Inquest-delay agony of tragic girl’s family
THE family of a schoolgirl who died following ‘failings’ at a hospital have expressed their frustrations at delays with her inquest.
Victoria Olabode was just 12 when she died at Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital (RMCH) on July 12, 2019.
The youngster had sickle cell disease and had been admitted to hospital that month with breathing difficulties.
Manchester Coroners’ Court heard that Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT), which runs the hospital, has identified and accepted ‘failings’ in Victoria’s care.
An inquest into the circumstances surrounding Victoria’s death was due to start on Wednesday.
However, area coroner Zak Golombeck changed the hearing to a pre-inquest review after receiving correspondence from the trust.
He said the trust had carried out an investigation into Victoria’s death but the report has now been found to be ‘erroneous.’
Further evidence will be submitted, more witnesses called and certain issues ‘require further explanation,’ the coroner said.
As such, the time given for an inquest was ‘insufficient.’
“Taking everything into account we couldn’t go ahead with the inquest today,” Mr Golombeck said.
Victoria’s mother, Elizabeth Olabode,
questioned why matters had changed and insisted that the trust should have explained these delays to her family.
James Down, representing the trust, explained how the delay had come about.
“A number of failings were identified,” he said. “They are still accepted by the trust. How this has changed is in relation to causation.
“This is an extremely complex case in relation to causation.
“There had been a number of discussions in the trust and disagreements. Another review came to a different conclusion. That’s all I know at the moment.”
Explaining the delay to the family, Mr Golombeck said: “The issues identified with regards to the care offered to Victoria still remain, they have not changed. It’s just the issue of causation.
“What has changed in terms of the trust’s position is whether those care and service delivery problems have caused or contributed to Victoria’s death. That’s the change of position and that’s why we couldn’t proceed today.”
The hearing was adjourned and a full inquest will be carried out at a
date yet to be set. The coroner will hear evidence from two independent experts and two MFT clinicians. The family is looking for legal representation and has set up a crowd funding page.