Friday, 29 March, 2024
HomeMedico-LegalBaby girl's death covered up for 20 years — UK inquiry

Baby girl's death covered up for 20 years — UK inquiry

The avoidable death of a baby girl was covered up by NHS staff and oversight organisations over 20 years, a damning UK inquiry has found, with facts "wilfully ignored, and alternatives fabricated" to deny her parents the truth, reports The Independent.

According to The Independent, in a damning report, Dr Bill Kirkup, who led the investigation, said the death of baby Elizabeth Dixon in December 2001 when her breathing tube was blocked could have been avoided, concluding:

"There were failures of care by every organisation that looked after her, none of which was admitted at the time, nor properly investigated then or later … A cover-up began on the day that she died."

Baby Elizabeth was left brain-damaged after doctors and nurses at Frimley Park Hospital, in Surrey, failed to treat her dangerously high blood pressure for 15 days after she was born eight weeks premature. Her blood pressure was caused by a tumour in her adrenal glands, which left her brain damaged and needing round-the-clock care.

Almost a year later she suffocated when an agency nurse, Joyce Aburime, failed to keep her tracheostomy tube clear. Her parents rushed her to hospital, but in a highly unusual act they were were later driven home with Elizabeth’s body by the doctor responsible for Elizabeth’s care, Dr Michael Tettenborn.

No post-mortem or inquest was held at the time. A planned investigation collapsed in 2014. The health service Ombudsman then refused to investigate the case, sparking criticism of a regulatory gap for 'historic cases'. The then Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, commissioned the inquiry.

Kirkup’s report found evidence that "some individuals have been persistently dishonest, both by omission and by commission, and that this extended to formal statements to police and regulatory bodies".

The report calls for a referral to the Independent Office for Police Conduct over a poor investigation by Hampshire Police.

 

[link url="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/elizabeth-dixon-nhs-inquiry-baby-death-b1761755.html"]Full report in The Independent[/link]

 

See also:

 

[link url="https://www.medicalbrief.co.za/archives/missing-records-at-top-uk-hospital-point-to-cover-up-of-toddlers-death/"]MedicalBrief Archives: Claims of 'concerted coverup' at Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital[/link]

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