Mum tells FAI her toddler son would still be alive if Glasgow doctors carried out infection tests

A mum claimed that her toddler could still be alive if doctors carried out tests which would have alerted them to the ‘treatable’ infection which lost his life.

Caitlin Donald, 32, claimed that she “lost everything” after three-year-old Archie Donald passed away on November 20 2019.

Archie died following his admission to Glasgow’s Royal Hospital for Children, part of the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital campus, for treatment.

Archie suffered from an issue which causes kidney failure and he contracted an infection before his death.

The Fatal Accident Inquiry (FAI) will examine the circumstances of Archie’s death, with an expected focus on what role the identification and treatment of the line infection played in his death, the delay in admittance, and record sharing.

The probe will also consider whether the built hospital environment played a role in the contraction of the infection.

However, fiscal dispute Ross Price told the court that it is agreed that the hospital did not contribute to Archie’s death.

A victim impact statement from Archie’s mother Caitlin Donald was read to the FAI at Glasgow Sheriff Court.

She said: “There is never a day that I wake up and don’t think of my happy, cheeky, smart, little boy. I think about my son constantly.

“What kind of eight-year-old he would be now and who he would have become in the future.

“He was a bright light in not only my life but also my family’s life and everyone who got to know him.

“Knowing that Archie died from an infection that could have been treated, rather than his congenital nephrotic syndrome, makes it harder for me to understand and now need to live the rest of my life without my Arch by my side.

“I blame myself every day for not pushing the doctors to investigate his deterioration more.

“I knew something was not right with my son, but I trusted the staff and the hospital, as they had treated Archie from the age of six weeks old, when he was admitted to Ward 3C and they cared for him from then throughout his life.

“Losing Archie has totally changed my life. I have lost everything.

“My marriage ended due to the stress that losing a child put on myself and my husband. I lost my house and moved back into my parents’ home, which at 32 years old is not what anyone would want.

“I suffer from depression and anxiety. It has taken me years to get to a stage where I feel slightly ‘normal’.

“The life I should be living just now is a massive difference to the life I am currently living, and Archie’s loss is something that I will never get over.

“If this FAl does anything, I hope it helps prevent another family from having to go through the mental toll and physical destruction that losing a child causes, or anyone for that matter.

“It is obvious to myself and my family that there were numerous issues within the hospital that failed my son.

“If the infection markers in his blood tests had been acted on earlier, if tests had been done that should have been done sooner, if someone recognised that Archie actually had an infection sooner, there is a chance my son would still be alive today.

“He would now be eight years old, at school with his friends and living a happy life. Instead, he will forever be my three-year-old boy.

“My only hope is that his death can help prevent anyone else having to live through what I now live every day.”

A joint minute of agreed evidence was earlier read to the court which stated Archie was born on July 22 2016 in Livingston, West Lothian.

The document stated Archie attended the children’s hospital on the day before his death for a routine appointment where he was found to be “lethargic, breathless and had reduced appetite.”

In the early hours of the next morning, a blood test carried out an abnormal gallop heart rhythm was noted which suggested heart failure.

Archie was in distress and vomited then suffered a cardiac arrest.

Resuscitation was unsuccessful and Archie’s life was pronounced extinct after 4.30am.

A post-mortem revealed that the cause of death was a “subacute bacterial endocarditis.”

Retired doctor Heather Maxwell, 62, told the hearing that she had a consultation with Archie on November 5 2019.

She stated that Archie “wasn’t quite himself” and that the function of his one kidney had halved.

Dr Maxwell stated that she “cannot be certain” that she saw the result of a CRP blood test which would have alerted her that Archie was at a high risk to contracting an infection.

The witness said: “I looked at so many times I thought CRP was unremarkable.

“It’s my error and can’t believe that I didn’t. I considered myself a careful, cautious doctor and thought I did everything and saw all the results.

“Despite the systems we had in place – that happened – and I didn’t expect to miss something.

“In the next day or two, a decision was made to start electronic sign off as a replacement for written results.

“I felt relieved as there needed to be tighter security net to back up results. It was a human error I accept responsibility for that.”

Mr Price asked the doctor if the new electronic system would remind doctors there was an outstanding result until they check it which she replied: “Yes.”

The electronic system was put into place at the hospital “two to three weeks” after Archie’s death.

The inquiry continues before Sheriff Tom Millar.