Nurse’s failures a factor in condition

Water on the brain which caused brain damage to a baby would have been detected if a public nurse during regular check ups had taken appropriate action, a High Court judge ruled yesterday.

Mr Justice Kevin Cross said there was a failure on the part of the public health nurse to record the concerns of Baby Ava Kiernan’s mother, to properly record the head circumference at 46.5cm, and a failure to have the child recalled in a few weeks for a further examination.

“These represent a failure of the public health nurse such as no public health nurse of equal speciality, status or skill would be guilty of if acting with ordinary care,” the judge said.