Toddler woke up screaming in agony after being given wrong dose of morphine
A toddler was left ‘screaming and crying’ in pain after being given a fraction of the proper morphine dose following heart surgery.
Two-year-old Theo McAdam began thrashing around in agony when he woke up after the major operation at the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow.
His mum Ellie, 28, said he was writhing so much he ripped the wires out of his chest, causing his lung to collapse, adding: ‘It was the most horrific thing I have experienced.’
She said she is now considering legal action against NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.
Ellie and her husband had been sitting at Theo’s bedside while his sedation was being turned off.
They were then told by a consultant there had been a mistake with his medication and the morphine dose had been 10 times weaker than it should have been.
Before they could do anything about it, the youngster had woken up screaming in pain.
He tried to rip out his breathing tube and ripped out all the wires in his veins.
Ellie said: ‘He had two chest drains from when he was on bypass, he got a hold of one ripped it out and collapsed his own lung.
‘He was screaming and crying, clinging to me in pain while his dad was having to pin an oxygen mask to his own son’s face.
‘Nurses were crowding around trying to plug the hole where his chest tube was pulled out which is seeping with fluid.’
She added: ‘You could hear a bubbling noise from his lungs, it was awful.
‘I was covered in blood and terrified. It was the most horrific thing I have experienced.’
The NHS board said it is ‘supporting’ the family while an internal investigation takes place.
Dr Claire Harrow, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde’s Deputy Medical Director for Acute Services, said: ‘We have apologised unreservedly to the family of patient Theo McAdam for this error, and for the impact this had on the care he received.
‘This incident is the subject of a Significant Adverse Event Review which is still ongoing.
‘Theo’s family will continue to be involved in the review, and they will be fully informed of its finding.’
The family said they are waiting until the NHS investigation is concluded before going ahead with any potential legal action.
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