Claire Roberts parents 'continually misled' over hyponatraemia death, GMC claims
The parents of a child who died in hospital almost 30 years ago were continually misled about her cause of death, a medical misconduct tribunal has been told. Paediatrician Dr Heather Steen is facing a fitness to practice hearing in relation to the hyponatraemia death of nine-year-old Claire Roberts in 1996. The General Medical Council (GMC) claimed that Dr Steen concealed the true circumstances of the child’s death at the Royal Victoria Hospital For Sick Children. On Wednesday a lawyer for the GMC told the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Services hearing that Claire’s father Alan Roberts had been “continually misled” about the cause of his daughter’s death. Claire was admitted to hospital in October 1996 with a suspected tummy bug. She died from an overdose of fluids and medication.
Claire’s parents, Alan and Jennifer, say they were told a viral infection had spread from her stomach to her brain, causing a build up of fluid, and that medics had done everything possible. Mr Roberts contacted the hospital in 2004 after watching the UTV documentary When Hospitals Kill, which focused on hyponatraemia – a condition which occurs when there is a shortage of sodium in the bloodstream. The programme featured the deaths of three children and the build up of fluid in their brains. Dr Steen was asked to review her notes of Claire’s treatment and a meeting was set up in December 2004 with the family and other hospital chiefs. The then Medical Director of the Royal Group of Hospitals, Sir Michael McBride, now Chief Medical Officer, asked Professor Ian Young, now the Chief Scientific Officer, to provide an independent assessment on whether hyponatraemia contributed to Claire’s death. The Chief Medical Officer is expected to give evidence to the hearing on Friday. Tom Forster QC, representing the General Medical Council (GMC), said it was clear that the family “wanted to know what led to Claire’s sudden deterioration".
"Was Claire’s condition misdiagnosed and what role, if any, did her sodium and fluid management play in her death?” He said Dr Steen stuck with her explanation that a virus had entered her stomach and then her brain. “What Dr Steen did not acknowledge is that things had been done wrongly at the time,” he said. The GMC alleges Dr Steen acted dishonestly and took part in a cover up to avoid scrutiny. The doctor denies the allegations and, it is understood, will say she acted in good faith and to the best of her ability at all times. The hearing is scheduled to last until the end of April.