Hospital admits full responsibility for 24 failures that led to toddler's death
Summary
Alder Hey Children’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust accepted full responsibility for 24 care failures that led to the death of 21-month-old Eleanor Hazel Aldred-Owen in October 2023. A coroner found that she died by misadventure, with neglect contributing; her family said the death was preventable and welcomed changes introduced at the hospital.Key Facts
- Eleanor died at Alder Hey Hospital in Liverpool on 2 October 2023, after routine surgery for craniosynostosis, a birth defect affecting the skull.
- An abnormal chest X-ray showing a collapsed lung was not promptly flagged or reviewed.
- Eleanor suffered a cardiac arrest before the collapsed lung was identified and treated, causing an unsurvivable brain injury.
- An investigation found 24 failures in her care, including repeated errors in calculating her early-warning score, which could have led to an earlier medical review.
- During recovery, Eleanor had a raised heart rate and needed oxygen; high-flow oxygen treatment was started without being documented or prescribed according to trust guidelines.
- The hospital trust said Eleanor’s death was tragic and should not have happened, and accepted full responsibility for the failures.
- Eleanor’s parents said the trust has introduced changes, including two post-operative procedures named after her, and stressed that the changes must be used properly and reviewed.
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