THE parents of a five week old baby boy who died from a strain of meningitis hours after being discharged from Altnagelvin Hospital in Derry during Christmas week, yesterday instructed theirs solicitors to issue legal proceedings against the Western Health and Social Services Board.
Ms Wendy Smith and Mr Paul Boreland yesterday rejected a hospital statement that their son, Ryan Smith, had no signs of serious illness or suspicion of meningitis when he was admitted to the hospital on December 22nd. Eight hours after he was discharged, the baby died at his mother's home.
A hospital statement said it had initiated an investigation into the baby's death through notification to the coroner's office.
The statement said when the baby was admitted to hospital he had a normal temperature and was suffering a mild infection without any suspicion of meningitis. The parents were advised to ensure their baby did not become short of fluid.
"Tragically, the baby was found dead in his home the following morning. The preliminary suspicion of meningitis emerged at post mortem and the Public Health Department of the Western Health and Social Services Board was notified by the State Pathologist so that preventative treatment could be given to the immediate family," the statement said.
"This tragic death shows the catastrophic speed and effect of meningococcal infection which can be extremely rapid in onset and devastating in effect, particularly on small infants.
"Where there are signs of meningococcal infection, a baby is automatically admitted to hospital. Sadly, there were no signs of serious illness and no suspicion of meningitis.
In a statement through their solicitors, the baby's parents described a meeting they had with board representatives earlier this week as "an exercise in self interest" rather than a meaningful attempt to explain what went wrong in Ryan's case.
The parents said their baby was in an obvious state of distress when he was admitted to hospital.
"He refused to feed and had blotches on his skin. These symptoms worsened to such an extent that we ourselves took the child to hospital on the evening of December 22nd.
"After waiting for over an hour with a clearly distressed and ill child, the doctor examined Ryan and said he could see nothing specifically wrong. He told us to take him home and to keep giving him fluids. This was despite the fact that we made it clear that the child would not take any fluids.
"We followed the advice of two doctors, yet eight hours later our child was dead. He was sent home from hospital when he was clearly seriously ill.
"We reject the concept of a do it yourself health service. We believe that all persons, not matter how young and helpless, are entitled to reasonable, efficient and speedy health care."