Raychel Ferguson: Coroner rules death caused by 'inappropriate infusion'

A fresh inquest into the death of Raychel Ferguson has found she died of a cerebral oedema, or swelling in the brain, due to hyponatraemia.

He said the "inappropriate infusion of hypotonic saline fluid" was the most significant factor.

The nine-year-old died at the Royal Victoria Hospital for Sick Children in June 2001.

Coroner Joe McCrisken said her death was due to a series of human errors and not systemic failure.

He outlined three causes of the hyponatraemia but said he was satisfied the "inappropriate infusion of hypotonic saline fluid... played the most significant part".

Hyponatraemia is the term for a low level of sodium in the bloodstream, which causes the brain cells to swell with too much water.

Speaking outside court, Raychel's mother, Marie Ferguson said she had done her part and left no stone unturned.

Mrs Ferguson had previously told an inquiry that as her daughter's coffin was closed, she made a promise "not to stop until I got to the truth of what happened".

The new inquest into Raychel's death was first opened in January 2022 after being ordered by the attorney general but was postponed in October when new evidence came to light.

Raychel was one of five children whose deaths over the course of eight years at the same hospital prompted a public inquiry.

The coroner in the fresh inquest found that Raychel's cause of death was "cerebral oedema due to or as a consequence of hyponatremia due to or as a consequence of inappropriate infusion of hypotonic fluids, inappropriate antidiuretic hormone secretion following surgery and post operative vomiting".

In closing the inquest, the coroner addressed Raychel's parents.

He asked them to accept his condolences on the death of their only daughter and on the processes, they have had to endure for over 20 years.

"I'm satisfied, as was Mr. Justice O'Hara, that as far as possible, both because of the inquiry and this inquest, the full facts of Rachel's death have been brought to light," said Mr McCrisken.

In 2013, the Western Health and Social Care Trust, accepted responsibility for her death. Raychel was administered a lethal dose of intravenous fluid at Altnagelvin Hospital in the trust after having her appendix removed.

In 2018 the Hyponatraemia Inquiry - which examined the deaths of five children in Northern Ireland hospitals, including Raychel - found her death was avoidable.

The 14-year-long inquiry was heavily critical of the "self-regulating and unmonitored" health service.

In his report in 2018, Mr Justice O'Hara found there was a "reluctance among clinicians to openly acknowledge failings" in Raychel's death.

He said her death was the result of "negligent care".