Two day-old baby baby dies after hospital sends him home

Luca Picone-Chiodo was two days old when he died at home of MCAD, Medium-chain acyl CoA dehydrogenase, a rare genetic condition that affects the metabolism.

An inquest at Huddersfield was told yesterday that babies born with MCAD are unable to call upon their fat reserves to fight off illness but had the correct dietary advice been given there was no reason why Luca could not have gone on to live a healthy, normal life.

Despite there being a strong family history of MCAD, Luca was sent home from Calderdale Royal Hospital, Halifax, on October 14 without any tests being carried out and no advice was issued to the parents in the event that he may be a carrier.

His parents Lavinia, a 38-year-old hairdresser, and Salvatore, a 47-year-old chartered surveyor, had repeatedly told staff since the start of the pregnancy that their baby was at high risk of being an MCAD carrier.

An exasperated Mrs Picone-Chiodo said she eventually began to feel that she was sounding "like a parrot repeating myself over and over again''.

The inquest heard that Luca was born without complication on October 14, 2009, weighing 7lb 15oz and discharged on the same day to his home in Bradford Road, Huddersfield. After being washed and fed on the morning of October 16 he stopped breathing and attempts by paramedics to resuscitate him failed.

After hearing expert evidence from a series of doctors and midwives, West Yorkshire coroner Roger Whitaker returned a verdict of death by natural causes to which neglect by the Trust contributed.

He will also recommend that a new protocol developed by Calderdale doctor Eilean Crosbie, as a direct result of Luca's death, be looked at and highlighted nationally.

The couple asked medical law specialists, Irwin Mitchell, to investigate Luca's treatment and subsequent death.

The firm said Calderdale and Huddersfield Foundation Trust had now admitted it failed to give appropriate care and advice in regards to the death of Luca and agreed to a settlement with the parents to cover the pain and suffering caused by his death.

Afterwards, Sarah Coles, of Irwin Mitchell, said: "Luca's passing has devastated Mum and Dad who are both still struggling to come to terms with his loss.

"Both parents have a family history of MCAD – particularly Salvatore's identical twin brother's sons who had it – and the hospital failed to realise the importance of the baby potentially having this disease.

"There was a very high risk and the hospital should have presumed Luca had MCAD until proven otherwise by blood tests which are normally undertaken within 24 hours."

The baby's parents said afterwards: "It has been very difficult for us to come to terms with the loss of our son. There is a family history of this condition and we did all we could to bring this to the attention of the hospital so it is difficult to understand why this still happened.

"The inquest has provided us with some of these answers but we hope the hospital learns from this as we would not want anyone else to have to endure the suffering we are still going through."

Deputy chief executive of Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust, Helen Thomson, said: "We would once again like to offer our sincere condolences and apology to Luca's family."