Latest news with #AlisonMutch
Yahoo
20-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Coroner's concern after baby girl's heart defect not detected until after death
A coroner has highlighted concerns about medical care following the death of a five-week-old baby girl. Esme Atkinson died at Stepping Hill Hospital of a "ventricular septal defect", a hole in her heart, which was not detected until after her death. An inquest into Esme's death heard that both her mum and her auntie had risk factors but a scan which could have detected the condition was not carried out. READ MORE: Fears as 'no medical record exists of examination' that led to fatal discharge of little girl READ MORE: 'My mum bludgeoned my father to death but it left me feeling relieved' Join the Manchester Evening News WhatsApp group HERE Following the inquest, Senior Coroner Alison Mutch OBE has written a prevention of future deaths report highlighting concerns around Esme's death on March 17, 2024. The letter raises concerns with procedures within healthcare, such as at what point risk factors mean that a routine scan should be carried out. In particular, the coroner drew attention to the fact that Esme's auntie, who is her mum's identical twin, had a heart condition, suggesting Esme was at a heightened risk. Senior Coroner Mutch wrote: "In Esme's case although her mum's identical twin had a heart defect this did not in the North West, trigger the protocol for a routine echocardiogram. A heart defect in her mother would have." She added: "It was unclear why this was excluded given the genetic link." In the letter Senior Coroner Mutch also said that in order for symptoms like Esme's to be detected "training for community midwives/health visitors and GPs needed to be improved." Drawing attention to the lack of an ECG on Esme's heart, Senior Coroner Mutch said: "There was no routine echocardiogram of a baby born of a mother with diabetes nationally although their risk of a defect was significantly higher than other babies and such a test it would detect a baby with a ventricular septal defect at an early stage." Tragically, this test was not carried out and just a five weeks after welcoming their baby daughter Esme's parents Ellen Roberts and Louis Atkinson were left grieving her loss. In a joint statement shared with the Manchester Evening News, they said: 'From the moment we found out we were expecting, Esme was so loved and we couldn't wait to welcome her into the world. 'Not for one minute did we expect to lose her so suddenly after just five weeks. Having to say goodbye was the hardest thing, and to this day the pain and grief still feel as raw now as back then." They added: 'There's not a day goes by when we don't miss Esme and we'll continue to honour our baby girl's memory however we can.' The coroner directed her concern to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and Greater Manchester NHS Foundation Trust, and a copy of the coroner's report was sent to Esme's mum Ellen Roberts, as well as Stepping Hill Hospital and the Chief Coroner. A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: 'This is a tragic incident and our deepest sympathies are with Esme's family. 'We are committed to learning lessons from every prevention of future deaths report and will consider the findings carefully before responding formally." The Manchester Evening News has approached NHS Greater Manchester Integrated Care Board for comment.
The Sun
21-05-2025
- Health
- The Sun
Boy, 15, collapsed and died during football game at school just days after doctors wrongly diagnosed him with asthma
A TEENAGE boy who collapsed and died during a football game at school was wrongly diagnosed with asthma just days before, an inquest heard. Jake Lawler, 15, passed away after collapsing at Ashton on Mersey School in Sale, Trafford, on November 5 last year. 2 The court heard a month before his death he attended Wythenshawe Hospital complaining of shortness of breath while playing football. The inquest was told Jake, from Sale, had collapsed on the pitch on October 13, 2024. Alison Mutch, senior coroner for Manchester South, has now written in a Prevention of Future Death report. She warned how medical professionals incorrectly diagnosed the teenager with exercise induced asthma. According to the report, an "abnormal ECG" and an "exercise induced syncope episode", were not recognised or followed up on. Medical history provided by Jake's father was also "not assessed correctly". The coroner concluded the abnormal ECG in combination with the teen's collapse "should have resulted in him being referred for an inpatient paediatric review and further testing". And, when Jake was discharged, his ECG results were wrongly recorded as coming back "normal". Jake's GP prescribed him medication for the misdiagnosed asthma, but it did not seem to have any effect on the youngster. A test for asthma was also conducted five days after Jake collapsed. But the nurse referred him back to a doctor as they did not think he suffered from the condition. The 15-year-old tragically died from a biventricular arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy just a month later. The coroner wrote in her report: "It is probable that he would not have died on the day he did had the correct actions been taken. "Jake's collapse was incorrectly attributed to his exercise induced asthma." In her report, four areas of concern were highlighted to help prevent future deaths. She stated Jake's ECG results were "key warning signs" that shouldn't have been missed, whether due to training or insufficient medical equipment. Another "red flag event" laid out was "no clear national guidance" on the route to take after a paediatric exercise induced syncope. The third point spotlighted covered asthma treatment prescribed by the GP, which failed to elevate Jake's symptoms, and the asthma assessment. "Jake was assessed by his GP practice using the national asthma scoring system," wrote the coroner. "However, the scoring system does not appear to facilitate scoring for exercise induced asthma. "In Jake's case the readings and answers pointed to a well-controlled asthma. "This was at variance with the fact that his history indicated that he was continuing to struggle with his breathing when exercising and meant he did not trigger as a concern. "This was exacerbated by the normal peak flow readings taken at rest which gave a falsely reassuring picture." The coroner added there was a "lack of curiosity" and a "lack of appreciation" regarding how limiting the assessment was. "In my opinion action should be taken to prevent future deaths, and I believe you and/or your organisation have the power to take such action," she continued. Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust and GP Surgery have until July 4 later this year to respond to the report. Jake's school said at the time of his tragic death: "Our school community was absolutely devastated by the loss of one of our much loved and precious students, Jake Lawler, who recently passed away in tragic circumstances. "As a school, we keep his family and friends in our thoughts and continue to support our students and staff during this incredibly difficult time. "We would also like to take this opportunity to share a link to Jake's memorial fund, set up by his family to raise awareness of a very worthy cause - CRY (Cardiac Risk in the Young). "The money will go towards raising awareness of young sudden cardiac death as well as supporting the families affected, supporting their screening programme and funding research and pathology." What is biventricular arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy ACM is a condition where the cells in your heart muscle don't stick together properly. The walls of your heart can become weak and blood may not be pumped as well as it should. Your heart has four chambers. The top two are called the atria and the bottom two are called the ventricles. ACM can affect one or both of your ventricle chambers. Jake suffered from biventricular arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy, meaning it affected both. ACM is usually a genetic condition which means if one of your parents have it, you have a 50/50 chance of inheriting the faulty gene that could cause ACM. ACM symptoms palpitations (a pounding or fluttering feeling in your chest or neck) feeling lightheaded fainting feeling breathless or shortness of breath abnormal heart rhythms (when your heart beats too fast, too slow or irregularly) swollen ankles, legs or tummy area feeling pain or discomfort in your chest. How is ACM diagnosed? Chest x-ray Cardiac MRI scan ECG (electrocardiogram) Exercise test Echocardiogram How is ACM treated?
The Sun
07-05-2025
- Health
- The Sun
‘Absolutely perfect' newborn baby died from missed ‘hole in the heart' after mum spotted her eyelid twitching
ESME Atkinson was just one month old when she died due to a "hole in her heart" - which was only discovered during a post-mortem examination. The newborn 's condition led to a bleed on her brain, an inquest has heard. 1 Esme's mum Ellen Roberts recalled the moment she found she was going to lose her baby daughter. During an inquest hearing at South Manchester Coroner's Court, she said: "The doctors came out to us and said they've been working on her for half an hour." She added: "They said: 'Your baby's going to die', which is the worst thing you can say to anyone." A post-mortem examination found Esme had a ventricular septal defect (VSD), reports Manchester Evening News. VSD is a congenital heart defect where there's a hole in the wall (septum) that separates the two lower chambers (ventricles) of the heart. The condition makes it more difficult for blood to be pumped efficiently around the body. Senior coroner Alison Mutch OBE heard while neither of her parents had any congenital conditions, Ellen's identical twin sister had been diagnosed with a heart condition. Esme was born on February 7 2024 and just six hours after her birth was taken to the neonatal unit. While doctors were worried about her oxygen levels, Ellen described her daughter as "absolutely perfect". When she was two days old, Esme was sent for an X-ray. Emma Willis, 48, reveals she underwent secret surgery on her HEART after shock diagnosis But consultant paediatric radiologist Dr Rob Hawkes told the court Esme's VSD couldn't be seen on an X-ray, as the type of image it produced would only show an "enlarged" heart rather than the detail required to identify the condition. Shortly after Esme was discharged and returned home with her parents, Ellen and Esme's dad Louis Atkinson. Initially, she appeared a normal newborn, but then Ellen and Louis noticed she started to feed less. On March 6, Esme "projectile vomited across the room" after being fed. A midwife visited the following day as part of a routine visit and advised them to take her to the GP as Esme looked unusually pale and to be "better safe than sorry". The doctor looked into Esme's blood but found they hadn't been done. But Ellen revealed she was none the wiser to what was going on. On March 17, Ellen had been struggling to get her daughter to take from the bottle, and noticed something seemed off. She said: "When she was feeding I looked down and her right eyelid was twitching. I thought maybe there was something in her eye so I wiped it with some cotton wool. "About an hour or so later she had done it again. She had never done that before." After confiding in a group chat for new parents, Ellen decided to take Esme to hospital, arriving at Stepping Hill around 6:30pm. She was seen after 15 minutes, which Ellen had thought was good, until a nurse said Esme "should have been seen as soon as you came in". Esme was placed on oxygen and CPR was carried out. But despite doctors' efforts, Esme passed away on March 17 2024. The inquest continues. Ventricular septal defect (VSD) symptoms A VSD usually causes no signs or symptoms. The blood flowing through the hole can create a swishing noise. This is called a heart murmur. Doctors can hear a heart murmur when they listen to your heart with a stethoscope. In rare cases, a VSD may cause signs and symptoms in children, such as: shortness of breath, especially when exercising being very tired being underweight and growing slowly irregular or extra heart beats, called arrhythmias. Adults with a VSD may also have signs and symptoms, such as: shortness of breath, especially when exercising you may not be able to exercise for long feeling very tired irregular or extra heart beats, called arrhythmias fainting. If you have any of these symptoms, speak to your doctor.
