"We do not want other parents to go through the same thing"

At just over six weeks old, our son started to spike high temperatures. We rushed him to The Royal A&E Department late in the evening where bloods were taken and he was started on two broad spectrum antibiotics to treat, what we were told, was likely a UTI.

We were then transferred to the Craig Ward at the Ulster Hospital in the early hours of the following morning to continue the course of antibiotics. When we arrived, further bloods were taken and later that morning we were informed by a Doctor that it was unlikely that he had a UTI and further testing would be required to find the source of his infection.

When the Doctor explained that this would involve a Chest X-ray and Lumbar Puncture, we became distressed as the seriousness of his condition was heightened. At 12pm a nurse came to take him for his LP. He was unsettled at the time but was taken away to have the procedure done and returned to us by a nurse at 1pm in an even more distressed state. This was very upsetting to see although we were relieved the procedure was over and we would hopefully have results in 48hrs.

The nurse told us that the Consultant would speak with us about the outcome of the procedure. Some time later that day, the Consultant told us that the LP had failed and would need to be repeated. However, it wasn’t until that night, following the nurses handover, that the nurse on night shift mentioned that it was a shame that the LP had failed on all three attempts. This was the first we had heard that the procedure had been attempted three times which took the nurse by surprise. We were upset that we had not been informed that this was the case.

The next morning, a different Consultant explained that a further LP would need to be done that afternoon. They told us that they would be round before this procedure to go through the consent form with us again… this was the first time the word ‘consent’ had been used. Prior to the three attempts and failures of the LP the previous day, the Consultant who carried out the procedure (unsure of Consultant’s name) did not come to see us. They did not explain what the procedure involved or explain the risks to us. We were completely unaware that one of these risks was that the procedure could fail and have to be repeated. No verbal or written consent was formally given. We handed over our baby to have a procedure done that we were told was medically necessary and trusted that the medical professionals “knew best” so didn’t, at the time, stop to question what the procedure entailed or the risks associated with it.

Thankfully, when the LP was repeated by the second consultant it was a much better experience from start to finish. They took time to talk with us and gain our verbal and written consent. Our baby was taken when settled and returned in the same settled state. The consultant then came to see us immediately after the procedure to update us on how the procedure went and that this time it had been a success.

It was only upon reflection, once we had been discharged from hospital and had time to think about our experience, that we realised how wrong it was that our son had been taken for a procedure that we knew nothing about. That the procedure had been attempted three times and failed on all three occasions and that this detail failed to be brought to our attention. We feel let down by the Consultant who lead the initial LP and want to report this so that no parents have to go through the same experience in the future.

 Thankfully, aside from this experience, the care we received on the ward was excellent.