My son would still be alive if medics had done their job ; INQUEST: MOTHER TO SUE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OVER 'BUNGLED' OPBoy dies in routine op ...but... [Birmingham Mail (UK)]

My son would still be alive if medics had done their job ; INQUEST: MOTHER TO SUE CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL OVER 'BUNGLED' OPBoy dies in routine op ...but jury says no-one to blame

A HEARTBROKEN mum is set to sue Birmingham Children's Hospital - where her beloved only child died following a 'bungled' minor operation.

Ryan Senior, 16, suffered multiple organ failure during a supposed 'low-risk' 40-minute procedure.

He died after consultant surgeon Harish Chandran used a sharp instrument called a trochar, instead of a blunt one, during keyhole surgery. It pierced a major vein which led to a fatal gas embolism, massive blood loss and cardiac arrest, an inquest was told. Yesterday, the inquest jury returned a verdict of narrative into the tragedy on February 16, 2010 - but it did not return a conclusion of neglect.

The decision was immediately condemned by Ryan's devastated mother Sarah, whose family is now set to sue Birmingham Children's Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. ''Upon hearing the evidence, my son would still be alive and with us today if they had done their job and simply checked their surgical equipment before they proceeded with a relatively minor operation,'' said the mum, from Redditch. Much-loved Ryan, who dreamed of being a mechanic, had been suffering from a minor health complaint when he went into the hospital for a laparoscopy. It allows a surgeon to access the inside of the abdomen and pelvis with a tiny camera. But the operation took a tragic twist when Mr Chandran, the hospital's then clinical director for surgery, used a sharp trochar instead of a blunt one.

Medics battled for more than two hours to resuscitate Ryan, administering 31 pints of blood to stem the bleeding, but he died. Giving evidence, Mr Chandran had blamed nurses for giving him the wrong instrument during the keyhole surgery. But a family statement added: ''In our view, the doctors failed in their care of their patient and so did the nurses. ''Doctors could have saved so much pain and heartache by admitting that they had made an irreversible mistake by using a sharp trochar instead of a blunt one. "Instead, Ryan's devoted mother has suffered every minute for the past three years. ''We have heard the vast amount of training and experience the professionals involved in this case have. They are totally dedicated to their profession. ''But they still cannot take a look at the instruments they are inserting into patients - all that training, but no commonsense.''

The family said it was also unhappy that Birmingham and Solihull coroner Aidan Cotter had not allowed the jury the option to record an unlawful killing verdict. The statement added: ''At the first inquest in November 2011, the same coroner had alluded to the possibility that we were looking at a possible verdict of manslaughter or gross medical negligence.'' Ryan's relatives thanked their barrister Richard Follis, of legal firm Shoosmiths, for his ''outstanding representation and support.'. A whole raft of recommendations were made by Birmingham Children's Hospital after the tragedy, including the separate storage of sharp and blunt trochars. And Mr Cotter said he is now writing a letter to the Royal College of Surgeons, under Rule 43, to question how surgeons can use instruments on patients without looking at them properly. He said: ''I cannot accept the basic premise that surgeons do not check what is on a table and do not check what they are going to stick into people.'' The inquest heard evidence from anaesthetist Jason Lewis that registrar Harriet Corbett had made the first incision into Ryan - claims she denied. But Mr Lewis, who is also an army doctor, later admitted his recollection could ot be replied upon.

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