Apology for poor care over boy's bleed death

A hospital trust has apologised to the parents of a three-year-old boy who died from severe bleeding after his artery was pierced by a trainee doctor during a routine procedure.

Aarav Chopra, from Wolverhampton, died during a biopsy at Birmingham Children's Hospital in 2023, after his body had rejected an earlier liver transplant.

A spokesperson for the NHS trust running the hospital said they had not met standards expected of them and changes were made to improve care in the future.

"The strain it's put on us as a family has killed us," his mother Amrita Chopra said.

"Because we took Aarav to a really good place, like he was in the best place for his care, and then they've basically killed him and that's how we see it.

"It's heartbreaking but we definitely don't want other families to go through what we have been through."

A biopsy is when a small sample of skin, tissue or cells is taken from a patient's body for routine testing.

Aarav suffered a cardiac arrest triggered by a build-up of blood in his chest and neglect contributed to his death, a coroner concluded.

His father Kishore Chopra said: "Aarav was the most adorable little boy and, despite everything he went through with his transplant, was always smiling and happy.

"He brought sunshine to our lives and the world is a much darker place without him."

"We hoped his transplant would be a new start in life for Aarav.

"It remains difficult to accept that he went into hospital for what we thought would be a relatively routine biopsy and never came home."

An inquest last year concluded that Aarav's death was "contributed to by neglect" and found his death was preventable.

A coroner's report called on the hospital to take action.

Their prevention of future deaths report - issued by a coroner when an investigation reveals action should be taken to prevent further, avoidable deaths - raised concerns in his case.

They included confusion around the experience of a trainee doctor carrying out the biopsy, who was thought to be a year six trainee but was actually a year four, something the family didn't discover until much later.

Kishore Chopra said they were never informed of a trainee being involved.

The family said they had found it hard to get answers but have now settled a legal claim against the hospital.

With "appropriate care" Aarav's cardiac arrest and death "would have been avoided" on the balance of probabilities, the trust admitted.

The couple's solicitor, Catherine Lee, from legal firm Irwin Mitchell, added: "Whilst the trust has recognised the severity of the failings Aarav suffered and the need for improvements, it's now vital that staff are supported to uphold the highest standard of care at all times."

Dr Satish Rao, chief medical officer at Birmingham Women's and Children's NHS Trust, said: "We offer our sincere condolences to Aarav's family and loved ones.

"We know that the standard of care provided did not meet those expected and for this we are truly sorry and have admitted full liability.

"Following Aarav's death, changes were made to our processes to improve patient care and we are committed to sustaining these improvements in his memory."