Mother slams heart hospital report
‘Biased’ review leaves questions unanswered, claims parent of baby who died after treatment
THE mother of a four-month-old girl who died after undergoing heart surgery has strongly criticised an independent report, claiming it is biased toward the hospital being investigated.
Emma Poton’s daughter Lacey-Marie died in 2013 just 10 minutes after returning home from the Bristol Children’s Hospital where she had undergone a heart procedure.
She was one of seven youngsters treated on ward 32 of the hospital who died, prompting a major independent review due to be published on Thurs- day. But Miss Poton, who has seen a section of the report relating to her daughter, said she feared it would do little to answer the many questions she and the other grieving parents have.
The 22-year-old, from Bristol, said: “I am really angry and shocked. Some of it is quite shocking because we don’t know Lacey-Marie’s actual cause of death. I am really disappointed as most of it is favouring the hospital.”
The baby’s grandmother, Penny Norley, added: “It seemed it is based all on the hospital notes and nothing of what we have said. It says there was a higher chance if she had been resuscitated she might have survived.”
The Bristol Review got under way two years ago after the University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust was accused of a catalogue of neglect and mistreatment of babies and children with heart problems. About 10 families are believed to be taking legal action against the trust, including the seven whose children died following treatment on ward 32.
Faye Valentine, whose son Luke, seven, died in April 2012, said: “We are hoping to get some answers because so far we haven’t and we have been fighting this long for the truth to come out about what actually happened.”
Yolanda Turner, whose son Sean, four, died in March 2012 from a brain haemorrhage after complex heart surgery, said: “We are hoping the review will answer our questions, clarify the failings for Sean, give a public acknowledgement and bring us the truth.
“We spoke out publicly and the hospital tried to play down what we were saying, blaming Sean for being complex, claiming their unit was safe, when it really wasn’t.” The inquiry, which did not hold any public hearings, was com- missioned by NHS England and chaired by Eleanor Grey QC. It examined care for children with congenital heart disease and the experiences of parents and carers from March 2010, looking at cardiac services in Bristol and clinics closer to families’ homes.
A spokesman for the trust said: “We are expecting a number of independent reports and findings about services in the Bristol Royal Hospital for Children in the coming weeks. They will be critical about the way we have responded in the past to concerns and complaints raised by some of the families of the children we have cared for.
“We are very sorry that we haven’t met our own high standards of care for these families and that has added to their distress at an incredibly difficult time for them. We are determined to learn from the report’s findings and recommendations.”