A seven-year-old girl had been left permanently and severely mentally and physically handicapped as a result of the negligence of two Cork city hospitals, it was claimed in the High Court yesterday.
Marguerite Hayes, of Dysart, Dromagh, Mallow, Co Cork, suing through her mother, Ms Mary Hayes, is seeking damages from the Southern Health Board.
The board owns and manages the Erinville Hospital where the child was born on June 12th, 1990, and the Cork University Hospital where she subsequently received treatment.
The Southern Health Board denies it was negligent or that it did not render its services with due skill, care or diligence. It further denies that the child's conditions are the result of neglect or default on the part of the board, its servants or agents. Mr Henry Hickey SC, for Marguerite, said an ultrasound scan was performed on Ms Hayes at the Erinville Hospital on May 10th, 1990. It was reported to have shown that the unborn child had hydrocephalus (water on the brain).
He said the main feature of hydrocephalus is a large head which grows at an abnormally fast rate. If not treated, it could lead to a baby's death.
Mr Hickey said the child's condition was caused by a blockage which was treated by using a "shunt" or tube to drain cerebral spinal fluid into the abdomen where it disappears.
Counsel said the child's case was that the defendants were negligent in their treatment and allowed serious infection to occur. Had she been treated properly the prognosis was that she would have been a normal child, or at worst would have had some handicap, he said.
Mr Hickey said that as a result of the defendants' negligence the child was "profoundly and disastrously" handicapped and totally dependent on her mother. She was unable to speak, would never walk and had only limited vision. She could not hold objects, had to be fed and had no control over bowel or bladder movements.
Mr Hickey said a shunt was inserted in the baby's head at Cork University Hospital on July 4th, 1990.
There had been a leakage from the shunt, and nobody seemed to have paid any great attention to this, because it continued, he said.
On July 18th, 1990, bacteria were identified in the fluid, and the child was given antibiotics. There would be criticism of the delay and an apparent lack of urgency in treating the infant, he said.
Counsel said there did not appear to be any great level of treatment or management. The hydrocephalus effectively remained untreated for some weeks.
Mr Hickey said the child's expectation of life had been significantly reduced and ranged from 25 to 35 years.
The hearing continues today.