Author: Rachel Fernandes
Six-year-old Jack Adcock had been feeling ill on January 18, 2011. Jack had Down's Syndrome as well as a heart condition that demanded long-term medication.Following a referral from his primary care physician, he was admitted to the Children's Assessment Unit (CAU) at Leicester Royal Infirmary. That day, Jack's condition worsened and he sadly passed away.
During Jacks’s time at the hospital, Junior Doctor Hadiza Bawa-Garba examined and evaluated him. Dr. Bawa-Garba requested a chest X-ray, which revealed an infection. Although the X-ray findings were available at 12:30, they were not seen until 3pm due to Dr. Bawa-Garba not being made aware of them. Dr. Bawa-Garba then recommended antibiotics, which were given to the patient at 4 p.m. Arguably, giving antibiotics sooner may have resulted in a different outcome and could have been possible if the ward had not been immensely understaffed.
Elevated levels of C-Reactive Protein (CRP) from the infection were indicated by a blood test however due to computer system failures at the hospital, this was reported more than five hours late. Following her examination of Jack, Dr Bawa-Garba decided to stop his heart medication. However, her failure to include this in his records resulted in Jack’s mother giving Jack his enalapril at 7 p.m.
At 8 p.m., Jack went into cardiac arrest. Dr. Bawa-Garba was among the doctors who responded to the call and arrived just as resuscitation was beginning. Dr. Bawa-Garba had mistaken Jack for another patient whose records were labelled as DNAR (do not attempt resuscitation), therefore she stopped resuscitation. Resuscitation was immediately resumed after the error was discovered. At 9:20 p.m., Jack passed away.
Dr. Bawa-Garba was convicted of manslaughter on the basis of gross negligence on November 4, 2015. Prior to the events of February 18th, Dr. Bawa-Garba had an impeccable record. Many people believe that flaws in the hospital system had a big role in Jack's death. The hospital was very understaffed at the time, and senior consultants were not on-site, thus Dr. Bawa-Garba had no one to report to. There were also not enough senior nurses on the unit. Some doctors have asserted that Dr. Bawa-Garba was merely a scapegoat for a severely underfunded and overworked NHS.
Shortages of staff are widespread within the NHS, from nurses, to midwives, to doctors. Staff are also leaving the service due to low pay and feeling overworked. Of course these issues existed before the pandemic, but they were only worsened during and after. This problem even ties to Brexit; because of Brexit, many healthcare workers from the EU had to leave. And, in 2015, the nursing bursary was removed by the government , leading to a decline in nursing applications and an overwhelming vacancy of nursing positions. Overall, the government has done very little to acknowledge this situation or make the conditions better for healthcare workers in the NHS. Some may say that it was the government's fault, and not Dr. Bawa-Garba's, for the outcome of this case. Regardless, we're able to see just how important the government's role is in creating an environment for effective patient care.