Latest news with #staphylococcusaureus
The Independent
18-02-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Newborn baby ‘stable' the day before dying following an infection, probe hears
A newborn baby who died in a Glasgow hospital after developing an infection was 'stable' the day before she passed away, an inquiry has heard. Sophia Smith was just 11 days old when she died at the Royal Hospital for Children (RHC) at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) campus in Glasgow on April 11 2017. The newborn became ill with an infection similar to MRSA, which developed into sepsis. In 2020, Sophia's case was handed over to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) which, earlier this year, announced a Fatal Accident Inquiry (FAI) into her death. Sophia was born at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley, Renfrewshire, on March 31 2017. The inquiry at Glasgow Sheriff Court heard that following her birth Sophia had difficulty breathing and a possible heart issue, so she was transferred to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at the RHC. There she was placed in an incubator with one-on-one nursing care and a 'raft of machinery' next to her cot. She was also given antibiotics via lines into her body, initially in her abdomen and then in her left foot. The child 'rallied' over the following days, with parents Theresa and Matthew Smith being led to believe she would be home in 'a matter of weeks'. However on April 10 Sophia's health suddenly deteriorated and despite efforts to save her Sophia she died at 5.48pm on April 11. Samples taken from her body on April 10 and 11 subsequently tested positive for a bacteria called staphylococcus aureus (SA), which the inquiry heard can 'cause harm' if it gets into the body. On Tuesday the inquiry heard evidence from Lorna McSeveney, a senior charge nurse who had been on duty at NICU on April 10 and 11. The inquiry heard she carried out a routine 'package of measures' at the start of her shift at 7.30am on April 10 to check on Sophia's condition, and that these did not give her 'cause for concern'. 'She was a sick baby, but she was stable,' she told the inquiry. She took the inquiry through Sophia's medical charts for April 10 and into April 11. I live every day of my life knowing she's dead, knowing that absolutely putrid hospital caused an infection in my child and killed her Theresa Smith, Sophia Smith's mother These showed, she said, that the initial signs Sophia was 'not quite right' came at about 3pm. This included changes in a number of vital signs, including her temperature, heart rate and oxygen levels, which were being constantly monitored. Small amounts of blood were also found in her airway. These signs continued to worsen over the ensuing hours, and she was found to be suffering from a pulmonary haemorrhage (bleeding on the lung). When asked whether these could have been signs Sophia had sepsis, Ms McSeveney said not necessarily, since they could have been caused by other things. She added that it was 'very difficult' even for experienced staff to detect sepsis in newborn children, and that the signs of the condition could be 'very subtle'. She was also asked if there was anything she would have done anything differently in the knowledge Sophia had an infection. She replied: 'I have gone over it in my head I don't know how many times. 'I don't think there was.' She said Sophia was being constantly monitored, and that from a nursing perspective she had done everything she could. She was also asked how handwashing protocols were 'policed' in NICU, with Sophia's parents saying on Monday it was 'frustrating' to see they were not always being followed by visitors and staff. She replied that staff had a 'duty' to ensure infection control measures were being followed, and that she would always challenge people if there were not complying with them. In the afternoon, the inquiry heard evidence from Pamela Joannidis, interim associate director of infection prevention and control at the NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde health board from 2019 to 2022. She told the inquiry that any break in Sophia's skin – such as from a tube – could have been a 'doorway' for the SA bacteria to enter her body. However, she said establishing the exact source of the infection was 'particularly difficult'. On Monday, the inquiry heard that no other cases of the same PVL-MSSA bacteria were found in the NICU in the six months before or after Sophia was nursed there. Ms Joannidis was pressed by Iain Mitchell KC, representing Sophia's parents, on whether the infection could be due to a 'failure' in the ward's hygiene protocols around the insertion of 'lines', or tubes, into patients. 'How likely is it that there can have been the infection being introduced otherwise than by a failure in the protocol of asepsis, or a failure in the protocol of prevention of a line becoming infected?' he asked. Ms Joannidis replied that it was not possible to say for sure the infection was linked to a 'device', but said 'you could not rule it out as a hypothesis'. On Monday, Sophia's mother Theresa Smith told the inquiry she just wanted to know what happened to her baby. 'I want to know why she is not here, playing with her brothers and sisters,' she said. She added: 'She's dead. I live every day of my life knowing she's dead, knowing that absolutely putrid hospital caused an infection in my child and killed her,' she said. 'And when it killed her it killed me too. I want to know what happened.' The inquiry continues.
