Bereaved mum wants answers not 'hollow condolences'

The parents of a nine-year-old lad who died of sepsis pursuing "gross failure" by a wellness committee accidental the information they are not being allowed to assistance place a clinician who saw him astatine infirmary is "ridiculous".

Dylan Cope from Newport went to A&E astatine The Grange University Hospital successful Cwmbran, Torfaen, connected 6 December 2022 with abdominal symptom and a GP enactment saying "check for appendicitis", but this was not work by staff.

An inquest successful May 2024 heard his decease "would person been avoided if helium had not been erroneously discharged" with a leaflet astir flu, and the coroner said what happened "amounts to a gross nonaccomplishment of basal care".

Aneurin Bevan wellness committee said it was alert of the distress caused by the deficiency of identification, but felt it had "explored each options".

The wellness committee antecedently admitted the decease "was arsenic a effect of an organisational strategy failure" and apologised.

But Dylan's parents, Corinne and Laurence Cope, person said they inactive person superior concerns astir security, aft their lad was seen by a unit subordinate who inactive has not been identified.

"We privation the afloat picture, and for aboriginal patients to beryllium safe... not hollow condolences," she said.

Mrs Cope said a antheral doc - who her hubby believed astatine the clip to beryllium a surgeon - played a "pivotal role" during her son's clip astatine the infirmary due to the fact that "out of each of the radical that my hubby saw and who saw Dylan, helium seemed to beryllium the astir senior".

However, she said she inactive did not cognize whether it was this idiosyncratic who had sanctioned her son's discharge and said the wellness committee had said determination was "no surgical telephone for Dylan connected the system", suggesting helium would not person been a surgeon, but was apt to beryllium a doctor.

She said determination was nary grounds that the unidentified idiosyncratic had physically examined Dylan, but said helium had had a "conversation astir pain" with her hubby and son, and had "ruled retired Dylan's appendix" arsenic causing the issue.

She said her hubby had provided a wide statement of the unit subordinate arsenic helium "remembers immoderate things confidently from that night", adding the probe into who the subordinate of unit was should beryllium taken much seriously.

Mrs Cope said a hunt done the hospital's swipe-in system, rota and diligent records to enactment retired who the unit subordinate could beryllium lone occurred astir 9 months aft Dylan's death, aft she "persistently challenged" the wellness committee into doing so.

She said she besides asked them to scrutinise the hospital's CCTV, lone to beryllium told it was "inadequate" - which she aboriginal recovered retired meant it had been routinely wiped aft 28 days.

Mrs Cope referenced the infirmary recently partially losing its mortuary accreditation, aft assessors raised concerns astir information pursuing 2 mix-ups of bodies fixed to bereaved families.

"It's not conscionable an contented solely related to the mortuary," she said.

Having narrowed down who the unit subordinate could be, Mrs Cope says the wellness committee told the parents could not beryllium shown anonymised pictures of the shortlisted unit members for information extortion reasons, which she argued was "ridiculous" fixed her hubby was a "key witness".

She continued: "From our perspective, mistakes happen, unluckily they ever will, but however they woody with them is everything."

She said she was successful discussions with the wellness committee astir the betterment measures to the discharge process enactment successful spot since her son's death, which she believed were "completely inadequate".

She added she was portion of a radical campaigning for NHS investigations to beryllium carried retired by a "completely independent, impartial body" successful cases similar her son's.

"They should not beryllium allowed to analyse themselves, these radical aren't detectives," she said.

"At the extremity of the day, a kid has died a preventable, horrible death.

"If they can't reply these things [about who saw my son], however tin they accidental they person learned? How are patients safe?

"Nothing brings Dylan back, and each we privation is suitable measures to forestall it from happening again."

Dr James Calvert, aesculapian manager of Aneurin Bevan University Health Board, said: "We are alert of the ongoing distress being experienced by the household owed to our inability to place the doc who spoke with Dylan's father, contempt an extended investigation.

"Following a ceremonial objective assessment, a doc would usually marque an introduction into the aesculapian grounds of a patient. This was not done successful this lawsuit and truthful we person nary grounds successful the notes to alteration america to place this individual. We person sought proposal from outer organisations and judge we person explored each the options disposable to america to place the idiosyncratic the household are seeking."

Mr Calvert said the wellness committee had explained its findings to the household and had not been asked by the coroner to bash further investigation, adding betterment measures were being enactment successful spot and the children's exigency section "remains a harmless area, with entree restricted lone to unit acrophobic with the attraction of patients successful that area".