A Yorkshire hospital will pay compensation to the family of a boy left seriously brain damaged at birth after admitting negligence.
Five-year-old Darryl Munashe Kupahurasa now suffers from cerebral palsy. He will never be able to walk or talk due to the damage caused at birth, during which he was starved of oxygen.
The boy’s parents, Portia and Devon Kupahurasa, are seeking to agree a suitable compensation package with Doncaster and Bassetlaw Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust to cover the future care costs that the child, known as Munashe, will require for the rest of his live.
He suffered severe brain damage at Doncaster Royal Infirmary after medics, in error, gave his mother a drip with an artificial hormone that helps induce labour.
It caused Mrs Kupahurasa’s contractions to strengthen, which in turn decreased the amount of oxygen Munashe was receiving.
Mrs Kupahurasa, 32, said: “We are absolutely devastated by what happened, and incredibly angry and frustrated with the fact that it this could have been avoided.
“We just could not understand how something like this could happen.
“When you’re in a situation as vulnerable as that, you have to know that the staff around you know exactly what they are doing.
“Like any parents, we hope for our son to have a happy, healthy and successful life, but due to mistakes at the hospital he will never even be able to live independently.
“We will struggle to trust any medical staff again, but we hope the systems are improved so that, in future, nobody suffers like Munashe has.”
An investigation carried out by managers at the trust found that even though it was normal procedure to have the drip present during labour, in Mrs Kupahurasa’s case it was administered unnecessarily.
The hospital admitted the error and has accepted liability for the injuries caused to Munashe.
Sarah Rowland, a specialist medical negligence lawyer representing the family, said: “This was an entirely avoidable incident, which has had a tragic impact on the life of an individual and his family.
“Processes should be in place to prevent incidents like this occurring, and we hope that this case highlights the important lessons that need to be learned to prevent similar incidents happening again.”
The director of nursing and quality at Doncaster and Bassetlaw Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Hilary Bond, said: “We apologised unreservedly to Munashe and his family and reiterate that today.
“There have been substantial changes in practice since this incident occurred in 2007 and we can confirm to Munashe’s family that we have put in place all the lessons learned. We wish Munashe and his family well for the future.”
