Hospital failed in care for child, says report
A nine-year-old girl who died days after being released from Cavan General Hospital was not cared for properly, a report said tonight.
Frances Sheridan, from Cootehill in Cavan, was admitted to the A&E department for an appendix operation in January.
She returned three weeks later with stomach pains but was told it was a stomach bug and sent home.
She died 36 hours later as a result of a trapped bowel.
The review set up by the North Eastern Health said staff at the hospital had been unable to locate the girl’s medical records, which were still passing through the hospital secretarial system.
After being examined and X-rayed by a non-consultant hospital doctor, who was supported by a second opinion, Frances was told she did not seem to have any serious abdominal disorder.
She was given a suppository and discharged from the A&E – but her GP, who had suggested in his referring note that she had a twisting of the gut, was not told of the decision.
According to the report, Frances vomited outside the A&E after she was discharged.
She became sick again at home and collapsed two days later. She was brought by ambulance to Cavan General Hospital but was declared dead on arrival.
The review found there were inadequacies in the systems in the hospital, an absence of guidelines, a need for enhanced nursing and clerical staffing and a need for some structural changes in the A&E department.
The Sheridan family were provided with a copy of the report through their solicitor. They said they were devastated to learn their daughter’s death could have been avoided.
The North Eastern Health Board chief executive said he wished to convey his deepest sympathy to the Sheridan family on the death of Frances.
