Mother to sue NHS over baby’s death

The mother of a baby girl who died after serious failures by hospital staff is to sue the NHS over her daughter’s “preventable and predictable” death.

Paula Stevenson, whose 13-month-old daughter, Hayley Fullerton, died after open heart surgery in 2009, also called for a change of culture within the NHS to prevent future tragedies.

Ms Stevenson issued her call for US-style “rapid response teams” to be introduced to UK hospitals after a coroner said Hayley would have had a better chance of survival if she had been admitted to intensive care. Hayley died at Birmingham Children’s Hospital after being transferred to a general ward.

After the hearing, her mother said: “Hayley died like an abandoned animal – nobody listened to me while Hayley was dying.” Birmingham Children’s Hospital NHS Foundation Trust said: “When Hayley died we recognised that some of her care fell below our usual high standards and for this we offer a heartfelt apology for the distress that has been caused. We’ve taken all the steps possible to learn from this.”