Family who heard laughing as son died given ‘poor bereavement care’ by hospital
Family who heard laughing as son died given ‘poor bereavement care’ by hospital
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A family who complained they could hear hospital staff laughing in a nearby room as their son’s life support machine was turned off were given “poor bereavement” care and shown “substantially inadequate” cultural sensitivity by an NHS trust, an investigation has found.
Five-year-old Muhammad Ayaan Haroon, known as Ayaan, died on March 13 2023 at Sheffield Children’s Hospital, eight days after he was admitted with breathing problems. Ayaan had a history of respiratory problems and a rare genetic condition called Hace 1.
Ayaan’s father Haroon Rashid, 42, complained about a “catalogue of catastrophic errors” in his son’s care that he believes “cost Ayaan his life”. A draft report into Ayaan’s death by Niche Health and Social Care Consulting, carried out as a response to the family’s complaints, has now found that some of his care did not meet expected standards, and made 15 recommendations.
But it concluded that although some changes – such as earlier escalation to intensive care, earlier insertion of a chest drain and earlier intubation – may have marginally increased his chances of survival, they were ultimately unlikely to have changed the outcome.
Mr Rashid has now called for a second investigation, saying his family “simply can’t trust this report”, claiming it has missed out key details from Ayaan’s last days. Taxi driver Mr Rashid, who also has three older daughters, told the PA news agency: “Although it’s very critical of the care my son received, the main thing for us as a family is despite it saying his care was mismanaged, it still says the outcome would not have changed. We as a family can’t accept that.
