Girl, 12, died after vomiting at NHS hospital in 'preventable' tragedy

A coroner has ruled that the death of a 12-year-old girl at an hospital was preventable.

Rose Harfleet tragically passed away at Royal Surrey in Guildford after being admitted to the emergency department with her mother, following a sudden bout of abdominal pain and vomiting.

However, a report released on Tuesday highlighted a "failure" by medical and nursing staff to recognise Rose's deteriorating condition. This tragic incident has raised concerns about the treatment of children with profound within hospitals.

Rose, who was diagnosed with global developmental delay (GDD) at birth and had a history of chronic intermittent constipation, was suffering from an intestinal obstruction when she was admitted to the hospital. Despite vomiting green bile, an indication of her serious condition, she was treated for constipation the day before her untimely death.

According to the coroner's report, Rose's death "would have been prevented" if she had been transferred to St George's Hospital in Tooting, south London for curative surgery.

The Royal Surrey County Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has issued an "unreservedly" apology to the family for its failings.

Although plans were made to transfer Rose to St George's for further assessment and treatment, this did not happen and she tragically died within hours on January 30, 2024, following a cardiorespiratory arrest.

An autopsy has revealed that a young girl's abdominal pain and clinical deterioration were due to a caecal volvulus causing intestinal obstruction and bowel ischaemia. The report, released on Tuesday, highlighted that the mother of Rose was not given the chance to "actively participate" in her daughter's care, leading to "poor clinical decisions" that played a part in the child's death.

Dr Karen Henderson, assistant coroner for Surrey, expressed concern in the report: "This gives rise to a concern that by not listening to parents or guardians as a matter of course leads to discrimination of disabled children."

The coroner further noted that the ongoing worries of Rose's mother upon her transfer to the children's ward "were not recognised" by staff, which meant they "consequently not acted upon", potentially contributing to the 12 year old's tragic demise.

Dr Henderson continued: "There appears to be a prevailing culture that in the absence of a patient being able to explain their symptoms themselves the voice of the parent or guardian is not given the significance it should be for the most vulnerable in a hospital setting."

The report also pointed out that despite the fact that Rose's admission came during the working week, there was "no consideration or offer given" by hospital staff to provide the mother and daughter with a Learning Disability Liaison Nurse.

"This led to Rose's mother being unsupported during this admission or for a nursing professional to be able to liaise and advocate for Rose and her mother with medical and nursing staff in the emergency department."

Moreover, the coroner's report, as stated by , indicates that Rose's life might have been saved if she had been moved to St George's hospital for an operation.

Louise Stead, group chief executive of Royal Surrey and Ashford and St Peter's Hospitals NHS Foundation Trusts, told SurreyLive: "I unreservededly apologise to Rose's family for the failures in her care and am deeply sorry for their devastating experience.

"I appreciate that no words or actions can bring Rose back or reduce the grief felt by her loved ones and can only offer the assurance that we have carried out a thorough investigation into all aspects of this tragic case and implemented several areas of learning.

"We will now go through all of the coroner's recommendations to further review our practices and ensure we take every possible action in response to this extremely distressing incident."