Raychel Ferguson parents call for law in her name on medical error disclosure

The inquest into the death of Raychel Ferguson has heard her parents call for a law in her name to ensure the full truth must be disclosed when medical errors are made. In June 2001, Raychel was recovering from a routine appendix operation at Altnagelvin Hospital in Londonderry but her fluids were not managed properly. She died from Hyponatraemia, a potentially fatal condition resulting from an abnormally low concentration of sodium in the blood.

Her mother Marie told the inquest at Bishop Street Courthouse that Raychel’s condition deteriorated rapidly and she was vomiting blood. “She was dying in front of us and we didn’t know. “She was zombie-like in the bed. After four o’clock Raychel never spoke to me again.” Mrs Ferguson claimed that medical teams and health trusts were reluctant to disclose mistakes in Raychel’s care: “There was a medical cover-up, and that led to a legal cover-up.” She called for legislation to ensure a Duty of Candour for medical professionals when adverse incidents occurred. “I want it to be called Raychel’s Law,” she said. The coroner, Joe McCrisken, said there were difficulties in how health trusts and hospitals handled serious adverse incidents. When it comes to how doctors and nurses deal with errors, the coroner said: "A whole culture shift has to occur." Earlier, the inquest heard from two former Altnagelvin Hospital doctors. The first, Dr Michael Curran, was a junior doctor in 2001. He was called to Raychel’s ward and gave her a drug to help combat her repeated vomiting. The Fergusons thanked him for his care of Raychel. A second doctor, consultant surgeon Robert Gilliland was the named consultant surgeon for Raychel's admission for surgery but he did not see her while she was in Altnagelvin. After her death, Mr Gilliland did not attend a meeting between hospital staff and the Fergusons to discuss Raychel's treatment. The family’s barrister asked Dr Gilliland why he hadn’t met the family and asked if he was familiar with the military acronym MIA - which means 'missing in action'. The inquest has now completed its evidence gathering phase. It will reconvene on June 23rd in Belfast.

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