Disturbing evidence of a cover-up
CRUCIAL medical records and drug charts vanished after Sophie Burgess died, the inquest heard.
Surrey Coroner’s Court was also told that whiteboards used to record when key decisions were made had been wiped clean and that physical evidence, including syringes, were removed from the room where the 11-month-old died after police officers failed to seal it off.
Dr Lojein Hatahet, who administered the fatal dose of an anti-seizure drug to Sophie, claimed that she had made no records of her actions.
In her first report to the coroner, faxed on the day of the youngster’s death, paediatric consultant Dr Fiona MacCarthy wrongly claimed that Sophie had been given phenytoin and had ‘ stabilised’ before going into cardiac arrest 90 minutes later. The truth only emerged when toxicology reports came back five weeks later.
At the inquest, the Burgesses’ barrister, Clodagh Bradley QC, described Dr MacCarthy’s initial report as ‘absolute fiction’ designed to mislead the coroner.
Dr MacCarthy blamed stress for her clerical errors and denied ‘covering her tracks’, adding: ‘There was no collusion, cover-up at any stage. This was the worst day of my life.’