Recent press coverage
This article appeared in the Nottingham Evening Post on 28th November 2007. Paul Balen acted on behalf of the parents of Polly Rotton ...
"A Five-year-old girl died after suffering complications from an operation to treat a severe heart condition, a coroner has ruled.
Polly Rotton, of Forest Town, Mansfield, was operated on using a Fontans procedure - which redirects blood from the heart through the lungs - at Glenfield Hospital in Leicester.
But an inquest at Nottingham Coroner's Court heard yesterday that a lack of beds meant she was moved from the specialist unit to the Queen's Medical Centre in November 2004.
Polly died later that month from a haemorrhage of the lungs, bronchial pneumonia and a condition called acute respiratory distress syndrome - a reaction to lung injury.
Staff at the Leicester hospital claimed she was well enough to be transferred, but her mother Jane told the inquest her daughter was moved because of a lack of beds.
She added that the QMC could not offer the same level of specialist care as Glenfield.
When asked by Notts coroner Dr Nigel Chapman if she felt pressured to have her daughter transferred, she replied: "yes".
She said: "The deal was that, if Polly went to the QMC, a boy would be able to come to Glenfield and have an operation."
Glenfield consultant Dr Frances Bu'lock told the inquest: "She was transferred to the QMC because we were satisfied she no longer needed our direct input. It was clear she was heading in the right direction."
Dr Chapman recorded a narrative verdict on her death, adding that pressure on hospital beds was a problem across the country.
He said the choice of surgery was correct, but could not get involved in the issue of whether Polly should have been transferred.
Speaking after the inquest, Stephen Fowlie, medical director of the Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs the QMC, said: "Polly's death is tragic and we extend our deepest sympathies to her family for their loss.
"Polly had made good progress while under our care, but sadly died just days before she was due to go home.
"She required complex medical care due to her heart condition and we are fully satisfied that the care and treatment she received when on our intensive care unit was of the highest possible standard.
"The coroner's expert Professor Elliott, from Great Ormond Street, said 'the standard of care was extremely high' after Polly's transfer to Queen's Medical Centre"."
Nottingham Evening Post
28th November 2007