The mum of a newborn baby told a probe today that she died from an infection from a “putrid hospital.”
Theresa Smith, 45, gave evidence to the Fatal Accident Inquiry (FAI) of Sophia Smith who lost her life when she was 11 days at Glasgow’s Royal Hospital for Children on 11th April, 2017.
Sophia, who had Down’s Syndrome, had been transferred from the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley, Renfrewshire, due to breathing difficulties.
It was then discovered that there was a problem with her heart.
Despite initial improvement in her health, Sophia later suffered bleeding and a collapsed lung.
Sophia sadly passed away and tests found that the baby had an infection called PVL-MSSA which is a toxic form of MRSA.
An FAI is a public examination of the circumstances of a death in the public interest before a Sheriff which does not apportion blame or fault.
Sheriff Joanna McDonald opened the proceedings by addressing Theresa and husband Matthew Smith.
She said: “I offer my deepest sympathies and condolences to Mr and Mrs Smith for the tragic death.
“There are no words I can say that can ease the pain of the whole family.
“I offer my deepest condolences.”
The FAI at Glasgow Sheriff Court was told that Sophia’s infection which caused her death was one which can be transferred from skin to skin.
Family lawyer Iain Mitchell KC asked Mrs Smith what she hoped the FAI would achieve.
She replied: “I want to know what happened to my baby and why she isn’t here playing with her brothers and sisters.
“I want to know how she got an infection and how they failed to notice this in a timely manner.
“I want to know why they detected it so late – they responded too late – to little too late.
“She died and I live every day of my life knowing she is dead, knowing that absolutely putrid hospital caused the infection in my child and killed her.
“When it killed her, it killed me.”
“I’m hoping some good can come out of this hell.
“If we can find out how and why and when we can stop this from happening to other babies and families.
“If we can stop that, then Sophia’s life has not been in vein.”
Mrs Smith told the hearing that Sophia’s deterioration in health was “like a lightening strike – no one saw it coming – I said for a while that the baby wasn’t good.”
Mrs Smith added that “they didn’t have a clue what was going on – they should have.
“There was one to one care and they didn’t see the rapid decline in that baby – how is that possible?”
Mrs Smith stated that she told staff something was wrong.
She said: “I would have been better banging my head off the wall – she was white pale white and went translucent in colour.”
Mrs Smith claimed she was told the doctors were “busy.”
Mrs Smith told the hearing: “When Sophia died in my arms that was the only time I had to hold her.”
Mrs Smith further stated that she was able to change Sophia’s nappy once by putting her hand through two holes on the baby’s incubator.
She said: “I didn’t change the nappy in the way I would normally.
“It was like a Dalek or a cyborg.”
Mrs Smith claimed that the NHS has put her and her husband through “eight years of absolute hell.”
She added they faced “hula hoops” and “stone wall after stone” wall in their attempts to get answers on Sophia’s death.
Amazon operational manager Mr Smith, 55, earlier told the hearing that he met Sophia’s doctor Jonathan Coutts after her death.
Mr Smith stated that the doctor told him that it was “bad luck” that Sophia had contracted the infection.
He stated in an affidavit that Mrs Smith was told: “if she hadn’t caught the infection she would have survived” and would “lived a normal Down’s Syndrome life.”
The witness further told the probe that the infection was not detected until it was “too late.”
Mr Smith earlier told the hearing that Sophia did not cry when she was born.
He stated Sophia was taken to the Royal Hospital For Children with “breathing difficulties.”
Sophia was intubated as well as incubated with “banks of machinery and wires” attached.
Mr Smith stated that he was informed by medics that Sophia had an “issue” with her heart called pulmonary hypertension.
The witness told the inquiry that his daughter’s health “improved” over the next few days.
He stated there was a reduction in machinery and his other children were able to visit Sophia on the ward.
Mr Smith told the probe that he was told by a medic that they were “coming through the woods” and were “out of the death danger zone.”
Prosecutor Chris Fyffe asked Mr Smith if it was a “shock” when he found out that Sophia’s health deteriorated after her tenth day.
He replied: “Yes.”
Mr Fyffe: “Am I right in thinking that this was an unexpected surprise?”
Mr Smith: “A bolt from the blue – no indication.”
A doctor conducted an examination on Sophia and found her to have a collapsed lung.
Mr Smith stated that the colour of Sophia’s skin changed from red and pink to “ash.”
The witness explained in the affidavit that Dr Coutts “couldn’t explain what was going on” in terms of Sophia’s deterioration.
Mr Smith stated that he could “not remember” if there was discussion about administering Sophia with antibiotics.
After Sophia passed away, Sophia’s parents were told that her cause of death was Down’s Syndrome.
Mr Smith stated: “This was obviously a shock for us as in our opinion, although she had Down’s Syndrome, she hadn’t died from it.”
Other causes of death were bleeding to the lung and disease of the heart muscle.
There were no other cases of the infection which was found in Sophia in the six months before or after herd death.
Mr Smith told the probe that a lot of people visiting the room which housed the six ill babies were not adhering to hand washing rules.
He stated that the “majority” of nurses washed their hands but there were times, such as during breaks, where staff would go between children and enter different areas.
The witness added there were times consultants did not wash their hands.
Mr Smith also reported that a “bank nurse” who dealt with Sophia was “clumsy” and “out her depth.”
This was reported to the senior staff nurse who re-assured the Smiths that as Sophia was “improving” she would be “fine” with the baby.
Before the hearing, the family lawyer of the Smiths, from Greenock, Inverclyde, read a statement from outside of the court building.
“It has been a long road to get to this milestone that we have reached today.
“We are pleased that a fatal accident inquiry has been finally set up and hope that by the end of this process we will know the truth about our daughter and why her life was tragically and heartbreakingly cut short.”
The inquiry continues tomorrow before Sheriff McDonald.