An NHS hospital trust has admitted failures in its care of a two-year-old boy who died of sepsis four days after being misdiagnosed with constipation. Hudson Cole Perrins passed away on June 27, 2024, after his father took him to New Cross Hospital in Wolverhampton with severe stomach pain.
Doctors at the hospital diagnosed Hudson with constipation, administering suppositories and an enema before sending him home. His parents brought him back to the hospital the following day when he began experiencing seizures and remained in visible pain. He was subsequently transferred to Birmingham Children's Hospital's paediatric intensive care unit, where his life support was turned off.
Hudson's cause of death was determined to be a brain injury resulting from a urinary tract infection that led to sepsis. The toddler, who was a month away from his third birthday, had a history of medical conditions, including a heart defect and kidney issues.
Hudson's mother, Kayleigh Taundry, who previously worked as a nurse for the Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust for 18 years, has advocated for answers, asserting that hospital staff pursued the most apparent diagnosis of constipation without sufficient evidence. She also claimed Hudson did not receive adequate pain relief and that his catheter was not properly monitored, leading to a failure to observe that it was not draining.
The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust has acknowledged that Hudson should have received pain relief earlier and that his catheter drainage should have been checked. However, the trust has denied that its initial diagnosis or decision not to investigate further constituted a breach of duty that led to the toddler's death. The family has secured an out-of-court settlement with the trust.
"Nothing will ever bring Hudson back, but it means a great deal to finally have it accepted that he should have been given pain relief and that his catheter should have been checked properly," Ms. Taundry stated. "I hope this settlement, and the failures it has brought to light, mean lessons are genuinely learned so another family doesn't have to go through what we have."
Michael Portman-Hann, a partner at law firm FBC Manby Bowdler representing the family, commented, "These were basic elements of care that were missed. While the Trust maintains that these failures didn't affect the eventual outcome for Hudson, his family will always be left wondering whether he suffered more than he should have in his final days, and that is something no parent should have to carry."