Baby given overdose before death, inquest hears

A "very sick" newborn baby girl died shortly after accidently being given a large overdose of medication, an inquest has heard.

Polly Lindop died within 24 hours of being born at Manchester's St Mary's Hospital on 13 March 2023.

Manchester Coroners Court was told nurses in the neo-natal intensive care unit mistakenly gave the baby 10 times the dose of a drug she was prescribed.

However, a medical expert in the case said Polly's condition had already been deteriorating and there had been a "very low" chance of her surviving, even without the overdose.

Polly, who was born 10 weeks prematurely, suffered a cardiac arrest 10 minutes after being given the excessive dose of the drug Atracuriam.

The court heard medics had made a mistake entering the dosage on the infusion pump.

Her mother Kimberley Lindop told the court her daughter had gone from being "fine to very poorly in 45 minutes".

She described a "chaotic" scene as hospital staff had tried to save the child, who died a few hours later after suffering a second cardiac arrest.

The court heard the nurses involved and Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust had accepted the overdose mistake had been made.

Mrs Lindop said the family had not been told the details of the mistake at the time but "just knew something had happened".

However, a post-mortem examination found the primary cause of Polly's death was sepsis and prematurity and that she had suffered severe lung damage.

Dr Naomi Carter, a former Home Office forensic pathologist who tly carried out the post-mortem examination, said it was "difficult to speculate" on how much difference the medication overdose had made in Polly's death.

"It may have hastened the event of the cardiac arrest," she told the hearing.

However, Dr Carter said Polly had been "a very, very sick infant" in a critical condition who would "more likely than not died of her medical problems", even without the overdose.

Greater Manchester Police launched an investigation into possible gross negligence manslaughter at the time but earlier this year said no criminal charges were being brought.

Det Ch Insp Mark Davis told the court that after liaising with the Crown Prosecution Service, it had been decided there was "no realistic chance of prosecution."

The inquest continues.

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