Premature baby dies after doctor gives severe overdose of wrong drug in shocking incident at London hospital

"The failure to prescribe the medication correctly was a failure in basic care and this was compounded by the failure to recognise the hypocalcaemia and the mis-prescribing across multiple shifts and clinical disciplines. There were thus multiple missed opportunities to recognise the prescribing error and overdose and its effects in a timely fashion that may have improved the outcome for Sidra and prevented her death."

"She was given a dose which was around five times the recommended level. This overdose of the wrong drug caused both her blood calcium levels and heartrate to drop. Her state was further exacerbated by long QT syndrome, a condition which causes a fast and chaotic heartbeat."

"Clinicians knew that Sidra had a 50 percent chance of suffering with the condition, which already affected her mother and two sisters, but made no plan to fast-track diagnosis at birth. Expert opinion in relation to Long QT was sought from Great Ormond Street Hospital but not adequately communicated back to the team."

Sidra Aliabase, born at 27 weeks gestation via emergency caesarean at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, died on May 10, 2024, following a critical medication error. On May 8, she was incorrectly prescribed sodium acid phosphate at five times the recommended dose instead of sodium chloride. Hospital staff failed to detect this error for 16 hours. The overdose caused her blood calcium and heart rate to drop, complications worsened by undiagnosed long QT syndrome, a hereditary condition affecting her mother and sisters. The coroner identified multiple failures in basic care, prescribing accuracy across shifts, and failure to recognize hypocalcaemia. Expert consultation from Great Ormond Street Hospital regarding her genetic condition was inadequately communicated to the clinical team.

Read at www.standard.co.uk