A nurse who was accused of botching the insertion of a feeding tube into a 10-year-old girl’s stomach has been cleared of the child’s manslaughter.
Carrie-Anne Nash, 34, a paediatric specialist, was charged over the treatment of Phoebe Willis, who died following the procedure at Weston general hospital in Somerset.
A jury at Bristol crown court heard the youngster needed a feeding tube because she had cystinosis, a rare genetic condition. Since her diagnosis as a baby the tube was changed every three months – described in court as a simple procedure that her parents had been used to carrying out.
But in August 2012 they took Phoebe to Weston general after they found it unusually difficult to push a new tube in.
The court was told none of the medics on shift was qualified to deal with the situation so Nash, a community nurse employed by a pharmaceutical company, was called in to help.
Prosecutors alleged Nash ignored a series of “red flag” indicators that should have alerted her that something had gone wrong after she had inserted the tube. The girl was sent home and when Phoebe’s mother, Heather Willis, fed her milk before putting her to bed, it seeped into the cavity between her vital organs, which led to blood poisoning. She later suffered cardiac arrests and brain damage and died.
Nash, of Portishead, Somerset, denied manslaughter. In evidence she said she kept a doctor on the ward informed of Phoebe’s progress.
The prosecution claimed she repeatedly attempted to insert the tube and pushed it in despite feeling something blocking its way.
She insisted she had been thoroughly trained and had been sure the tube had been inserted properly.
The jury found her not guilty after deliberating for eight hours, 38 minutes.
