A mum has said her daughter was left fighting for her life after catching sepsis five times while at Alder Hey Children's Hospital.
Louise Kingham's two-year-old daughter Lilly has been staying at Alder Hey Children's Hospital for the past year. Lilly has a condition called Dysmotility of the bowels which means she has to be fed through a tube and has a central venous catheter running to her heart.
Louise said that since staying at hospital Lilly has contracted sepsis five times in under twelve months which has left the toddler fighting for her life "again and again". Louise, 26, said that she was "promised the world" when she came to the hospital but has been living in a "nightmare"
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The ECHO has seen an email in which the hospital apologised for the care given to Lily being below the standard it expects to deliver.
Speaking to the ECHO , Louise said: "When I got told my daughter was coming to Alder Hey I thought, this is it they are going to save her, but I have seen things that nobody would ever believe."
Louise, a mum of three, claimed that on one occasion a nurse disconnected Lily's intravenous line and it was dropped on the floor before being reconnected to her daughter. In response to this claim, the hospital told Louise it takes the care of intravenous access lines very seriously but apologised that on this occasion the standard of care was not what it expects to deliver.
It added that additional training and audits had been carried out with all nursing staff on the ward to ensure they were all up to date and compliant with the relevant Trust guidelines.
Louise added: "We noticed things were not right with Lilly from birth and something was wrong. We were transferred from Ormskirk Hospital to Alder Hey because her needs are just so complex. I live at the hospital I'm with my daughter every day and to see her in pain is difficult. I only sleep three hours a night."
Louise also complained that staff touching her daughter's lines did not wear aprons or gloves. In its response to her on this point, the hospital apologised that appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) was not used consistently when touching Lily's lines, and detailed the measures it had taken to address this.
Louise from Fazakerley said: "I thought I was coming to one of the best hospitals in the country, I was promised the world, and ever since my daughter has been fighting.
"They have left her in her own excrement and because her bowels don’t work it is like burning acid. So it takes her skin off straight away. No child is should have to survive this, she has fought off sepsis five times and is still here to tell the tale. All I want is the best care for my daughter".
Alder Hey has apologised to Louise for the distress caused by her daughter contracting sepsis five times and said that each of the episodes has been formally investigated by the hospital.
A spokesperson for Alder Hey said: "We are unable comment on individual cases or complaints but we can confirm that any complaints made are thoroughly investigated."
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