Blame misdirected in tragic Indya case

12:27pm Friday 31st October 2008

Last weekend I visited my parents in Brighton and my attention was drawn to articles in The Argus reporting the inquest into the hospital death of the 20-month-old little girl, Indya, as a consequence of a dislodged tracheostomy tube (The Argus, October 16).

As a paediatric anaesthetist working overseas, I hope to offer an alternative to the comments left by some people on The Argus website.

It seems clear that this was an unusual case of croup where not only did the doctors decide that intubation with a tube in the windpipe, via the mouth or nose, was insufficient to protect her airway but that a tracheostomy was necessary.

It is clear that without medical intervention Indya would have died anyway.

Other than the absence of ties to keep the tube in place, for which the surgeon had reason, there is no information about the events surrounding attempts to replace the tube.

However, in a child this can be difficult, especially in a stressful situation, and some things simply cannot be achieved.

The article focuses on the parents’ grief and their belief that their daughter’s death was preventable.

Many things are preventable but are not actually prevented for all sorts of reasons, for example, many wars are preventable but they are rarely prevented.

There will always be a risk attached to medical procedures and no one can expect us to reduce this risk to zero, although they can expect us to try.

Reporting the reactions of the parents may serve a purpose, allowing the sharing of grief for the death of a girl who did not realise life’s potential. They have suffered a tragic loss but, given the circumstances, their opinions are the least likely to be rational.

It is likely that any investigation will reveal deficits in the system and the hospitals will do their best to prevent future tragedies. However, blame is usually misdirected, futile and also unkind.

Dr Chris King, Palmero, Sicily