Torbay Hospital under Investigation after MRI Scan Death

The Health Watchdog is conducting an investigation into the death of a 14-year-old girl following an MRI scan.

Alice Sloman, from Torbay had autism and was given an anaesthetic for the scan after becoming “extremely anxious” and “hypersensitive”. However, a hormone given for a growth defect led to an undiagnosed condition, which caused her heart to grow to twice the size it should have been and put her at risk when anaesthetised.

Alice underwent the MRI scan to discover if there was fluid on her brain, which is also a side effect of the growth hormone. She was due to be seen on the first day of her scan, but she had to wait several hours which led to her needing the anaesthetic because she was becoming anxious and the nurses were concerned about her hypersensitive state.

During the MRI, Alice suffered episodes of a very low heart rate until she became critically ill. She was transferred to Bristol Children’s Hospital but sadly died three days later. It has been concluded that the anaesthetic was the “precipitating factor” in her death.

The Inquest into her death is due to take place in December this year.

Chantae Clark, Paralegal in the Medical Negligence team at Ashtons Legal comments: “This is extremely sad news. The healthcare professionals in charge of Alice’s care should have known their patient and should have properly understood her condition before negligently administering a drug that caused her death. The NHS Trust failed both Alice and her family who put their trust into the hospital to care for their daughter. The Inquest in December will highlight the failings of the Trust and will hopefully lead to measures being implemented to ensure that this tragedy does not happen again.”