In a recent BBC news article, it was reported two premature newborns had died following a hospital’s neglect.
In 2020, two separate infants were reportedly given sodium nitrate instead of sodium bicarbonate by Chelsea and Westminster hospital staff. The jury returned verdicts of accidental death due to neglect for the first victim, and unlawful killing subject to neglect for the second, following a ten-day inquest held by senior coroner for Inner West London, Prof Fiona Wilcox.
“We apologise unreservedly for the failings in care provided,” said chief executive of Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Lesley Watts. “We took immediate action to put measures in place to prevent such tragic incidents from happening again.”
A baby born 16 April 2020 had her condition classed as “moderate”. Routine monitoring revealed she had an excess of acid in her blood, which is known as metabolic acidosis. She was mistakenly given a sodium nitrate infusion instead of the prescribed sodium bicarbonate infusion, and sadly died that same day.
A second infant, born prematurely on 30 April, was transferred to the neonatal intensive care unit. Similarly to the child born on 16 April, he, too, was prescribed a sodium bicarbonate infusion for metabolic acidosis but was erroneously given a sodium nitrate infusion.
It was reported the wrong medicine was administered after it was wrongly stocked on the NICU, resulting in child’s death on the 9 May. An internal investigation within the pharmacy failed to identify who had administered the wrong drug.
A neonatal nurse coordinator told the inquest they were mindful of a policy to check vials by reviewing them at eye level. The nurse failed to do this and accepted that if they had done so, the error could have been avoided.
Source: read the full BBC article here.
Medical Negligence Solicitors
Doctors and midwives are expected to provide the best possible care during childbirth, yet there are repeated incidences of mistakes, often leading to birth injuries. These kinds of injuries can have long-lasting effects not just on the child, but on their families too. Birth injuries due to medical negligence can be devastating and, in some cases, (as demonstrated above) even fatal.
Depending on the type of injury incurred, full recoveries are possible. But in many cases, the impacts can be huge. Birth injuries can occur due to lack of oxygen to the baby, something missed before labour, or even excessive force during delivery.
At the Personal Injury People, our specialist team of birth injury solicitors are highly experienced in handling cases where serious injuries have occurred before, during or after birth, as well as in the first few weeks of a child’s life. We fully understand these situations can be traumatic for families, and work tirelessly to achieve justice for our clients.
Our team is dedicated to providing compassionate and effective legal representation to those affected by these misfortunes. We understand the complex legal issues that arise in these cases and have the expertise and resources to navigate them successfully.
All mothers deserve to experience the wonder of childbirth free from concerns of medical incompetence. Our specialist team of medical negligence lawyers are here to offer expert experience gained over many years of representing clients in this intricate and emotive area of law.
If you would like to know if you can make a compensation claim, contact our team for a free, no-obligation consultation to discuss your case. Call 0800 731 7555 or complete the enquiry form to get in touch.