'Our baby son is lucky to be alive' (From Croydon Guardian)

Beddington baby had to be resuscitated after nurse accidentally blocks breathing tubes

8:50am Wednesday 6th March 2013 in News By Sophia Sleigh, Reporter

A 16-month-old baby had to be resuscitated after a nurse accidentally blocked his breathing tubes while cleaning up his blood.

Sivarugudas Varathabawan, 46, from Beddington, took his only child Sannjay to St Helier hospital on January 30, after he suffered a bad cold and had problems breathing.

He was transferred to St George’s Hospital’s intensive-care unit in Tooting where a nurse inserted a cannula tube into his tummy to take a blood sample.

She left him asleep but after 40 minutes Sannjay’s mum, Subothini, 39, noticed his blanket was soaked in blood.

The nurse tried to clean Sannjay up but Mr Varathabawan said while she was lifting him his oxygen tube twisted, blocking his air supply and causing his heart to stop.

Mr Varathabawan called for other doctors and nurses who managed to resuscitate Sannjay after his heart stopped for around 3 minutes.

Little Sannjay spent 17 days in hospital and ended up contracting norovirus, known as the winter vomiting bug, and later rotavirus which causes severe diarrhoea in young children.

Mr Varathabawan who works in a Tesco supermarket in Croydon said there was blood everywhere.

He said: "The nurse was trying to clean the blood and she was moving my baby up and down.

"The oxygen tube twisted and it was blocked so he couldn’t breathe and his heart stopped. It was about three minutes - maybe more than that.

"All this was happening in front of me. I called the head nurse on the day and explained what had happened.

"We were very shocked. My baby is lucky he is alive.

"If he had been an unlucky baby they would have died that day if his heart had not started. He’s been blessed by the god."

Sannjay has recovered but his parents have complained to the hospital about the incident.

A spokesperson for St George’s Hospital said: "Any issues raised by patients and parents are always investigated fully and taken seriously by the trust. 

"We have met with Sannjay’s parents to discuss their concerns and will be meeting with them again this week to discuss the care he is receiving."