Blocked air tube killed boy aged 9 in hospital

A Police investigation has been launched into the cause of blockages in identical plastic tubing at two separate hospitals in Essex, one of which led to the death of a boy of nine.

Sabotage has not been ruled out as a factor in the two incidents, which took place in anaesthesia suites at Broomfield Hospital, Chelmsford, and at Basildon Hospital, five miles away. Hospital sources said police were called in because the similarities were so strong.

But detectives, the Health and Safety Executive and the NHS Medical Devices Agency, who are conducting a joint investigation, also believe that both events may have been tragic accidents.

Hospital sources have denied that cost-cutting was a factor, even though in the case where the patient died the equipment had been used more than once, contrary to the manufacturer's recommendations.

Tony Clowes, aged nine, of Dagenham, east London, died at Broomfield Hospital on 18 July as he was being prepared for a routine operation. He was being given a general anaesthetic in order to replace a fingertip severed in a bicycle accident.

Speaking outside his home yesterday, the boy's father, George Clowes, 44, said he was expecting to take Tony home on the same day of the operation.

"It seemed to me to be a routine operation and we were just sitting talking about what he would and wouldn't be able to do when he got home. "I explained to him that he would not be able to go swimming on holiday as he would have to keep his finger dry. We were absolutely devastated when we were told the news. Words just can't describe it."

He said the news of the second case had brought the memories of his son's death back to him but "the fact that the other man survived because staff were being extra vigilant at least means that Tony's death may not have been in vain".

"I hope that out of this investigation will come truth and justice and that no family will ever have to go through anything like this again."

According to hospital sources, Tony was given pre-operative injections to paralyse his lung function and then attached to a mask to control his breathing. But the plastic tubing connecting the mask to an oxygen cylinder was blocked and he was starved of oxygen.

Doctors fought for two hours to revive him, but he died without regaining consciousness. The coroner, Caroline Beasley-Murray, called in police, who took away some items of surgical equipment.

According to reports, the tube had been in place for as long as six weeks and some doctors claimed staff had been told to re-use it as an economy measure. But Mid Essex Hospital Services NHS Trust said it had not instructed staff to breach manufacturer's guidelines.

Police confirmed yesterday they are also investigating an identical case at Basildon Hospital on 2 August. An adult patient was being prepared for abdominal surgery when anaesthetists found the equivalenttube was blocked. The patient did not suffer any harm.

A hospital spokesman said: "The anaesthetist and assistant on duty immediately saw there was a problem and took immediate action. Police were informed and, because of the similarity between the two cases, it is being treated as one investigation. We can categorically say the equipment was not used more than once."

Hospital sources said it was not unusual for the tubing to be re-used in hospital anaesthetic departments, and manufacturers recommendations were likely to be concerned with hygiene rather than any risk of the equipment becoming blocked.

One said: "It's only a little bit of plastic. It's difficult to see how it could be blocked accidentally."