Family to sue NHS over daughter’s flesh-eating bug

ROSE Rycroft has been left with horrific scars after a third of her skin had to be removed to save her life after catching a rare flesh-eating bug in hospital.

But the 14-month-old, has made a remarkable recovery from necrotising faciitis – the first case of its kind for 40 years in the hospital where she was treated – which she contracted after undergoing open heart surgery.

Rose, who has Down’s Syndrome, was diagnosed with the heart condition Atrioventricular Septal Defect (AVSD) at four months. She had surgery last July at Leeds General Infirmary but two days later, her dad noticed a small bruise on her abdomen which quickly spread.

Eventually the rare infection was diagnosed.

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Her dad, Robert Rycroft, 41, of Ossett said: “We were told ‘Rose is close to death and the only thing that’s open to us to try and save her life is to cut all the affected skin away’.”

The couple were called to a series of meetings and told the bug was caused by bacteria from Rose’s gut which had got into a line in her leg. Following surgery she had to have extensive skin grafts and will need further grafts.

Now her parents are planning legal action as they claim questions about her care at the hospital haven’t been fully answered.

Her mother, Joanne Rycroft, 40, of Ossett, near Wakefield, said: “There’s no way I am ever going to let this drop until they give us a letter of apology and the reason why Rose contracted it.”

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A spokesman for Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust said: “After Mrs Rycroft contacted us we responded in a detailed letter last November in which we made every effort to address all the points she raised and provide reassurance about the care and treatment Rose received during her stay at the hospital.

“The letter also expressed our sympathy with the distress experienced by Rose and her family as a result of this rare complication.”