Alice Mary Fallon (a child by her mother and litigation friend Amanda Thompson) v John Aymard Wilson (2010)
November 26, 2010
Posted by:Jo Chapman
A general practitioner's failure to refer a premature baby to hospital following a consultation where the baby was exhibiting symptoms which justified a referral to hospital had fallen short of the standard of care to be expected from a reasonably competent GP. There would be a low threshold for referral in the case of a premature baby and the GP's response to advise merely that the baby should be kept warm had been inadequate.
Alice had been born prematurely at 27 weeks. Following her discharge from hospital, her mother took her to the GP's surgery on two occasions: first for a post-natal check-up, during which she described Alice's premature birth and her release from hospital only a few days earlier, and then, two days later, to collect a prescription. After speaking to the receptionist, the mother had taken Alice to see the GP who examined her. Her mother said she noticed that Alice's lips were turning blue, that she was blotchy and pale around the face, her extremities were cold and her breathing was irregular and slow, and Alice made a wailing sound on exhalation. The doctor had no personal recollection of the events and relied on his medical notes which recorded no more about her condition than "pallor" and a low body temperature and his advice for mother to take Alice home and keep her warm. Later that day, mother took Alice to hospital where she suffered acute hypoxia following a peripheral perfusion resulting in severe brain damage.
Two experts in general practice who gave evidence agreed that if the mother account of events during the second visit to the GP was correct, the appropriate course for a competent general practitioner to have taken that evening would have been to refer Alice to hospital.