healthmedicinet

Next month , an inquest will examine whether the toddler could have been
saved, if it had not been for nine missed chances by the doctors and nurses
who were supposed to be caring for her.

“It is not just that she died, not just that her last hour conscious were
spent in pain, the question is whether she could have been saved,” said Mrs
Mason, 46, a former City trader.

“It has taken so long, and it has been really exhausting emotionally, but we
have kept trying to push the hospitals to answer our questions, because we
want to ensure this never happens to another child.”

^{Rosalind and Gareth Mason (Heathcliff O’Malley for the Telegraph)}

Alice was a healthy baby and toddler, but in late 2010 her parents began to
notice that her movements became more hesitant and clumsy. At first, doctors
diagnosed an ear infection, but when symptoms worsened, a brain tumour was
detected.

She quickly underwent successful surgery, and seemed to respond well to
chemotherapy, which began in February 2011 at the Royal Marsden Hospital.

But the following month, new symptoms emerged – Alice suddenly became dizzy,
lethargic and unable to walk or sit unassisted.

On 18 March 2011 Mr and Mrs Mason contacted the Royal Marsden Hospital, and
their local hospital in Kingston, but were told that the problems were
likely to be related to the chemotherapy drugs, and to wait for a routine
MRI scan due some days later.

Although that scan showed signs of hydrocephalus, commonly known as water on
the brain, Mr and Mrs Mason were told by the Royal Marsden to take their
child home.

Later, they were told that the radiologist interpreting the results had not
been told about Alice’s symptoms, which might have indicated the severity of
her problems. A meeting between doctors to discuss the case was cancelled.

Alice’s parents were told that if her condition worsened, they should take her
to Kingston Hospital for a CT scan. They were given a letter to pass to
doctors there, explaining the situation.

Within hours of leaving the Marsden, the child had sickened further. By the
time she was admitted to Kingston Hospital, she was vomiting repeatedly.

Despite the instructions which had been given by the specialists treating the
child, and despite the pleas from her parents, no investigations were
ordered to establish the cause of her deterioration.

Junior doctors at the hospital said the child did not fulfil their own
criteria to authorise such scans.

In total, nine opportunities to act on the symptoms were missed.

As Mr and Mrs Mason begged for help from staff at Kingston Hospital, their
pleas were dismissed – sometimes callously, they said.

“We were desperate, we could see Alice was getting sicker and sicker, but they
treated us like a burden,” Mrs Mason said. “I remember a nurse walking out
of the room, saying: ‘I’ve got to go and care for a really sick child now’”.

Three days after being admitted to hospital, Alice was crawling up and down
the hospital bed, clutching her head in agony. She was drifting in and out
of consciousness, and her eyes seemed blank, her mother said.

Again, her parents desperately pleaded with doctors and nurses, and finally,
the hospital agreed to carry out the scan, though it was not scheduled until
some hours later.

Even when marked hydrocephalus was found, and urgent surgery ordered to drain
the fluid to relieve pressure inside the skull, there were further delays
before the operation began, at St George’s Hospital in South London.

Alice never regained consciousness. Further scans found that the water on the
brain had caused irreversible brain damage, and she died in her parents’
arms within days.

Since then, Mrs Mason and her husband, 43, an education expert, have battled
with the three hospitals who were supposed to be caring for their daughter,
to find out how and why the failings occured.

Now they are taking legal action, and want to establish how it was that a
little girl who survived major surgery ended up dying from a common and
treatable condition.

Mrs Mason said: “It was bad enough that she had a brain tumour, that she had
gone through surgery, and chemotherapy, but to be put through all that and
then for something so basic to go untreated.

“It is difficult enough to lose a child, but we want to ensure no-one
goes through anything like this.”

Nicola Wainwright, from law firm Leigh Day, said that investigations so far
suggested repeated missed opportunities had been missed.

She said: “Responsibility for Alice’s care was shared by three hospitals
through the NHS shared cancer care system – Mr and Mrs Mason are
particularly keen to establish if that system is safe and to ensure that no
other child suffers.”

Earlier this month, the couple had a son, Jack.

Mrs Mason said: “We are so grateful to have our son, he has brought so much
joy, but the last few weeks have brought back a lot of memories. No-one can
bring back Alice.”

A joint statement from Kingston Hospital NHS Trust, Royal Marsden NHS
Foundation Trust and St George’s Healthcare NHS Trustn said: “All three
organisations offer their deepest sympathy to Mr and Mrs Mason over the
death of their beloved daughter Alice. Unfortunately we cannot comment on
the details of this case due to ongoing legal proceedings.”