Boy's care package decided after hospital failure

A multi-million pound package to support a profoundly disabled boy who needs 24-hour care after hospital failures has been decided at the High Court.

The boy, from Berkshire, suffered a catastrophic brain injury a day after he was sent home from Frimley Park Hospital near Camberley, Surrey, in 2018.

Frimley Health NHS Trust admitted negligence and that his treatment fell below a reasonable standard in 2021. It said had he been cared for at the hospital rather than discharged, he would not have suffered the brain injury.

A judge decided the boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, will live in a neuro-rehabilitation unit which can meet his needs.

The boy was awarded damages in a retained lump sum of £3.6m, with a periodical payment of nearly £725,000. The vast majority of the latter will be used for his care and accommodation.

He spent months in various hospitals before being transferred to a residential centre in Surrey, where he has remained.

A short stay was "initially anticipated" following him being discharged from hospital, but judge Andrew Kinnier KC said "it soon became clear" he could not be solely cared for by family and friends.

He said a placement in the neuro-residential care unit with an in-house package of therapies "would satisfy [his] needs".

The judge also allowed a claim for the boy's future loss of earnings, which he asked legal parties to agree themselves.