Sean Turner inquest: mother and father get in touch with for independent inquiry into hospital

Yolanda and Steve Turner with a image of their late son Sean. Photograph: Tim Ireland/PA

The dad and mom of a four-12 months-old boy who died following a heart operation are calling for an independent inquiry into the treatment method of their son and that of other kids at the same hospital soon after a coroner concluded there were “lost options” in his care.

In the course of an eight-day inquest into the death of Sean Turner, his dad and mom, Yolanda and Steve, said they had been let down by a shortage of staff and a lack of knowledge at Bristol Royal children’s hospital.

They claimed that at 1 stage Sean was so desperate for water although he recovered in ward 32, the children’s cardiac ward, that he resorted to sucking liquid from moisturised tissues.

The Turners, from Warminster, Wiltshire, accused medical doctors of transferring their son from intensive care too soon and stated personnel there failed to choose up indicators of his worsening issue.

Speaking at the end of the inquest on Thursday, they stated: “There were several missed possibilities to rescue Sean from his desperate scenario. In our viewpoint Sean was in the incorrect hospital. We now have to attempt and rebuild our lives with no our small boy.”

The couple explained the hospital had taken unacceptable risks. “Bristol had knowingly been carrying out the most complex surgical treatment with no ample high-dependency services and with out a 24-hour integrated staff,” they said. “Although Sean essential a high level of nursing attention, at instances on ward 32 he didn’t even acquire the most simple care. There was a lack of leadership, accountability and communication.”

The hospital will face much more questions in the coming months as 4 far more inquests are held for kids who had been taken care of there. An inquest last yr on yet another boy, 7-year-old Luke Jenkins, who died a month after Sean following remedy on ward 32, heard complaints strikingly comparable to those of the Turners. Up to 10 families, like those of Sean and Luke, are taking or considering legal action against the hospital believe in.

The Turners mentioned they were concerned that sufferers at the hospital could nevertheless be at danger. “We have not witnessed enough proof to persuade us that the lessons of Sean and Luke Jenkins’ deaths, less than a month apart, have been learnt,” they mentioned. They are campaigning for an independent inquiry or for the parliamentary and well being service ombudsman to stage in.

Providing a narrative verdict, the Avon coroner, Maria Voisin, mentioned Sean died in March 2012 from issues following an operation that took spot six weeks earlier. She stated: “There had been lost opportunities to render medical care or treatment to Sean in this post-operative period.”

The coroner stated a adhere to-up operation could have been considered and far more could have been carried out to tackle concerns connected to blood clotting. Even so, Voisin explained she had not heard proof of “gross failures to give fundamental care” and stated that possessing been told of changes the hospital had made she would not be writing a “prevention of long term deaths” report to the trust.

She stated: “I am conscious that the trust has produced tons of adjustments because Sean’s death and I do not think about that I need to make any report in connection with this matter.”

Robert Woolley, chief executive of the University Hospitals Bristol NHS foundation believe in, apologised to the Turners. He said: “The inquest highlighted some missed opportunities in the care we gave to Sean when managing his submit-operative issues and shortcomings in our communication with the family.

“I would like to offer my sincere apologies to Mr and Mrs Turner for the extra tension that we have brought on them in relation to Sean’s death. We are usually enhancing our services and we have made important alterations since Sean was on the ward. Regardless of Sean’s sad death, our outcomes are comparable to other nationwide centres for this type of surgery.”

Sean Turner inquest: mother and father get in touch with for independent inquiry into hospital