An 11 year old boy has been left severely brain damaged after Great Ormond Street Hospital ordered a blood thinning injection, despite his mother warning that it would damage his vital organs.
Gabrielle Ali, a medical scientist, took her son Elijah to the leading children’s hospital in March 2014 for a routine dental operation.
He was born with a cleft palate and congenital heart defects, for which he commonly used the blood-thinning agent warfarin to reduce the chance of clots.
Because of this he bled heavily after the procedure, but was discharged shortly afterwards.
Elijah continued to be unwell, but only when he returned to Great Ormond Street for a second time was a blood test carried out.
This showed that Elijah had extremely low levels of haemoglobin, but as there were no beds available he was sent to Watford A&E.
There doctors planned to carry out a blood transfusion the following day, but were first ordered to infuse a dose of heparin.
Because of her scientific background, Elijah’s mother knew this was not safe with a low haemoglobin level.
“I tried my best to fight them, but they didn’t listen”
She warned doctors not to administer the medication, but was told they were acting under instructions from Great Ormond Street Hospital.
Miss Ali telephoned the children’s hospital and tried to convince them of the risks, but to no avail.
Within seconds of the heparin being injected, Elijah went into cardiac arrest.
It took 45 minutes to resuscitate him. His brain was so starved of oxygen that he has been left permanently brain damaged and can no longer walk or talk.
Miss Ali said: “From my scientific knowledge I knew it wasn’t safe to given heparin to my son as his haemoglobin – red blood cell level – was so low.”
“I was really anxious that heparin would thin the blood around Elijah’s body too much and put his vital organs at risk.”
“I argued with doctors at Watford General Hospital…but they said they were acting on instructions of Great Ormond Street. They threatened legal action if I tried to remove him from the hospital.”
“It was torture, knowing what would happen if Elijah was given heparin but being unable to stop it. I tried my best to fight them, but they didn’t listen.”
Great Ormond Street Hospital has launched an investigation.
Expert legal advice
If you would like to talk to a lawyer about suing a hospital for medical negligence, please get in touch with us at Glynns Solicitors.
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