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Family demand apology over heart agony girl

1/11/2002

THE FAMILY of six-year-old girl who died of heart failure after being sent home from a children's hospital with a "stomach bug' say they will sue health chiefs for negligence.

Aneesa Hussain died suddenly when a virus she had attacked her heart.

Immediately before her death her parents had taken her to Booth Hall Children's Hospital in North Manchester on three successive days worried about her condition. Each time she was diagnosed as having a stomach bug and sent home. The Crumpsall Lane School pupil then began vomiting and complained of severe stomach pains.

She was taken back to Booth Hall and this time admitted. But within 24-hours she was dead - killed by a virus known as Coxsackie B.

After an inquest verdict of death due to natural causes Aneesa's grandfather, Gulistan Khan, said the family have consulted lawyers with a view to suing for damages. He accused the hospital of "disgraceful" treatment and not properly investigating Aneesa's condition.

He said Aneesa was "screaming out in pain" during one of visit to Booth Hall but a nurse told her mother to keep her quiet because she was making too much noise.

He said: "We took her to Booth Hall on three successive days after seeing our GP and they told us to give her plenty of fluids and said it was nothing to worry about."

He claimed the family had been trying to speak to consultant paediatrician Julian Vyas about Aneesa's death for eight months without success.

Mr Khan said: "We have made countless calls but he is never available and we are very angry. We want answers - and we are not getting them. We want an apology - for the doctors to say 'yes, we were wrong'. It is not a matter of money if we get any damages we will give them to a charity.

"Aneesa's parents are too distraught to speak of this tragedy and cannot move on with their lives until they have all their questions answered, but this is proving to be very difficult."

At the inquest Manchester's deputy coroner, Graham Jackson, concluded Aneesa, of Moss Bank, Crumpsall died last February from natural causes after hearing the evidence of pathologist Melanie Newbould. She said she was 90 per cent certain it was a virus, which had attacked Aneesa's heart and led to her death. But she told the court it was "very rare" for this particular virus to be fatal.

She said: "When you have a weakened heart muscle you can die very suddenly - and I think that's what happened here."

Questioned by the family, Dr Newbould conceded that if Aneesa had been given a scan it would have shown her heart was not working properly.

A spokesman for Booth Hall denied the family had been ignored. He said: "There has been numerous telephone contacts between the family counsellors at Booth Hall with various members of the family. A meeting was arranged with the family in June, but the family contacted the hospital to cancel. The doctor has since written to the family and we have not had any further contact from them.

"The family counsellors are always available to provide support and would be happy to speak to the family at any time in the future."

Mr Khan said Aneesa was a bubbly girl who enjoyed watching Bollywood films and cartoons.

"She had so many friends and she was a happy little girl who liked to make people around her feel happy. She is missed dearly by everybody. What makes her death such a tragedy is the fact that she died in pain."