A four-month-old baby died hours after doctors failed to notice signs of sepsis following life-saving stoma surgery. Kyra Ali Aslam was fitted with a stoma at Sheffield Children's Hospital shortly after her birth.
Later the same year, the baby underwent surgery to have it removed. But the following day Kyra's mum Lariece Greaves, 30, complained to doctors that her daughter was "not behaving" like before the operation. Doctors told her it was likely to do with the anaesthetic - but in fact her bowel was leaking.
Tragic death during surgery
Tragically, Kyra developed sepsis and later died during surgery to fix the leak. The trust later admitted that if she had received appropriate care, Kyra would likely have survived.
Lariece, who has three other children, Qayyim, 12, Keyaan, 6, and four-month-old Zanayah, has since offered a warning to parents to be aware of sepsis symptoms.
The mum, of Firth Park, Sheffield, South Yorks., said: "Kyra was the most beautiful little girl with the biggest smile. Losing her at the age we did and in the circumstances we did is something I will carry with me forever.
"When Kyra died, our world fell apart. As a family we've had to learn to live with that loss, while also trying to understand whether more could have been done to save her.
"I owed it to Kyra to keep asking questions and fighting for answers. The trust finally admitting failings is bittersweet. While they provide the answers Kyra deserved, and that she was badly let down, I still don’t get to watch Kyra grow up and celebrate milestones in life."
Timeline of events
Kyra underwent stoma reversal surgery on August 11, 2022. A stoma is an opening created surgically on the abdomen to allow waste (stool or urine) to leave the body when the normal route is not possible, according to the NHS.
Waste is collected in a stoma bag attached to the skin. But just after midnight on August 12, Kyra started vomiting. Nursing staff feared Kyra may have sepsis and raised concerns with medical staff.
Kyra’s condition continued to deteriorate and she was taken to surgery the following day. However, she died at 3.40pm on August 13, shortly after arriving in theatre.
Coroner's report and admissions
Following a separate inquest into Kyra’s death, a coroner issued a prevention of future deaths report. In the report dated December 2023 the coroner called on the hospital to outline what measures it would take to improve care.
The report said Lariece was told the stoma reversal would be "much more straightforward" than the operation to create it. When she raised concerns about Kyra’s condition post-surgery "insufficient weight was placed" on her fears, it added.
The report also ruled "that insufficient weight was placed on the nursing concerns about Kyra" following her surgery. When nurses raised concerns that Kyra may have sepsis, medical staff said a leaking bowel would be a rare complication. And that they believed Kyra’s bowel just wasn’t working properly, the report said.
Lariece instructed lawyers from Irwin Mitchell to bring a civil case against the trust. In the civil case, the trust initially admitted it failed to adequately obtain consent for Kyra’s stoma reversal and failed to recognise Kyra had features of sepsis, and a breach of duty.
It admitted there "was a failure to recognise and act upon suspected signs of sepsis and that there were missed opportunities to recognise and treat" Kyra’s suspected leaking bowel from just after midnight on August 12.
Trust response and warning signs
The Trust also admitted that on the balance of probability, with "appropriate care" Kyra’s condition would have been stable enough so that surgery to repair her leaking bowel would have been successful and she would not have died on 13 August.
Dr Jeff Perring, executive medical director at Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, said the hospital is "sorry for the loss of Kyra" and recognise the "profound impact this has had on her family".
He added: "Over recent years we have focused on sepsis awareness, and we are continuing to make improvements, such as refining clinical guidance, championing new training and education across our organisation to help us recognise sepsis early and to treat it quickly and effectively."
"To support this work, we have also appointed our first sepsis lead nurse. Our thoughts remain with Kyra’s family, and while nothing can change their loss, we are committed to ensuring the learning from Kyra’s care leads to meaningful improvements for other children and families."
Sinead Rollinson-Hayes, the expert medical negligence lawyer at Irwin Mitchell representing Lariece, said: "This is a truly tragic case and one that would have been avoided if Kyra received the care she should have."
Signs of sepsis include slurred speech, confusion, extreme shivering and muscle pain, passing no urine in a day, severe breathlessness, raised temperature, high heart rate and mottled or discoloured skin.
