According to a report, the avoidable death of a baby boy in Bristol demonstrates how hospital errors are frequently made worse by "defensive" and "insensitive" responses.
Ben Condon passed away at Bristol Children's Hospital at the age of eight weeks from a respiratory infection.
His case was mentioned in a Health Ombudsman report that claimed there is an "ingrained defensiveness" within the NHS when it comes to patients who die needlessly.
The hospital, according to Father Ally Condon, took "endless" steps to hide it.
Ben spent six weeks in the neonatal intensive care unit at Southmead Hospital in Bristol after being born at 29 weeks, weighing just under 3 lbs.
Ben developed a minor cough three days after being brought home. Human Metapneumovirus (hMPV) was discovered when his condition deteriorated and he was transferred to Bristol Children's Hospital.
Ben's condition deteriorated, whereas the majority of children with the virus recover fully. He passed away on April 17 after having a cardiac arrest.
Ben could have survived if the antibiotics were given to him sooner, it was later discovered.
Mr. Condon, a resident of Weston-super-Mare, stated that he holds the trust accountable for failing to act quickly and for withholding information regarding Ben's whereabouts for a period of seven weeks.
According to what he said to the BBC, "they withheld test results, they told us tests that were never taken were negative, they removed documents from the medical notes - it's endless.".
The truth is difficult to discern. ".
After reevaluating the situation, the Bristol NHS Hospital's Trust and the CQC apologized to Mr. Condon in 2017.
According to a letter from the Care Quality Commission, the trust "missed an opportunity" to give Ben "timely antibiotics" and that failure played a part in his demise.
"The trust did not adequately equip and empower its staff to admit when things had gone wrong and to meet its duty of candor," it claimed.
"The trust ought to have taken action to inform Mr. and Mrs. Condon about this in an open, transparent, clear, and comprehensive manner.
"I want to apologize for not holding us accountable for the trust. ".
Later this year, there will be a second inquest into the incident.
The health service ombudsman for England, Rob Behrens, highlighted in his report the "gaping hole" between policies intended to improve patient safety and actual experience on the ground, with hospitals "routinely" failing to accept their errors.
Patients have been misinformed. In a number of incidents, no one knows what happened, and hospitals are reluctant to talk about them, he said. Regardless of what you call it, it is a cover-up. I'm talking to NHS England, and they're saying things like, 'We don't recognize the term avoidable harm, avoidable death, it's not helpful.
Please excuse me, but I believe that is nonsense and needs to be refuted.
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