Bethany Jane Ruff (1993-2010)
Dates
Birth: November 1993 Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, UK
Father: Aidan Paul Ruff 1961-a1993
Mother: Helen Elizabeth Gregory 1960-a1993
Death: 16 May 2010 Lemmington Hall, Edlingham, Northumberland, UK
Buried: 4pm 28 May 2010 Lemmington Hall, Edlingham, Northumberland, UK
Notes
Entry in the Register of Births for Bethany Jane Ruff, mother's maiden name Gregory in November 1993 in Newcastle upon Tyne (F56C 0531F 178).
Entry in Daily Telegraph 9 May 2001 by Paul Stokes.
A baby who suffered catastrophic brain damage when doctors failed to admit her to a special unit was awarded £2.8 million in the High Court yesterday.
Bethany Ruff survived being born 12 weeks premature at only 1lb 12oz and was allowed home two months later on Christmas Eve 1993. But she developed a chest infection and was taken to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle.
As she struggled to breathe, her parents pleaded with staff to perform a routine procedure to bypass the blockage and to take her into the special care baby unit. Instead she was put on a general paediatric ward for five and a half hours.
She was then taken on a six-hour ambulance journey to a specialist unit in Glasgow. She suffered disastrous injuries through the oxygen starvation to her brain when she was three months old and then weighed 6lb.
Bethany, now seven, has cerebral palsy and epilepsy, is quadriplegic, blind and doubly incontinent. She is incapable of sitting up, cannot lift her head and probably unaware of what goes on around her.
She lives with her parents Aidan and Helen Ruff, both 40, and two brothers in Elligham, near Alnwick, Northumberland. Judge Peter Langan, sitting in Leeds, ordered the hospital trust to pay compensation after it had accepted liability.
Mrs Ruff said after the hearing: "Bethany fought against the odds, survived her prematurity unscathed, only to be pipped at the post and injured in the most horrendous way by a catalogue of monumental failure."
Entry in BBC 14 March, 2002
Hospital fails to claw back damages
A hospital has lost an Appeal Court bid to reduce the amount of damages awarded to a nine-year-old girl with brain damage.
Bethany Ruff, from Ellingham, Northumberland, suffered brain damage as a baby after doctors at the Royal Victoria Infirmary (RVI) failed to treat her properly for breathing problems.
The Newcastle hospital had already admitted negligence at an earlier trial, but wanted to reduce the £2.8m awarded to her by £500,000.
Now Bethany's mother has said they want to "get on with their lives like any normal family", free from further legal action.
Helen Ruff told BBC News Online: "We are pleased about the decision, more relieved than anything.
"For the six weeks since the case was heard we have been waiting nervously, anticipating the decision.
"It has caused us a lot of stress, but it is the right outcome."
Defence lawyers claimed the award was too much because it was based on an unrealistic prediction of how long Bethany is likely to survive.
Their challenge was dismissed by a majority of two judges at London's Appeal Court on Thursday.
Brain damage
Bethany - who is is quadriplegic and suffers from epilepsy and blindness - was just ten weeks old when she suffered breathing difficulties after being born prematurely.
She experienced breathing difficulties shortly after her birth, but when her parents took her back to the RVI she was not officially admitted.
Doctors failed to incubate her or give mechanical ventilation and she suffered irreversible brain damage after her lung collapsed.
Her parents say the hospital did not act quickly enough when their daughter was first admitted.
After the hearing Mrs Ruff told BBC News Online: "We would hope we are not going to have to face any more legal challenges.
"I feel a little bit victimised by the health authority. They originally admitted liability only a few hours before we were due to go into court.
"We are also disappointed they have never given us an apology about what happened to Bethany."
The RVI and Associated Hospitals NHS Trust has always admitted liability but says the award was based on an unrealistic prediction of how long Bethany is likely to live.
Lump sum
Last year, a judge at Leeds Crown Court awarded Bethany £2.8m, which included a yearly care allowance to cover her life expectancy of 25 years.
It was agreed she should be paid a lump sum of £760,000, plus £150,000 per year for the rest of her life.
The trust was refused leave to appeal to the House of Lords, but they may petition the Lords to have its case heard.
In a statement to BBC News Online, Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Trust said it supported patients whose injuries have been caused by negligent treatment and believed they should receive compensation.
However, it added that it was "important that such claimants are not overcompensated" because of the drain on NHS resources.
The statement said: "This case raises important issues as to the proper approach to the level of damages in all cases involving patients with diminished life expectancy.
