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 hypertonic 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 hypertonic saline fluid... played the most significant part".

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.

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.

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Source: BBC News, 11 December 2023