The BBC has this week reported that a ward at Kettering General Hospital that is accused of leaving young patients traumatised and sick through poor care could be forced to close by Children’s services.
The BBC heard from thirteen parents who had serious concerns about care in the Skylark ward at Kettering General Hospital after their children became seriously ill or died.
Skylark ward is a 26-bed children’s unit at Kettering General Hospital. An investigation by the BBC has heard about allegations over more than 20 years relating to the ward, including claims of repeated failures to diagnose life-threatening illnesses and regular discharge of patients who required urgent care.
In 2019, the ward came under scrutiny following an Inquest in which it was found that major errors had led to the death of a baby.
Whilst the hospital said that, following that Inquest, multiple changes were implemented, the BBC reports that it has discovered:
- An independent report found staff left a 12-year-old boy for four hours suffering seizures, and suggests that little effort was made to obtain critical care. The boy later died.
- In April 2019, nurses allegedly dragged a four-year-old girl down a corridor in pain, insisting she could walk. Accusations followed that medics refused to carry out an MRI scan which would have detected a cyst on the little girl’s spine.
- Mothers claim to have been threatened with safeguarding referrals.
Following concerns raised by parents, the Care Quality Commission carried out a focused inspection of Kettering General Hospital’s children’s services and the paediatric emergency department. A spokeswoman said:
“Inspectors took enforcement action to ensure people were safe and to give the trust the opportunity to make the necessary improvements.”
In February, the Kettering General Hospital board meeting stated that there was “a significant risk that the trust has the potential to lose its paediatric services, if it fails to make the improvements required and give the assurances needed to keep children safe.”
In response to the BBC’s investigation, director of nursing at Kettering General Hospital, Jayne Skippen, said:
“To any families who feel we did not deliver the best care we could have done, I’m very sorry. We know there are some areas we need to improve on and we are working really hard to improve those areas…”
Comment
The findings of recent investigations into the children’s unit at Kettering General Hospital are deeply concerning. Children are some of the most vulnerable of patients, often unable to speak-up for themselves, and rely on the care and treatment of the hospital to ensure their well-being and safety.
Kettering has failed to offer that safe environment to children in its care. This is a huge patient safety concern as it may well have led to delayed diagnosis, missed diagnosis, or negligent treatment. Not only that but the trauma suffered by those children and their families cannot be understated.
To be at risk of closure clearly shows the seriousness of this situation.
Clearly, there is a lot of work for Kettering General Hospital to do to improve services and this must be a priority to ensure that no more children have to suffer or risk not receiving the treatment they need.
How can Nelsons help
Danielle Young is a Legal Director in our Medical Negligence team, which has been ranked in tier one by the independently researched publication, The Legal 500.
If you have any questions in relation to the subjects discussed in this article, then please get in touch with Danielle or another member of the team in Derby, Leicester, or Nottingham on 0800 024 1976 or via our online form.
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