A 7-year-old boy passed away at a private children’s hospital in London due to a senior nurse’s failure to connect him to vital monitors while in intensive care, a court has revealed. The incident occurred in August 2016 at Portland Hospital, where the child, named James Dwerryhouse, stopped breathing without detection.
The nurse in question, Anuradha Bhupathiraju, is facing charges of gross negligence manslaughter almost a decade after the tragic event. James, described as a cheerful child with several health conditions, including sleep apnoea, underwent a routine surgery at the hospital on August 25, 2016.
During the night of the incident, Bhupathiraju was responsible for monitoring James in the hospital’s intensive care unit. However, it was alleged that she failed to resume electronic monitoring after the child fell back asleep following a disturbance. This negligence led to a delay in detecting that James had stopped breathing and his heart had ceased functioning.
Subsequently, CPR was administered, but James suffered severe brain damage due to oxygen deprivation. Despite efforts to stabilize him, the injury proved fatal, and James was eventually transferred to a hospice where he passed away the following day.
Prosecutors emphasized that James’ death could have been prevented if proper monitoring had been conducted. Bhupathiraju was accused of falsifying medical records and providing misleading information regarding the events of that night, further complicating the case.
The trial is ongoing as Bhupathiraju denies the charges of gross negligence manslaughter. The court proceedings continue to shed light on the tragic circumstances surrounding James’ untimely death.