US Edition A child who died after nurses at a children's hospital gave him the wrong injection was unlawfully killed, an inquest jury decided yesterday.
Jake McGeough, aged 18 months, became restless during a routine scan of his lungs at Alder Hey Hospital in Liverpool in July 2001. He should have been given a sedative but was given a muscle relaxant which paralysed him.
Neither Nurse Rose Aru, who gave him the injection, nor Nurse Lynne Maguire, whom she consulted, had the authority to administer the drug, the inquest in Liverpool was told.
Jake's mother, Keira McGeough, of Blackburn, Lancs, told the hearing: "Prior to the injection Jake was breathing very fast. As soon as it was given his chest stopped moving. Almost immediately his mouth dropped open and his eyes half closed."
A spokesman for the Royal Liverpool Children's NHS Trust, which runs Alder Hey, said: "The trust will now be taking further advice and reflecting on the implication of the court's decision."
Merseyside Police said the evidence would be reviewed with the Crown Prosecution Service.