A teenager was left paralysed from the waist down after a spinal anaesthetic was wrongly left in place for too long, a hospital has admitted.
A hospital has apologised after a 14-year-old Risca girl was left paralysed from a spinal anaesthetic that went wrong.
Sophie Tyler, who is now 17, had gallstone surgery in Birmingham Children’s Hospital in May 2008 but the epidural was left in for two days, damaging the spinal cord and leaving teenager paralysed from the waist down.
Dr Vin Diwakar, chief medical officer at Birmingham Children’s Hospital, said: “We are deeply sorry for the unimaginable distress we have caused Sophie and her family as a result of the care she received at our hospital three years ago.
“The care we provided fell below our usual high standards and since then we have implemented a whole series of changes to try to ensure that this never happens again.”
Sophie’s mother Sue said: “From being an outgoing teenager her life has altered overnight and we have all had to come to terms with what has happened.
“Sophie is still taking her A-levels and hopes to then go to university, but to do so she has had to be very determined and needs a lot of support to enable her to achieve her goals.”
The family’s solicitors Irwin Mitchell has said the hospital’s admission of liability paves the way for a financial settlement.
Tim Deeming, a medical law expert with the firm, said: “Other than suffering from gallstones, Sophie was a very healthy and active young girl.
“She and her family put their trust in the hospital and believed that within a few days she would be on the road to recovery.
“At the age of 14 to be told the news that you will never walk again is unimaginable and to discover that mistakes were entirely avoidable, has been incredibly hard for them to cope with.
“Birmingham Children’s Hospital has a reputation, both nationally and internationally, for clinical excellence which is why it is extremely important both to protect future patient welfare and to provide public reassurance, that the hospital learns important lessons from what happened to Sophie.
“We very much hope that the staff responsible have already been retrained so that similar tragedies can be avoided.”