Heartbroken mum describes ‘chaos' as her baby died after nurses mistakenly gave her ‘ten times' required drug dose

The Sun

a day ago

A NEWBORN baby girl passed away after accidentally being given "ten times" the required dosage of a drug.
Polly Ida Lindop was barely a day old when she died at St Mary's Hospital in Manchester on March 13, 2023, having been born 10 weeks premature.
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An inquest into her death at Manchester Coroners Court heard that nurses in the neo-natal intensive care unit mistakenly gave the tot 10 times the dose of a drug she was prescribed.
Polly suffered a cardiac arrest 10 minutes after being given atracuriam - a muscle relaxant, so she could be put on a ventilator to help her breathe.
But a medical expert testified that little Polly was already "very sick" and deteriorating.
There was a "very low" chance of her surviving, even without the overdose, the BBC reported.
Polly's heartbroken mum, Kimberley Lindop, described scenes of "chaos" at the hospital as doctors tried to save the baby's life.
Kimberley checked into St Mary's hospital on March 11, after "showing signs of infections" 10 weeks before her due date, Manchester Evening News reported.
Her water broke and she underwent an emergency caesarean and gave birth to Polly.
It was suspected that she had the infection chorioamnionitis whilst she was in labour.
Maternity guidelines state two types of antibiotics should be given to the mother whilst in labour to protect the baby, but Kimberley was only given one.
Speaking in court, the mum told the coroner Zak Golombek she was initially told that Polly was healthy, and a rash that she had noticed on the baby's body was a "birth blemish".
Polly later developed sepsis and was started on antibiotics.
When she deteriorated on March 13, medics decided to attach her to a mechanical ventilator to help her breathe she was prescribed atracurium to relax her body.
But the court heart that the nursing team made a mistake when inputting the dose details, meaning Polly received 10 times the amount she should have.
Shortly afterwards, the tot suffered a cardiac arrest.
Staff managed to resuscitate her but failed to notice Polly was being overdosed. During a nurse handover, approximately two hours later, the error was picked up on and the infusion was switched off.
Minutes later, Polly suffered another cardiac arrest and tragically died at just 18 hours old.
Kimberley described the ward as "chaotic", adding there were an "awful lot of people" in the unit when Polly suffered a "collapse".
The overdose was not recorded in Polly's medical records and Kimberley and Jacob only became aware after overhearing a conversation between the nurses, lawyers representing the pair said.
Recalling the moment in court, Kimberley remembered a nurse saying "0.33" and then saying "no, it's 3.33" when reading Polly's dosage details.
The court heard the nurses involved and Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust had accepted the overdose mistake had been made.
A post-mortem examination found the primary cause of Polly's death was sepsis and prematurity and that she had suffered severe lung damage.
Dr Naomi Carter, a former Home Office forensic pathologist who jointly carried out the post-mortem examination, said it was "difficult to speculate" on how much difference the medication overdose had made in Polly's death.
What is premature birth?
Labour is deemed premature if it happens before the 37th week of pregnancy.
About eight out of 100 babies will be born prematurely.
Babies born before full term are vulnerable to problems associated with being born premature.
The earlier in the pregnancy a baby is born, the more vulnerable they are.
It's possible for a baby to survive if born around 24 weeks of pregnancy onwards.
Babies born this early need special care in a hospital with specialist facilities for premature babies.
They may have health and development problems because they have not fully developed in the womb.
You should call your midwife or maternity unit if you're less than 37 weeks pregnant and you have:
Regular contractions or tightenings
Period-type pains
A gush or trickle of fluid from your vagina – this could be your waters breaking
Backache that's not usual for you
"It may have hastened the event of the cardiac arrest," she told the hearing.
However, Dr Carter said Polly had been "a very, very sick infant" in a critical condition who would "more likely than not died of her medical problems", even without the overdose.
Greater Manchester Police launched an investigation into possible gross negligence manslaughter at the time of Polly's death, but earlier this year said no criminal charges were being brought.
Detective inspector Mark Davies - who lead the investigation - spoke during the inquest.
He said officers were told about the death "a few weeks after", and after speaking to multiple health officials and receiving the findings from Dr Carter, it was concluded that there was no cause for a criminal conviction.
Kimberley said: 'Polly's death has not only affected us, but also our other children who still struggle to comprehend why their baby sister, whose arrival they were looking forward to so much, is not here with them.
"We need answers so that we can try to find some closure about why she died even though we will never get over losing her.
"Any parent who has lost child knows that the pain is indescribable but what drives us on is knowing that we have to be Polly's voice and help to ensure that lessons are learned, and the hospital and all the staff involved are held accountable for the mistakes that were made.'
Rachael Heyes, a medical negligence solicitor at JMW who is representing Polly's family through the inquest process, said: 'Kimberley and Jacob have been through a hugely traumatic ordeal and are devastated to have lost Polly in such distressing circumstances.
"To know that the care she received was not in line with NHS guidelines only compounds this for them. We welcome the inquest and will be cooperating fully with the coroner to ensure that no stone is left unturned in trying to find out why Polly died.'
The inquest began on June 9 and is expected to go on for five days.
St Mary's Hospital told Sun Health it wouldn't be providing an official comment until the conclusion of the inquest.