The Independent
17-02-2025
- Health
- The Independent
Bereaved mother tells inquiry her baby's death was caused by ‘putrid hospital'
The mother of a newborn baby who died in a Glasgow intensive care unit has told an inquiry her daughter died from an infection caused by an 'absolutely putrid hospital'. Sophia Smith was just 11 days old when she died at the Royal Hospital for Children (RHC) at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital (QEUH) campus in Glasgow on April 11 2017. The newborn became ill with an infection similar to MRSA, which developed into sepsis. In 2020, Sophia's case was handed over to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) which, earlier this year, announced an Fatal Accident Inquiry (FAI) into her death. I live every day of my life knowing she's dead, knowing that absolutely putrid hospital caused an infection in my child and killed her Theresa Smith, Sophia Smith's mother A statement released via lawyers, on behalf of Sophia's bereaved parents, as the inquiry began on Monday read: 'It has been a long road to get to milestone that we have reached today. 'We are pleased that a FAI has been finally set up and hope that by the end of this process we will know the truth about our daughter and why her life was so tragically and heartbreakingly short.' Sheriff Joanna MacDonald opened the inquiry at Glasgow Sheriff Court with a statement expressing her 'deepest sympathies and condolences' to Sophia's parents 'on the tragic death of their daughter'. Sophia was born at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley, Renfrewshire, on March 31 2017. The inquiry heard that, following her birth, Sophia had difficulty breathing and a possible heart issue, so she was transferred to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) at the RHC. There she was placed in an incubator with one-on-one nursing care and a 'raft of machinery' next to her cot. She was also given antibiotics via lines into her body, initially in her abdomen and then in her left foot. Despite a 'massive' improvement, with parents Theresa and Matthew Smith being led to believe she would be home in 'a matter of weeks', on April 10 Sophia's health suddenly deteriorated. The inquiry heard she turned an 'ashen' colour and by April 11 her lower body had turned 'coal black'. She was found to have suffered a 'massive pulmonary haemorrhage' (bleeding on the lung) and, despite efforts to save her, she died at 5.48pm on April 11. Samples taken on April 10 and 11 both tested positive for staphylococcus aureus (SA), which was later confirmed as PVL-MSSA. The inquiry heard this bacterium can cause serious infection if it gets into the body, such as through medical lines and catheters. Theresa Smith, Sophia Smith's mother Giving evidence, Mrs Smith said she had endured 'eight years of absolute hell' since her daughter's death, and that she had to live 'every day' of her life knowing she was no longer here. 'I want to know what happened to my baby,' she said. 'I want to know why she is not here, playing with her brothers and sisters.' She added: 'She's dead. I live every day of my life knowing she's dead, knowing that absolutely putrid hospital caused an infection in my child and killed her. 'And when it killed her it killed me too. I want to know what happened.' She also questioned how, despite one-to-one care, hospital staff failed to spot the infection, or see the 'rapid deterioration' in her baby. She also said that because Sophia was in an incubator she had been unable to touch her. She instead had to watch as nurses got to 'curl (their) fingers in her hair'. 'When she died in my arms it was the first time I ever held her,' she said. In their evidence, she and her husband also described the subsequent struggle to get answers about the source of their daughter's infection. 'Stonewalling, the missing of documents when requested, the fight to have meetings arranged,' Mr Smith said. 'It's having to be the ones who are pushing it forward for more information. 'Eight years later, we are still looking for similar answers to questions posed in 2017.' The inquiry heard that in meetings in June 2017 the bereaved parents pressed hospital staff on the cause of the infection. In his affidavit, Mr Smith said they were told the staff 'didn't know where she got the infection from'. He continued: 'Dr (Jonathan) Coutts said he had never seen it before, and when pressed he said it was just bad luck.' In her evidence, Mrs Smith added Dr Coutts had said in his opinion the speed with which the infection took hold of their daughter indicated it was from the 'arterial line' in Sophia's body. She said when he was asked what would have happened had Sophia not contracted the infection he said he would have 'expected her to go on to live a very full life'. An inspection of the hospital in September 2016 did not identify any infection issues, but the NICU was not inspected. A further inspection in January 2019 did look at NICU, but did not focus on the use of insertable lines. The latter inspection found 'some non-compliance with standard infection control precautions' at the hospital, but these not were recorded as relating specifically to NICU. In 2021, the case was transferred to the Health and Safety Investigations Unit to be considered alongside, and as part of, an ongoing investigation into four deaths at QEUH as a result of infections linked to the built environment of the hospital. However, the investigation found 'no evidence' Sophia's infection was linked to those other infections. The inquiry continues.
