Baby inquest reveals neglect and serious failings after family’s £250k battle

A coroner has found that neglect and failure to provide adequate medical care contributed to the preventable death of a child.

Hayden Nguyen died in 2016 at the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in London at the age of six days.

The finding came after his parents spent seven years and £250,000 fighting for justice.

In a statement, the hospital said it was “committed to learning from any findings to improve our practices”.

Senior coroner Richard Travers said in his findings that Hayden had “obvious needs that were not met by doctors” when his parents took him to Chelsea and Westminster Hospital in west London in August 2016.

They were concerned about his fever but his condition quickly deteriorated. He suffered a heart attack and died within 12 hours of reaching the hospital. Mr Travers found that the treatment Hayden received was “far below expected standards” and that had he received appropriate and timely care, he would have survived.

An internal investigation conducted by the hospital after Hayden’s death found that there were eight errors in the care he received, including failures to identify signs of septic shock and to act on abnormal test results.

However, the original inquest into Hayden’s death, held at Westminster Coroner’s Court in 2017, concluded that he died of natural causes.

Coroner Dr Shirley Radcliffe contacted the hospital to express concerns about her investigation.

The hospital prepared a second report, which halved the number of errors found and stated that the underlying cause of Hayden’s death was an infection “which is known to have a high mortality rate”.

Her parents were angry at the coroner’s actions and felt they had to take action. Hayden’s 44-year-old father Tum Nguyen said of the first interrogation, “This is the second worst experience of my life.”

“Living with the injustice and dishonesty has been really hard, which is why fighting for a retrial hasn’t really been an option for us.”

To obtain a second inquiry it is necessary to apply to the Attorney General’s Office for permission to go to the High Court and ask the judges to overturn the original findings.

In December 2021, two High Court judges agreed that a new investigation should take place “in the interests of justice”.

Although they did not find that the original coroner, Dr Radcliffe, had behaved in a biased manner, he was variously described by the judges as “unintelligent” and “close to being intemperate”, with one witness Was also interrogated. The borderline between robustness and unacceptability”.

The BBC contacted Dr Radcliffe for comment at the time, but he did not respond.

This second inquest, which the family described as “thorough, detailed and compassionate”, took place for three weeks at Surrey Coroner’s Court.

The entire process, including the High Court challenge and legal fees, cost Hayden’s parents approximately £250,000.

“The cost cannot be compared to the injustice,” said Tum, a social media executive. “So everything we did was completely right. I think it was imperative for us to do it because I know there are other families out there that weren’t necessarily able to do what we did.”

Hayden’s mother Alex, 48, who owns a software company, says other families may be too steeped in grief to fight for answers.

“You’re trying to deal with your grief, and when there’s neglect involved, it adds a whole extra layer that you have to process. So for other families, it may not be financially possible.” “But it may not be possible because of the grieving process.”

The couple believe the legal steps they have taken will allow other families to argue that coroners need to keep the bereaved family at the center of every inquest, allowing Hayden’s name to live on.

They also hope that a second inquest will allow them to fully mourn the loss of their son. “The coroner has said it’s likely we can get this over with,” Alex said.

“To have an honest assessment of what happened that night (Hayden’s death) and to see most of the medical team involved actually be accountable and admit their errors and show that they have learned was quite healing.”

Leslie Watts, chief executive of Chelsea and Westminster Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We are deeply saddened by the loss of baby Hayden and our thoughts go out to his family at this time.

“We are committed to learning from any findings to improve our practices and ensure the highest standards of care for every patient.”