Alder Hey hospital admits responsibility for Mold girl's death

Key Points:

• Alder Hey Children's Hospital NHS Foundation Trust has admitted full responsibility for 24 failures in care that led to the death of 21-month-old Eleanor Hazel Aldred-Owen following routine surgery for craniosynostosis.
• Eleanor suffered a collapsed lung that went unflagged due to an abnormal chest X-ray not being reviewed promptly, resulting in cardiac arrest and an unsurvivable brain injury.
• The hospital trust acknowledged multiple breaches, including failure to correctly calculate Eleanor's Paediatric Early Warning System score, which delayed critical medical intervention.
• Eleanor’s family expressed profound grief and guilt but emphasized the importance of justice and ensuring no other child experiences similar neglect, recognizing changes made by the trust as part of Eleanor’s legacy.
• The trust issued a public apology, describing the death as "tragic" and pledging to implement measures to prevent such failures in the future, while the family’s solicitor highlighted the need for ongoing improvements in patient safety.