £150-£170 a week in fuel, made our life even more difficult than it already was and, crucially, took away time with Tom."

Andy Cole, chief executive of the sick and premature baby charity, Bliss, said: "Around 50% of special care baby units do not provide accommodation for parents. Families are already facing an extremely traumatic and stressful time. To be faced with not being able to stay with or even be near their baby is inconceivable."

A department of health spokeswoman said that the department's National Service Framework for Children, Young People and Maternity Services stresses that the NHS and parents are partners in looking after children receiving treatment. She said: "It also recommends that hospital care of children and young people should be provided in buildings that... cater for parents and siblings, with suitable provision for overnight stay. These must include access to meals and relaxation, and must respect parents' privacy." She added that it was for the NHS locally to decide how such facilities are provided and to what level.
Topics

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The NHS is adding to the suffering of parents with a child in hospital by not giving them somewhere to sleep, the UK's top children's doctor has warned. Far too few hospitals provide parents with accommodation so they can stay beside their ill son or daughter, Professor Terence Stephenson, president of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, told the Observer.

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Health - Neglect

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Sean Turner was operat ed o n at Bristol Royal Hospital for Children

He had to undergo surgery to correct heart problems he was born with

His parents claim he was moved out of intensive care too soon

His distraught mother Yolanda Turner, 45, said she begged for help but 'nobody would listen'

At one point Sean was so dehydrated he was taking the tissues used to cool his head and sucking the fluid from them, it was claimed

Sean died after suffering a cardiac arrest in his father Steve's arms and finally a brain haemorrhage

A boy of four died in a 'chaotic' hospital ward where he was so neglected after heart surgery that he resorted to sucking the moisture out of wet wipes, an inquest heard yesterday.

Sean Turner, from Warminster, in Wiltshire, excitedly told friends that doctors were going to 'mend his heart' when he underwent complex surgery to correct heart problems he was born with.

But after the operation he was moved out of intensive care too soon because his bed was needed for other patients, his parents told an inquest.

They also claimed doctors missed a series of warning signs, including continuous vomiting, a high loss of fluids and huge blood clots and high blood pressure.

His distraught mother Yolanda Turner, 45, said she begged for help but 'nobody would listen' on Ward 32 at Bristol Royal Hospital for Children.

She said: 'I remember going into the corridor and seeing Sean being pushed in his bed and he looked at me and called "Mummy".

'We will never forget the days on Ward 32 and can never understand how a child can be left to suffer for so long.

'How was this supposed to be a specialist cardiac unit in a centre of excellence, yet no one recognised Sean's deterioration? His arrest was preventable because all the signs had been there.'

At one point Sean was so dehydrated he was taking the tissues used to cool his head and sucking the fluid from them, she claimed.

Sean died six weeks later after suffering a cardiac arrest in his father Steve's arms, and finally a brain haemorrhage.

Yesterday Steve and mother Yolanda gave harrowing accounts of their son's care and treatment at the opening of his inquest in Flax Bourton, near Bristol.

Mr Turner, a carpenter, described how Sean suffered a cardiac arrest as he held him in his arms while a nurse removed his femoral line.

'My wife was very upset and I made her go for a break because I did not want Sean to see her upset,' he said.

'I sat up with him leaning against me to reassure him and the nurse pulled out the femoral line.

'She applied some pressure to the area with a cotton wool bud and the nurse asked me to apply some pressure when she went to get a plaster.

'It was at this point, within minutes, that I noticed a doctor coming towards me pulling an echo scan machine.

'I looked at Sean and his head rolled back and his eyes rolled into the top of his head. He felt limp and lifeless.

'I shouted at the lady doctor that something was wrong but she just stood frozen to the spot, staring at us.

'I bellowed loudly towards the nurses' station and everyone came running. I heard a nurse say that Sean had arrested and I heard another nurse shout "get Mum".

'There were a lot of people about, so I had to move away from the bed. I was shouting at them that they had let him down.

'I then saw Yolande running towards me. She ran to Sean but couldn't get near him. We were both directed by a nurse to a single room opposite.

'It was at this point that a nurse came up to us and said she had been worried about Sean since his return to the ward.'

Fighting back tears, Mr Turner added: 'No parent should ever be put in the situation where they go into a safe environment and have to plead for four days for help and end up having their child having a cardiac arrest in their arms.

'We now have to live with that horror for the rest of our lives.

'As far as I am aware the nurses on the paediatric intensive care unit cared for Sean in a very high standard at times and unlike the care he received on Ward 32, where the nurses were just not around.

'They cared but did not seem to have the knowledge or know how and failed to recognise a deteriorating child over four days.

'The whole management of Sean's care, communication, death review and now our complaint has been shambolic.

'Sean suffered a catalogue of errors and throughout individual nurses on Ward 32 were concerned for Sean but appeared not to have the time or give the level of care he so desperately needed.'

Mrs Turner, 45, said: 'Events on Ward 32 left his chances of survival stacked against him. The sub-optimal nursing levels had contributed to his death.

'Sean fought so hard in hospital. There were so many missed opportunities to rescue Sean from the state he was in.

'In taking the approach to wait and see if he would get better on his own was his ultimate demise.'

Carpenter Mr Turner, 47, added: 'No parent should be put into the situation where they go into a safe environment where they have to plead for four days and have him have a cardiac arrest in their arms. We now have to live with that horror for so long.

'The care Sean received in the PICU [Paediatric Intensive Care Unit] was very high, unlike the care on Ward 32 where nurses were not around.

'They cared but didn't seem to have the knowledge or know how to recognise a deteriorating child over four days.

'Sean suffered a catalogue of horrors but while they were concerned they appeared not to have the knowledge or the level of care to give him what he needed.'

