'Catastrophic' error killed baby

Baby Aaron had gone into hospital for a routine stomach operation

An experienced consultant anaesthetist accidentally killed a six week-old-baby by injecting air into his bloodstream, a court has heard.

Dr Robert Falconer should have injected the air into baby Aaron Havard's nose during the routine stomach operation.

But a jury at Swansea Crown Court heard that the consultant used a tube which carried air straight into the child's bloodstream.

Dr Falconer denies manslaughter through gross negligence during the operation at Singleton Hospital in April 2002.

Prosecuting, Patrick Harrington QC said the surgeon had made a "colossal mistake" which was repeated when, not realising the error, he injected air for a second time.

The cause of this little boy's death was solely the intravenous injection of a large volume of air by Dr Falconer Patrick Harrington QC

"The result was catastrophic. Injections of air into the body have fatal consequences, and that is something which would be well known to Dr Falconer."

The jury heard baby Aaron had been admitted to hospital after he started to vomit violently.

He was diagnosed with a stomach disorder requiring "straightforward" surgery, said Mr Harrington.

During an operation like the one Aaron underwent, air is pumped into the patient's stomach through a tube inserted through the nose.

The air then inflates the stomach allows surgeons to see whether there was any kind of leak.

Dr Falconer had been the anaesthetist "at least two dozen times" during similar procedures, and Aaron's operation went according to plan, said Mr Harrington, until the anaesthetist started to introducing the air.

The 45-year-old father-of-three, from Sketty in Swansea, placed the syringe into an intravenous tube dripping saline into the baby's arm instead of one going from the nose to his stomach.

The anaesthetist injected air through the wrong tube, the court heard

He then repeated his mistake.

"These actions killed Aaron," said Mr Harrington.

"The cause of this little boy's death was solely the intravenous injection of a large volume of air by Dr Falconer."

The jury heard Dr Falconer later broke the news of baby Aaron's death directly to his parents Philip and Kathryn Havard, who had been waiting in a room off the operating theatre.

"He told them 'I am very sorry. I have made a mistake. It's gone terribly wrong'," Mr Harrington said.

'Inexcusable'

Mrs Havard, 29, was physically sick at being told of her son's death, said Mr Harrington, and her husband was "very angry".

Dr Falconer later told police he was happily married, his children were well, and he was not tired, the court heard.

"I could see what I was doing and I got it terribly wrong," he told officers.

Mr Harrington said: "We are not suggesting Robert Falconer is a bad man. We are not even suggesting he is a bad doctor.

"But what we do suggest is this - at a crucial stage of a straightforward procedure, he made a dreadful mistake which is frankly inexcusable and renders him guilty of the crime of manslaughter."

The trial continues.