A SICK mother is being treated in the same hospital where fatal errors by staff led to the death of her daughter

Ben McPartland

A SICK mother is being treated in the same hospital where fatal errors by staff led to the death of her daughter.

Berveen Aslam, 52, from Lightfoot Road, Crouch End, was rushed to Whittington Hospital two weeks ago when it was discovered she had a serious illness.

It was at the Whittington that her 17-year-old daughter Lassania, who was admitted suffering from high temperature and vomiting, died last year because doctors and nurses failed to make adequate checks on her.

Lassania's brother Khayam, 27, said: "We are making sure everything is done. My mother was taken to the Whittington by ambulance because it is the closest hospital. The ward she is in is perfectly fine.

"Her illness is stress related and she became quite weak because of what happened to our sister. She meant everything to my mum."

Lassania, who had epilepsy, died from severe brain injury after choking on vomit on April 1, just three days after going into the Whittington.

At an inquest at St Pancras Coroner's Court last month, Whittington consultant Dr Nicholas Losseff admitted the care was unacceptable and Lassania should have been taken to intensive care where she could have been better monitored.

Coroner Dr Andrew Reid recorded a verdict of death by natural causes, which he said was "in part because basic standard practices for neurological observations were not followed".

Mr Aslam said the family were still coming to terms with the death of his sister, whom he described as the "life of the house".

"When you go to hospital you never think to yourself these guys might not know what they are doing, that is the whole point of going. It never crosses your mind they might be getting careless. It is not as if Lassania was unknown to them, she went there regularly," he said.

"It's not something we can get over easily. The inquest was a big thing to get out of the way. We were hoping to get some sort of answers but I don't think you ever get the answers you want.

"After losing someone so close our main priority is to get our mother home and our family back together again. She will get better but it will take time."

A spokeswoman for the Whittington said: "The Whittington Hospital NHS Trust accepts that there were deficiencies in the provision of care to Lassania Aslam. The trust wishes to apologise unreservedly to the family and friends of Miss Aslam and would like to convey its deepest condolences to them.

"As a result of this case, the Whittington has carried out a detailed investigation and has implemented improvements in nursing practice."

ben.mcpartland@hamhigh.co.uk