Dr Heather Steen: Doctor guilty of dishonesty over child's death

Dr Heather Steen previously applied to be voluntarily removed from the medical register

A tribunal has found the majority of allegations against a doctor accused of a cover-up over the death of a nine-year-old girl to have been proven.

Dr Heather Steen had previously been found by the General Medical Council (GMC) to have acted dishonestly in trying to conceal the circumstances of Claire Roberts' death in 1996.

The case then came to the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service, which rules on doctors' fitness to practice.

Some allegations were not proved.

Nine-year-old Claire Roberts died at the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children in 1996.

Her parents were told a viral infection had spread from her stomach to her brain.

In 2018 the Hyponatraemia Inquiry concluded Claire had died from an overdose of fluids and medication caused by negligent care and that there "was a cover up" and her death was not referred to the coroner immediately to "avoid scrutiny".

Dr Steen denied allegations from the GMC that she had acted dishonestly and engaged in a cover-up over Claire's death.

When the case came to the Medical Practitioners Tribunal Service (MPTS), Dr Steen twice applied to be voluntarily removed from the medical register and was twice refused.

Had this been successful, the tribunal would have been halted as she would no longer have been a doctor.

Instead the tribunal continued and examined allegations that between October 1996 and May 2006 Dr Steen "knowingly and dishonestly carried out several actions to conceal the true circumstances" of Claire's death.

Nine-year old Claire Roberts died in Belfast's Royal Hospital for Sick Children in 1996

On Monday, the tribunal chair handed down a ruling on which of the allegations that had been made against Dr Steen have been proven or not.

The chairman found "most of the facts proved" and the panel will now make a decision on whether Dr Steen's fitness to practice is impaired.

In a majority of the allegations, the tribunal did not uphold the application of no case to answer.

Examples of the allegations which were proved, included:

• A failure to repeat a blood test on two occasions

• Misrepresenting to Claire's parents that the autopsy report had identified a viral infection as the cause of death

• Writing an inaccurate letter to Claire's GP

• Failing to accurately disclose medical information in a statement in 2005 for the coroner's inquest

• Signing a death certificate when she knew she had insufficient information available about Claire's cause of death

• Failing to report Claire's death to the coroner when she knew it was sudden and unexpected

Other allegations were not proved, such as the allegation that Dr Steen had failed to review whether encephalitis played a part in Claire's death following receipt of the autopsy report.

The tribunal will now consider whether Dr Steen's fitness to practise is impaired or not.

She may then receive sanctions - there are various options including being erased from the medical register.