Toddler dies in ‘too busy a&E’

Iesha Kaur, of Wansbeck Road, Bedford, was 17 months old when she died from a rare virus which caused her heart to fail.

The tot’s family took her to see a doctor on July 24, 2010 after she suffered an accidental fall downstairs at their home.

She had also received her routine MMR vaccine in the same week which doctors thought may be the reason that she was suffering fever-like symptoms.

On July 27 the family visited friends in Luton, but Iesha’s condition deteriorated and her parents took her to the Luton & Dunstable Hospital Accident and Emergency (A&E) department.

The family arrived at 10.30pm and claimed that the triage nurse appeared to be disorganised when she took readings of Iesha’s blood oxygen level.

When the readings showed a dangerously low level of oxygen in Iesha’s blood the family told the inquest the nurse simply blamed the machinery claiming it was faulty.

Iesha was then given a green rating – the hospital’s lowest level of priority – and placed on a bed in a non-monitored section of the department for over an hour.

Her condition continued to worsen and her mother Baljit Kaur searched frantically for a doctor to help before the family decided to take Iesha to Bedford Hospital where they believed they would be seen faster.

The inquest heard how Mrs Kaur spoke to Dr Christopher Gough and asked him if he would check Iesha quickly to assess whether she would be safe to travel to Bedford.

Dr Gough said at the inquest the A&E department was very busy that night as staff were dealing with a trauma patient who had suffered life-threatening injuries.

Questions were also raised as to whether what was described as bare minimum staffing levels in their A&E department were appropriate if a major incident took place.

When the family arrived at Bedford Hospital Iesha was taken straight to the major treatment room. She was given oxygen and treatment before going into arrest.

Efforts were made to resuscitate the tot but she died on July 28 from myocarditis, a viral infection of the heart.

The inquest heard from Chris Harvey of the Luton & Dunstable Hospital who was tasked with investigating the incident.

He said: “Lesson have been learned and procedures have been changed. Now triage observations must be recorded into a new computer system.”

And while accepting that the outcome of the incident would have been the same whether Iesha had been seen at the Luton & Dunstable Hospital or not, coroner David Morris expressed his concerns over hospital procedures when delivering a verdict of death by natural causes.

He said: “I have serious concerns about this incident.”

He added: “I think that lessons need to be learned and I hope they have been learned at the Luton & Dunstable Hospital.”“To look at the death of a small child is a tragedy for all concerned but I have to remember here that this isn’t happening very often.”

Speaking after the inquest Mrs Kaur, who was supported by her husband Valvinda, said: “It is extremely painful knowing we will never get to see our daughter again.

“It is so destroying and a heartbreaking tragedy to all of us.

“We don’t want this to happen to another child and we believe the lack of vigilance from staff attributed to the death of our daughter.

“Iesha did not get the treatment she was entitled to expect.

“The standard of care afforded to our family was startlingly inadequate.

“No one should ever suffer the severe agony that Iesha suffered and no child should ever suffer a horrific death in a British hospital.”