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Yahoo
9 hours ago
- 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
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.
