Alder Hey Admits Missed Chances in Death of Toddler Eleanor
Alder Hey Children's Hospital has publicly admitted that the death of a toddler could have been prevented. In a statement on its website, the Liverpool trust said there were "many missed opportunities" to save Eleanor Aldred-Owen, from Mold in North Wales.
Eleanor was born on 28 December 2021 and was diagnosed at 12 weeks old with bicoronal craniosynostosis. As she grew, her brain would not have had enough space, leaving her with a one-in-three chance of developmental delay. A specialist team at Alder Hey advised surgery. The hospital said the operation was complex but routine for the unit.
Her parents, Charles and Rachel, agreed, and the surgery took place on 28 September 2023, while her condition was still considered mild.
What went wrong after surgery
Eleanor then developed a pneumothorax, commonly called a collapsed lung. Alder Hey said it was visible on imaging, but there were "delays in the imaging being performed and the pneumothorax was not recognised and escalated in time". She suffered a cardiac arrest and died on 2 October 2024.
The trust's statement says the missed opportunities included a failure to escalate grossly abnormal X-ray findings, which was identified during the inquest. Alder Hey has since introduced a clear escalation process in its radiology department for grossly abnormal and time-critical findings.
"Had the pneumothorax been recognised and treated promptly by insertion of a chest drain, Eleanor's death would have been prevented," the statement says. "The trust accepts full responsibility for these failures and is profoundly sorry."
An inquest and a later civil claim found 24 failures in the lead-up to her death. In December 2024 a coroner concluded that Eleanor died by misadventure contributed to by neglect. A report on the changes made across the hospital went to the trust board in February 2026.
The family's response
The family said in a statement issued through their law firm, Hugh James, that they watched Eleanor struggle to breathe and raised concerns about her breathing and heart rate. They said they were glad the trust had accepted full responsibility. "Knowing that a matter of minutes could have changed everything is something we will have to live with for the rest of our lives," they said.
They said they recognise the changes made and hope they will be kept under review and make care safer for other children. A Hugh James spokesperson said the trust's acceptance of responsibility and public apology were important, but followed a long and painful process.
Source: Liverpool Echo