A couple from Staffordshire have been awarded an undisclosed baby tube hospital medical negligence settlement after their son coughed up a tube which had been left in his throat following a surgical procedure.
Claire Thomas of Cannock, Staffordshire, had just given birth to her son, Owen, at the Stafford Hospital in February 2007 when the error happened. Owen had been a difficult birth, and because he had suffered shoulder dystocia during the delivery, an endotracheal tube had been inserted into his throat to enable him to breathe.
Due to the birth difficulties, Claire and Owen were still in the specialist care unit at Stafford Hospital ten days later when Owen started choking. Claire slapped him on the back, and Owen brought up the six inch tube which had been left in his throat following the procedure.
After taking legal guidance, Claire and her husband, Kevin, filed a hospital medical negligence claim against the Mid-Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust which has now been resolved for an undisclosed sum. Owen, their son, has luckily suffered no long-term consequences as a result of the hospital oversight.