Guy’s and St Thomas’ trust acknowledges highly vulnerable Aviva Otte was given a contaminated feed containing deadly bacteria.
An NHS trust has finally admitted responsibility for the death of a highly vulnerable baby after years of denial. Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Trust (GSTT) revealed during an inquest that contaminated feed given to Aviva Otte in January 2014 caused her death. The trust had previously claimed that the baby’s death was due to natural causes, despite repeated challenges from her mother, a coroner, and the Guardian.
The revelation came during the second day of an inquest investigating the deaths of Aviva and two other infants who succumbed to Bacillus cereus, a dangerous bacterium, in separate outbreaks. Dr. Grenville Fox, a senior consultant at the hospital, acknowledged that the contaminated parenteral nutrition Aviva received was the main cause of her death—a major reversal from the trust’s previous stance.
A Decade of Denial and Shift in Stance
For nearly ten years, GSTT insisted that Aviva’s death was due to her extreme prematurity, having been born at 24 weeks, and her subsequent medical complications, including brain hemorrhages. However, Dr. Fox, who had earlier supported that explanation, changed his position after conducting a detailed review. “With a very detailed and forensic examination… my conclusions are very different now than they were in 2014,” Dr Fox told the coroner.
His revised assessment points to Bacillus cereus as the cause of Aviva’s deterioration, raising concerns over potential negligence and the trust’s honesty throughout the investigation. Bacillus cereus is a rare but lethal bacterium, affecting around 20-30 newborns annually across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
Wider Implications of Maternity Negligence
The inquest also examined the deaths of two other babies, Oscar Barker and Yousef Al-Kharboush, who were infected in a separate Bacillus cereus outbreak in June 2014, after receiving contaminated liquid food at nine hospitals in England. In total, 19 infants were infected, and three lost their lives. The contaminated food in this second outbreak was supplied by ITH Pharma, which was fined £1.2 million in 2022 after pleading guilty to charges related to the incident, according to The F.
The inquest has further highlighted issues of birth trauma, maternity negligence, and failures in handling childbirth complications. Fox’s admission raises questions about the trust’s response to the first outbreak, which directly led to Aviva’s death and potentially to the deaths of other vulnerable infants.
Trust’s Accountability Under Scrutiny
GSTT’s failure to notify ITH Pharma about the earlier outbreak, which it managed in-house, also came under scrutiny. Despite the trust outsourcing its parenteral nutrition supply to ITH Pharma after the first outbreak, the company was not informed of the earlier cases.
The inquest continues to probe the level of accountability and transparency, with GSTT’s initial denials now contrasted with its admission of negligence in Aviva’s case. The proceedings are expected to last three weeks.
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