Boy died after junior doctor’s insulin blunder led to overdose
A FIVE-YEAR-OLD boy died after a junior doctor prescribed him 10 times the standard insulin dose on an understaffed A&E ward, an inquest heard.
Shay Turner was taken to Rotherham General Hospital on March 30 last year with abdominal pain and was transferred to Sheffield Children’s Hospital the following day when his condition deteriorated. He died on April 3.
An inquest heard Shay had been treated for diabetic ketoacidosis but a drug-prescribing error led to him receiving 10 times the standard dose of insulin. The junior doctor concerned said A&E had been very busy on Good Friday and was short-staffed. A joint inquiry by the two hospitals and police found there had been “several opportunities to improve the delivery of safe care” that Shay received.
Rotherham’s trust admitted its care “fell short” and that steps had been taken to prevent future tragedies.
Doncaster Coroner’s Court heard there had been delays in administering medication and obtaining test results.
Recording a narrative verdict, Nicola Mundy, the coroner, concluded none of the failures contributed directly to his death, which was given as multipleorgan failure and septic shock.
Dr Callum Gardner, a director at the Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust, said: “As a direct result of this incident, a number of actions have already been put in place that we believe will further improve patient safety at the trust.”