Inquest doctor casts doubt on decision to move sick baby

Registrar Dr Lesley Peers was giving evidence at the inquest into the death of Julia Gujdanoca, who died at Sheffield Children's Hospital in October last year.

A coroner has been told how Julia was seriously ill with an undiagnosed syndrome and the infection MRSA but had been in a stable condition in the intensive care unit at the hospital.

She was moved out of the unit to make way for other children.

After she arrived on the regular S1 ward Julia began having "an episode", the inquest heard, and she became extremely distressed.

Her condition deteriorated over a period of more than three hours and she suffered a fatal cardiac arrest in an elevator on the way back to the intensive care unit.

Nurses from the S1 ward have told the hearing how they soon became concerned about Julia being on the ward and felt she should be back in the intensive care unit, but they felt unsupported by doctors.

Yesterday, Dr Peers – who responded to the nurses' calls on S1 – was pressed repeatedly by Sheffield Assistant Deputy Coroner David Urpeth about whether the decision to transfer the youngster had been the right one.

Dr Peers stressed it was not her decision and she only became involved once she was called to S1.

But Mr Urpeth continued to press her on her clinical opinion of the decision to move Julia.

At one point the doctor said: "I'm not trying to be evasive."

The coroner replied: "You're doing a good job of it."

Eventually Dr Peers said: "I think if nursing staff had felt they were unable to manage these episodes then she should have stayed on PCCU (Paediatric Critical Care Unit)."

Mr Urpeth asked the doctor: "Why did you find it so difficult to tell me that?"

Dr Peers replied: "She was obviously a very complex patient. A lot of her needs were nursing rather than medical needs."

The coroner asked whether she had been put under any pressure to give a different answer to the question of Julia's transfer. Dr Peers said she had not.

A pathologist has told the inquest how Julia's condition was never diagnosed and her cause of death was recorded as due to a "complex syndrome of genetic origin".

The inquest continues.