Baby girl died from cancer after doctors 'repeatedly' missed signs of illness

08 January 2024 , 22:38

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Jessi-Jean MacLennan suffered from a kidney cancer known as Wilms' tumour (Image: UCG)

Doctors repeatedly missed signs of a baby girl's illness before she died from a rare cancer, a sheriff ruled.

Jessi-Jean MacLennan was just 20 months old when she died in Glasgow's Royal Hospital for Children in November 2019. She suffered from a form of kidney cancer known as Wilms' tumour; a rare childhood condition with fewer than 50 cases per year in the UK.

Research today shows that even advanced-stage Wilms' tumour has a cure rate of 85%. The Lord Advocate Dorothy Bain said her death gave rise to 'serious' public concern and ordered a fatal accident be held at Inverness Sheriff Court.

Sheriff Eilidh MacDonald has now ruled medics failed to properly recognise her illness after her mother Sara raised the alarm about her condition. Mrs MacLennan had noticed Jessi's appetite had decreased in July 2019 and took her to Culloden surgery in Inverness with her concerns, which also included a high temperature.

In November 2019, Jessi collapsed at home after vomiting and was found to be 'blue, cold and unresponsive' by paramedics and taken by air ambulance to Glasgow, reports Daily Record. She died days later in hospital after a cardiac arrest on November 25.

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Expert witness Dr Norman Wallace wrote a report for the inquiry and stated Jessi should have been referred for specialist treatment at the start of October 2019 when she presented as "very unsettled". Professor Hamish Wallace told the probe if Jessi had been properly examined "cure was not just possible but probable".

NHS Highland told the inquiry that it had taken steps to improve its paediatric care following the youngster's tragic death. In a written ruling, Sheriff MacDonald said repeated failures to spot Jessi's illness had led to her death.

But she said she accepted NHS Highland had taken steps to improve paediatric care and made no recommendations for changes. The sheriff said: "Professor Wallace's evidence was clear: Wilms' was a perfectly treatable disease once diagnosed; it was curable; and in Professor Wallace's opinion if diagnosis had been made at any of the "missed opportunities" from October 3 2019 until November 6, it was his view that cure was not just possible, it was probable."

Sheriff MacDonald concluded: "The evidence clearly shows that Mrs MacLennan did absolutely everything she could to try and get the help her daughter needed from the doctors. Mrs MacLennan could have done no more than she did for Jessi. All participants in the inquiry recognised the enormity of the family's loss and I extend my deepest condolences to Mr and Mrs MacLennan and the family."

NHS Highland was approached for comment.

David Meikle