Cassian Curry: Coroner to consider possible neglect in baby's death

A coroner has said she is considering whether neglect contributed to the death of a premature baby two days after he was born, an inquest heard.

Cassian Curry died at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals' Jessop Wing on 5 April 2021, weighing 1lb 10oz (750g).

The inquest heard a catheter inserted into his abdomen may have been wrongly placed but was not reviewed or moved.

Coroner Abigail Combes said she would be examining staff's decision-making around the incident.

Ms Combes, assistant coroner for South Yorkshire, told lawyers representing Cassian's parents, Karolina and James Curry, and Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, that she will have to consider whether neglect contributed to Cassian's death as part of her proposed narrative conclusion later this week.

Ms Combes said her preliminary view was that "on the basis of the evidence I have heard" this would not necessarily relate to the initial placement of the feeding line - called an umbilical venous catheter (UVC) - but to the subsequent decision-making.

But the coroner stressed she still had to hear from key witnesses.

Earlier, neo-natal doctor Mark Attard told the inquest he had "no concerns" about Cassian when he saw him on a ward round and was "very surprised" to find him in an emergency situation later.

He described how, at the end of his shift the previous night, he noticed on an X-ray how the UVC appeared to be projecting into the "cardiac shadow".

He said he pointed this out to consultant Dr Elizabeth Pilling, who had recorded it as "sub-optimal" but decided to leave it in place - a decision he said she balanced against other potential harms to Cassian after the initial insertion procedure had taken longer than normal.

Another consultant working in the unit, Dr Catherine Smith, said she had not seen the X-ray until after Cassian's death.

She said that, if she had seen the image on 3 April, she would have had a member of the team "pull it back".

But Dr Smith stressed that this was a decision that had to be balanced against other potential issues, including the dangers of further handling such a pre-term baby, and lack of nutrition while the procedure was being undertaken.

Dr Pilling is due to give evidence on Thursday.

The inquest continues.

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