Family have 'lingering questions' over baby's death
A family has been left with "lingering questions" about the death of a baby at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast, an inquest has been told.
Darrach Smyth, an infant from the Ardoyne area of north Belfast, died in 2008 following cardiac complications.
A decision was subsequently taken to transfer children's heart surgery from Belfast to an all-Ireland centre in Dublin.
The death of Darrach, who was born with Down's syndrome and was subsequently treated for heart and lung problems, was part of a review conducted prior to the decision to move the services from Belfast.
At the inquest, Cora and Joseph Smyth both outlined their ongoing concerns about a decision to temporarily stop the sedation - or pain relief medication - of their son about a week before he died.
In a statement to the inquest, his mother, Cora Smyth, explained how her son, who died almost eight months after his birth, had been receiving routine hospital treatment during his short life.
He died shortly after cardiac surgery.
She said her son's death had "a huge impact" on their lives and they had "lingering" unanswered questions.
These questions are about the pausing of sedation for a period during and after Darrach's transfer from the Cardiac Intensive Care Unit to the Children's Hospital, shortly before his death.
Cora Smyth explained that the family was not aware of this at the time, and only discovered it when they requested hospital notes, following a BBC News NI report four years later in 2012, about a review of children's congenital cardiac services in Belfast.
She said no one at the hospital has ever adequately answered their questions about this issue.
Source: BBC News, 12 January 2025
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