When Lakshith Guptha Nalla entered the world at 30 weeks of gestation, he had a long and difficult road ahead of him. The tiny infant from Wales relied on doctors and nurses in the neonatal intensive care unit at University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff to care for his every need. Tragically, Lakshith died four weeks after birth on May 11, 2024. An inquest into the infant’s death revealed alleged mistakes made by staff at the hospital shortly before his untimely death. Sadly, it appears the NICU had staffing issues, and Lakshith paid with his life. His heartbroken parents have since left Wales and moved back to India. We cannot imagine how they must feel.
According to Wales Online, Coroner Rachel Knight spoke at an inquest into Lakshith’s death. She noted the hospital’s “persistent and gross understaffing” meant no one noticed the fragile infant had developed an infection as he lay on cold and wet bedding for hours. On May 9 of that year, nurse Pasqualina Mollo reportedly unhooked Lakshith’s feeding tube so he could have skin-to-skin contact with his parents, despite orders to maintain on a constant feed.
Knight said nurses reportedly found they’d run out of new feeding lines after disconnecting Lakshith. She blamed this on the hospital’s “chaotic” stocking system.
“I find it surprising that feeding tubes were not available on the biggest neonatal ward in Wales,” Knight said via Wales Online.
Mollo called another ward to get the feeding tubes, and they arrived an hour and a half later. When they did, the nurse allegedly found herself “in a rush” and did not fit the tube properly. She also reportedly failed to inform other nurses on site about Lakshith’s missed feedings. Additionally, Mollo did not conduct any blood tests to detect potential nutrient deficiencies.
Around 4 p.m., another nurse noticed Lakshith “seemed different,” the outlet reported. Bloodwork revealed concerning results, but there were no reports on the infant’s condition from 4 p.m. to 5 p.m. At 6 p.m., a nurse noticed the infant’s feeding tube inserted improperly and that “he was lying on cold, wet bed sheets.”
Sadly, the infant suffered from hypoglycemia, malnutrition, dehydration, and a lowered body temperature. Knight said Lakshith’s missed feedings were an “unfortunate coincidence” and may not have prevented his death.
“Baby Nalla should have been nursed at a one-to-one ratio as per the guidelines. Due to staffing levels on the ward and missing equipment, he was not nursed to the standard he should have been and was not fed at all for four hours,” Knight explained.
“He was showing signs of necrotizing enterocolitis, which is likely his cause of death. There is insufficient evidence that the complications surrounding baby Nalla’s feed contributed to his death,” she concluded per the outlet.
The hospital has reportedly made changes to further prevent a tragedy of this kind. As much as we feel for Lakshith’s parents, our hearts also go out to the nurses who were clearly spread too thin and working without basic necessities. Hospital officials should be ashamed.
