Baby girl died from sepsis after Sheffield Children's Hospital dismissed mum's concerns, inquest hears
A heartbroken mum whose baby girl died after developing sepsis after bowel surgery has spoken out for the first time.
Lariece Greaves' four-month-old daughter Kyra Ali Aslam died after having an operation to reverse a stoma that she had fitted shortly after birth.
The tot underwent the surgery at Sheffield Children's Hospital in August 2022 but her bowel started leaking after the operation.
Lariece, 28, raised concerns that her daughter wasn't acting as she did previously after surgery but medics said it was “normal” behaviour linked to "anaesthetic."
Kyra started vomiting the following day and nurses, who feared Kyra may have sepsis, raised “significant concerns” with other medical staff.
However, medical staff said a leaking bowel would be a rare complication.
Kyra’s condition deteriorated and she died two days later from sepsis on August 13, 2022.
Lariece, from Sheffield, said she "would do anything to have her daughter back in her life”.
She said: "It’s almost impossible to find the words to describe the hurt we feel over Kyra’s death. The hurt we feel and the hole her death has left in our family is unbearable.
"It’s difficult not to think how Kyra would be developing and causing mischief with her older brothers. We’d do anything to have Kyra back in our lives but know that’s not possible.
"I just hope that by speaking out people realise how dangerous sepsis can be and that improvements in care are made. I wouldn’t wish what our family are going through on anyone."
Sheffield Children’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust admitted they failed to obtain consent for Kyra’s stoma reversal and outline there was a one per cent risk of a leaking bowel occurring.
The surgical team also failed to review Kyra on the night before her death despite her having a “consistently high” paediatric early warning score.
The trust acknowledged that the team failed to recognise Kyra had features of sepsis, but denied liability for her death.
Lariece added: "She was such a happy and content baby despite everything that happened to her after she was born. She was developing brilliantly and was meeting all of her developmental milestones.
"She was such a smiley baby. She didn’t cry often and was very content. Her brothers loved interacting with her, which easily made her smile.
"Kyra’s nickname was Dolly Bleu because she had the most beautiful blue eyes, just like her grandparents.”
At the conclusion of an inquest, assistant coroner Abigail Combes wrote a prevention of future deaths report and called on the hospital to outline what measures it would take to improve care.
The trust said it had introduced a number of measures, including enabling parents to escalate concerns about their child’s care, hiring a sepsis lead nurse and setting up a monthly safety, quality, risk and learning committee.
Sinead Rollinson-Hayes, a lawyer at Irwin Mitchell which represented the family at inquest, said: "This is a truly tragic case which has left Kyra’s family heartbroken.
"Understandably Lariece has had a number of concerns about the care her daughter received and the events that unfolded in the lead up to her death.
"Sadly, the inquest heard worrying evidence regarding Kyra’s care and a lack of recognition regarding how serious her condition was.
"While nothing can make up for Kyra’s death, we’re pleased that we’ve at least been able to provide her family with the answers they deserve.
"Kyra’s death is a stark reminder of the dangers of sepsis and how early detection, and treatment are key to beating it. It’s now vital that lessons are learned to improve patient safety."
Dr Jeff Perring, executive medical director at the trust said: "The care Kyra received at Sheffield Children’s did not meet the quality of care we strive for.
"We apologise for this and extend our sympathies to Kyra’s family.
"We will continue to make sure that lessons are learnt and embedded into practice, and to create cultural change across the Trust to improve the safety and experience of our patients and families."