Royal Free Hospital agrees £84,000 compensation award over 'sweat tests' mistake

A girl who was wrongly given the all-clear for a potentially fatal condition at the Royal Free Hospital is off to Disney World on a “holiday of a lifetime” after being awarded  £84,000 compensation.

Libby Pitman, 8, was just three years old when two separate  “sweat tests” designed to spot cystic fibrosis in children failed her at the Hampstead hospital in 2009.

A six-month delay in diagnosis meant she was not given crucial medication and treatment that can extend a life by many years. Cystic fibrosis sufferers rarely live beyond 35.

Libby’s mother Katie Fletcher, who lived until recently in Fairhazel Gardens, West Hampstead, said: “You can’t really put a price on what has happened and of course any amount would never be enough. But I’m just glad that we can start making memories while Libby is still well enough.

“We’re going to Disney World and the whole shebang. It’s time to turn her dreams into a reality. ”

Libby has been learning to swim so she can go in the water with dolphins at the Florida resort’s Sea World. “We can get her a trampoline because she likes that too,” added Ms Fletcher.

In 2009, Libby’s condition deteriorated over several months after classic symptoms of CF were not matched by test results at the Royal Free.

A Great Ormond Street Hospital consultant later discovered she had the condition and was in need of urgent and regular treatment.

In 2009, the Royal Free suspended all sweat testing and recalled patients for follow-up testing.

An internal investigation later found no other patients were affected by the problem, according to the hospital. Four years later, an £84,000 payout has been agreed.

The money – which is paid through a NHS compensation system and does not come directly out of the Royal Free budget – will be stored in a bank account that will be accessible to Libby on her 18th birthday and can be accessed, through a court order, by her mother if she needs to fund care needs.

Ms Fletcher, who is a carrier of the CF gene, said that Libby’s condition has worsened since 2009 and that now a “transplant” may be the only option.

According to the CF Trust, one in 25 people carries the CF gene.

One in every 25,000 babies is born with the condition but most parents only find out they have a child with CF when symptoms start to develop in early childhood. Lottie, Libby’s younger sister, does not have the condition.

Sweat tests were introduced in the 1950s after research showed carriers had high levels of salt in their system.

Libby’s salt levels were far higher than the level associated with the condition and should not have been missed.

A Royal Free spokeswoman said the hospital trust could not comment on the case until the agreed settlement is officially sealed at a final court hearing next month.

This article is courtesy of the Camden New Journal.