The inquest heard how Sean was born with his heart on the right side of his body and blocked arteries between his heart and lungs.

He underwent the elective Fontan surgery - designed to help his heart work more efficiently - on January 24, 2012.

Afterwards he spent just 18 hours on the PICU despite doctors telling his parents he would spend around five days there.

When his parents asked why he was being moved to Ward 32 they were told his bed was needed.
Mrs Turner said that she questioned why her son was taken back to Ward 32 and was told he was being cared for in a high-dependency bed.

'Sean was in a lot of pain with three chest drains and was only on paracetamol. We asked if he could have something else and was told he could only have tramadol as he was being sick.

'Following the tramadol Sean had his first very frightening collapse. He said "Mummy, I don't feel well" and his skin went mottled and his blood pressure dropped very low.

'This was very scary for us and seemed to take several hours before he was stable enough to be returned to intensive care.

'Over the 11 days in intensive care Sean made progress. He was even getting out of bed with physio's help.'

Within hours of the move Sean began vomiting and was unable to keep liquid down. Urgent tests showed fluid had begun to build up around his heart.

At one point Sean lost 440ml of fluid through his chest drain.

Mrs Turner said Sean was moved back to the PICU following surgery to drain the fluid and over 11 days he began to make a marked recovery, even getting out of bed to play with toys.

But again he was moved back to Ward 32 because his bed was needed.

'It was the worst news when the told us he was being returned to Ward 32 because we were told he was not critical and they needed the bed," Mrs Turner said.

'It was the worst decision ever made for Sean, the inadequate staffing levels and no high dependency care were the beginning of the end.

'It was busy and chaotic.'

On February 12, 2012 Sean began to throw up once more and complain of a pain in his foot.

He became reliant on his oxygen mask again and became more and more dehydrated - even sucking moisture from tissues to quench his thirst.

'I could see he was bad but nobody listened,' Yolanda, a foster mother, told the inquest.

'I asked so many times if he could go back to PICU but I was told there were no beds or he was not critical enough.

'He was so dehydrated he was grabbing the tissues used to cool his head and sucking the fluid from them.'

His parents told the inquest that nurses silenced potentially vital alarms which monitored Sean's condition - even teaching them how to do it themselves.

Over the following weeks medics discovered Sean had a blood clot in his leg and he was given anti-clotting drugs to help deal with this situation.

On February 16, 2012, Sean suffered a heart attack, which he survived, and he was rushed into surgery where doctors drained 150ml of fluid from his right lung and 250ml from around his heart.

But on March 5, when Sean was taken once more into theatre, where he suffered a catastrophic bleed on his brain and died just hours later.

Mrs Turner added: 'Sean asked me not to let the doctors put him back to sleep and I promised him it would be quick, but he never really woke up again.'

Doctors working for the University Hospitals Bristol NHS Trust, at the children's hospital, told the inquest Sean was regularly monitored and his parents concerns taken on board.

In a number of statements read out to the court staff said they followed all procedures set down in the 'very difficult circumstances'.

Mrs Turner said that following the cardiac arrest the family's request for a second opinion from a retired consultant at Great Ormond Street Hospital was refused by doctors in Bristol.

'We felt helpless because we were desperate for some answers and a way forward for Sean. We wanted to have Sean transferred but were told that he was too poorly to be moved,' she said.

'We felt our lifeline of a second opinion had been taken away from us.

'Sean fought so hard in hospital. There were so many missed opportunities to rescue Sean from the desperate state he was in.

'Sean fought so hard in hospital. There were so many missed opportunities to rescue Sean from the desperate state he was in'

Yolanda Turner - Sean Turner's mother

'We now know that after Sean suffered the cardiac arrest he should have been taken into theatre - Sean stood a chance.

'But taking the approach to "wait and see" if Sean would get better by himself cost him his life. All we can do now is put our faith in this court to find the truth.'

The inquest also heard from medical experts who had carried out a review following Sean's death.
Doctors working for the University Hospitals Bristol NHS Trust, at the Children's hospital, told the inquest Sean was regularly monitored and his parents' concerns taken on board.

In a number of statements read out to the court staff said they followed all procedures set down in the 'very difficult circumstances'.

Sarah Britton, the ward sister on ward 32, described Sean's heart attack as 'sudden and unexpected'.

Dr Fiona Reynolds, an intensive care consultant at Birmingham Children's Hospital, said the decision to carry out the Fontan procedure was the correct one.

The inquest was adjourned until tomorrow.

Mr and Mrs Turner claim their son's death was not isolated and other children with heart problems died at the hospital.

Up to 10 families are believed to be taking legal action against the University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust over treatment on Ward 32.

In November last year, Avon Coroner Maria Voisin recorded a narrative conclusion at the inquest of Luke Jenkins, seven, who died in April 2012 following surgery there.

Following the coroner's conclusion, Luke's mother Faye Valentine, 28, said she believed the hospital could have done more to save his life.

Miss Valentine, from St Mellons, Cardiff, claimed Ward 32 was understaffed and accused doctors and nurses of ignoring her concerns.

The coroner ruled she had not heard evidence of 'gross failures' in Luke's care and recorded a narrative conclusion, ruling that he died from a combination of hypoxic ischemic brain injury, post-operative bleeding and a congenital heart defect.

'Whereas Luke was in a dependent position due to age and illness, I have heard no evidence that a gross failure has led to or contributed to his death,' she said.

Two more inquests involving the hospital are scheduled for February and March.

The inquest was adjourned until tomorrow.

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Boy, four, died in hospital where he was badly neglected it is claimed

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Sean Turner was operat ed o n at Bristol Royal Hospital for Children He had to undergo surgery to correct heart problems he was born with His parents claim he was moved out of intensive care too soon His distraught mother Yolanda Turner, 45, said she begged for help but