The parents of a one-year-old girl who died following heart surgery at Bristol Children’s Hospital (BCH) said that they voiced concerns regarding her care before she died. Isabella Janew, from Gloucester, was born with a rare heart defect in April 2012.  Following an operation to widen a heart valve in September 2013, however, she went into cardiac arrest and died. Her parents said that they had repeatedly raised concerns about their daughter’s care with an intensive care nurse, but nothing was done.

Isabella’s father, Daniel, and mother, Debbie, had asked an intensive care nurse to examine why their daughter’s blood pressure was so low on several occasions.  Instead of raising this issue with a doctor, however, the nurse instead turned the blood pressure monitor round, telling the parents that it would “drive them crazy” if they kept examining it.

Second cardiac arrest

In September 2013, Isabella underwent an operation to have her aortic valve widened.  The procedure had to come to a halt when she went into cardiac arrest. She was treated for a couple of days in intensive care, where she underwent a second cardiac arrest, which led to her death.

An inquest has been launched that will span three days, examining the deaths of children after cardiac surgery at BCH. This inquest is the seventh of its kind.  Medical director Sir Bruce Keogh organised an independent inquiry into the deaths of children following cardiac surgery at the hospital last year.

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