"We are disappointed by the result and are taking legal advice as to whether or not to pursue an appeal to the House of Lords."
Entry in Funeral Notices UK for Bethany Jane Ruff in Evening Chronicle 25 May 2010.
Ruff (Lemmington Hall). Bethany Jane, aged 16 years, daughter of Aidan and Helen and sister of Charles and Alex, died peacefully in the arms of her family on Sunday 16th May. A Funeral Service will take place at 4.00pm on Friday 28th May at Bethany's home. Donations in lieu of flowers and in memory of Bethany to Barndale House School, Alnwick or via Chris Friend of Alistair
Entry in The Journal 17 Nov 2010
Tragic death of much-loved Bethany Ruff
A miracle machine which transformed a seriously ill girl’s life eventually led to her death, an inquest heard yesterday.
Bethany Ruff was one of the first in the North East to be fitted with a life-changing Baclofen pump to treat her Cerebral Palsy nine years ago.
But the 16-year-old died from multi-organ failure just one week after what should have been a routine operation to change the pump’s battery.
Bethany, of Lemmington Hall, near Alnwick, developed Cerebral Palsy at birth, after medical staff failed to put her into intensive care when she was born 10 weeks prematurely.
Their failings left her brain damaged and blind with spastic quadriplegia, epilepsy and severe developmental delay.
Bethany was given just a 50% chance of living past 15, and her family later won a record £2.81m compensation from Newcastle’s RVI and Associated Hospitals NHS Trust for the negligence.
But her life was transformed when she was fitted with the innovative pump which delivered the medicine Baclofen directly into her spine and helped stop her painful muscle spasms and stiffness.
However, nine years after the pump was fitted, Bethany began to become more and more uncomfortable.
Doctors believed the battery on the pump was running out, meaning not enough medication was being delivered.
In May, the Barndale School pupil went under the knife at Newcastle General Hospital for what should have been minor surgery to replace the battery.
Just hours later she was fighting for life in intensive care, suffering from rhabdomyolysis, a rapid breakdown of muscle tissue usually seen in earthquake victims or extreme body builders.
As her muscles broke down, they released harmful chemicals into Bethany’s bloodstream, seriously damaging her kidneys and other organs.
Dr Ian Johnson, consultant in pediatric intensive care, told the inquest yesterday the levels of the chemicals in Bethany’s blood were 35 times higher than he had seen in a patient before.
Bethany, who loved animals and pop music, spent several days on hemofiltration and seemed to stabilise, but when doctors tried to take her off her ventilator, her condition quickly deteriorated and she suffered a heart attack.
It soon became clear the damage was too severe for her body to recover and her parents Aidan and Helen, both 49, took the heart-wrenching decision to allow her to slip away, cradled in their arms. Businessman Aidan told The Journal at the time: “We were privileged to have had Bethany in our lives for 16 years.
“We took turns cuddling her and talking to her. She died, very peacefully, with all the people who loved her the most around her. We are glad of that.”
A post-mortem revealed that Bethany died from the failure of her major organs, as a result of a break in the supply of her medicine.
Home Office pathologist Jennifer Hamilton told the inquest yesterday that the catheter which carried Baclofen from the pump into Bethany’s spine had split apart, around 40cm along the tube. She said a tiny stress fracture may have developed which had then tore open during the surgery, but it was impossible to say exactly how this happened. The damage was not visible to surgeons, and did not show up on X-rays.
Bethany then developed Baclofen withdrawal syndrome, sending her muscles into violent spasms and causing the fatal rhabdomyolysis.
Barry Speker, on behalf of Newcastle Hospitals NHS Trust, told the inquest: “This is a case that all those involved feel as a terrible tragedy and have spent a great deal of time discussing.”
Coroner David Mitford ruled Bethany died from the unexpected outcome of a necessary surgical procedure.
He said: “I am absolutely sure there has been a great deal of input into this case to make sure that, should a similar situation arise again, doctors will bear in mind what happened and will use the lessons learned for other patients.” After the inquest, Helen Ruff, who is also a mum to Charles, 21, and Alex, 18, said: “This has never been abut redress or legal action, we haven’t had an axe to grind against the hospital.
“We just wanted to explore what happened and what might be done to try to stop it happening again.
“The Baclofen pump made Bethany’s life so much better. We would not want anyone to be discouraged from getting one fitted or doctors to be discouraged from using them.
“We have had so much support from all the staff at the hospital and we know they have done everything they could.”
Relationship
Bethany Jane Ruff was Felicity's fifth cousin once removed.
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