Day-old baby dies after being given '10 times required dose' of drug

Daily Mirror

2 days ago

Polly Ida Lindop died at Saint Mary's Hospital on March 13 2023, after being born by emergency caesarean section ten weeks prematurely
A devastated mum has recounted a scene of 'chaos' in the hours leading up to her newborn baby's tragic death at a Manchester hospital.
Polly Ida Lindop was just 24 hours old when she tragically died at Saint Mary's Hospital on March 13, 2023.
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On June 9, 2025, an inquest at Manchester Coroner's Court heard how the infant was administered ten times the recommended dosage of medication prior to her death.
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Her mother, Kimberley Lindop, had been admitted to hospital on March 11, after "showing signs of infections" during her pregnancy.
On March 12, she underwent an emergency caesarean and gave birth to Polly ten weeks prematurely, reports the Manchester Evening News.
She was initially told that Polly was healthy, and a rash that she had noticed on the baby's body was merely a "birth blemish", Kimberley told coroner Zak Golombek in court.
She had later overheard two nurses discussing during a handover how Polly had been given ten times the amount of atracurium - a muscle relaxant - than she needed.
Recounting the moment, Kimberley said a nurse stated: "'0.33', then she said 'no, it's 3.33" when reading Polly's details.
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Kimberley described the ward as "chaotic", adding there were an "awful lot of people" in the unit when Polly suffered a "collapse". She also revealed to the court that she took photographs of her daughter's medical details and syringes.
Following Polly's death, Greater Manchester Police launched an investigation and appointed pathologist Dr Naomi Carter as an expert on the case.
Dr Carter told the court that atracurium is a muscle relaxant typically used on patients undergoing surgery or those on a ventilator.
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She stated that there was "no dispute" that Polly had received an overdose of the medication, but noted that the infant was already "very, very unwell" due to her premature birth.
According to Dr Carter, hospital doctors discovered a "severe form of lung damage" shortly after Polly's birth, and her key findings revealed that the infant had the rare rod-shaped bacterium pseudomonas aeruginosa in her lungs and spleen.
In March of this year, police confirmed that no criminal charges would be pursued.
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The inquest heard that Polly suffered her first "collapse" just six minutes after receiving the atracurium overdose. However, Dr Carter stated that, on the "balance of probability", she could not determine whether the overdose caused or "hastened" Polly's death.
Dr Carter added that, given Polly's underlying medical issues, it was "likely that she would have died regardless".
Detective Inspector Mark Davies of Greater Manchester Police, who led the investigation into possible gross negligence manslaughter, also testified during the inquest. The coroner's inquest heard that police saw no criminal basis for charges following her passing.
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Dr Carter's findings supported this conclusion, as officers were informed "a few weeks after" the tragic event.
Also speaking at the inquest about Kimberley's treatment prior to the birth of her daughter, was Dr Yara Mohammed, a consultant gynaecologist and obstetrician for Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust (MFT).
She told the court there had been a "missed opportunity" to prescribe the mother-to-be with a second antibiotic as an alternative for patients with a penicillin allergy.
She also told the inquest that the antibiotic was primarily prescribed to help Kimberley rather than Polly, she also added: 'It is unknown whether the dosage of the drug would have prevented this sad outcome.'
She went on to tell the court that lessons have been learned from Kimberley's case and work has been done to make it easier for clinicians to access guidance on what antibiotics to prescribe to patients with penicillin allergies.