A court has found a Leicester doctor and nurse guilty of manslaughter by gross negligence after the death of a six year old boy under their care.
Cardiac Arrest
Jack Adcock died of a cardiac arrest at Leicester Royal Infirmary in February 2011, following multiple incidents of medical negligence from the team in charge of his care.
His mother took Jack, who had Down’s syndrome and a heart condition, to the Leicester Royal Infirmary. He was suffering with vomiting and diarrhoea.
Eleven hours after being admitted he died of a cardiac arrest, caused by sepsis triggered by pneumonia.
Manslaughter by Gross Negligence
Dr Hadiza Bawa-Garba and agency nurse Isabel Amaro, were found guilty of manslaughter by gross negligence in the Nottingham Crown Court on 4th November.
The court heard how Bawa-Garba, a paediatric specialist, mistook Jack for another patient who had a do not resuscitate order, and only resumed care when a junior doctor pointed out her mistake. By which point it was too late.
The court was told by the prosecution how Jack’s death was caused by “serious neglect”, by staff who failed to recognise his body was “shutting down” and close to death.
Nicola Adcock, Jack’s mother told the BBC: “You take your child to the hospital expecting you are doing the right thing. I wish I had never taken him there that day. They neglected him from the minute he went into that ward”.
In a statement following the verdict, Andrew Furlong, interim medical director at the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, said:
“We cannot bring Jack back and under the circumstances saying sorry does not seem enough. Nevertheless, we are deeply sorry and would like to again send our condolences to the Adcock family.”
