Ben Condon: Multiple failures at Bristol Children's Hospital

Ben Condon died when he was eight weeks old

Multiple failures contributed to the death of a baby boy who died at eight-weeks-old, an ombudsman has found.

Ben Condon, born at 29 weeks, died at Bristol Children's Hospital in April 2015 after a respiratory infection.

His parents, Allyn and Jenny Condon, said: "Our constant desire has been to ensure that what happened to Ben does not happen to another child."

University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust has apologised for its failings.

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman (PHSO) has spent four years investigating the care Ben received.

It highlighted a "catalogue of failings", including not giving Ben medication at the correct time or communicating to his parents about his treatment and condition.

Ben was born at 29 weeks, weighing just under 3lb. He spent six weeks in the neonatal intensive care unit at Southmead Hospital in Bristol.

Allyn Condon and Ben's mother Jenny said they were "haunted" by the verdict at his inquest

Three days after being taken home, Ben developed a small cough. When his condition worsened, he was transferred to Bristol Children's Hospital where doctors diagnosed Human Metapneumovirus (hMPV).

While most children with the virus make a full recovery but, Ben's condition worsened. He died following a cardiac arrest on 17 April.

The PHSO report said it found a catalogue of failings in Ben's care and treatment.

Ben Condon died at Bristol Children's Hospital in April 2015 after developing a breathing problem

Seven weeks after Ben died, his parents were told by the trust he had a secondary bacterial infection but was not administered antibiotics until an hour before his death.

During a meeting with senior clinicians at the hospital on several months after his death, Ben's parents were told that blood tests taken the day before his death were negative for bacterial infection, but tests taken on the day he died were positive.

In fact, no blood test to specifically check for bacterial infection was taken between 11 and 17 April.

Clinicians for the trust told Ben's inquest in June 2016 that the infection and its management bore no relevance to his death.

But the coroner recorded a narrative verdict, saying Ben's death was caused by acute respiratory distress syndrome, hMPV and prematurity.

And on 4 October 2017, University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust wrote to the then Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, admitting the failure to give Ben timely antibiotics made a material contribution to his death and that it was likely Ben would have survived if antibiotics had been given sooner.

The following day, the trust issued a public apology.

In a statement the trust said: "We will take forward the recommendations in the report to summarise all the learning and improvements we have made in how we handle complaints and communication with families, together with a robust action plan where required."

His parents have applied to the Attorney General for permission to ask to the High Court to quash the original inquest verdict and order a fresh inquest.