A one-year-old girl tragically lost her life due to gross neglect while in hospital, a coroner has ruled. Eleanor Aldred-Owen was diagnosed with bicoronal craniosynostosis when she was just 12 weeks old. This diagnosis meant that the sutures, the fibrous tissue joints connecting the bones of the skull, had fused prematurely, preventing normal growth and requiring surgery to alleviate the risk of pressure on her brain. A Liverpool inquest into Eleanor's death on Wednesday heard how she attended Alder Hey Children's Hospital for surgery on September 29 last year but suffered complications that the hospital "missed opportunities" to treat.
Alder Hey has since apologised to the family, expressing their heartbreak over failing them and Eleanor, and committing to ensuring such an incident does not recur. Assistant Coroner Helen Rimmer revealed during the inquest on Wednesday that a tube was dislodged during Eleanor's bicoronal craniosynostosis surgery, leading to tachycardia (a very fast heart rate over 100 beats per minute).
Despite concerns raised by her parents, Eleanor of Mold in Wales, was transferred to recovery following the operation. Rachel and Chaz Aldred-Owen, the parents of Eleanor, noticed their daughter's breathing was not 'normal' after her surgery. They even recorded a video to show the medical staff, reports the Liverpool Echo.
