Since her 17-month-old baby Lucy died on April 14, 2000, Mae Crawford and her family have not only had to deal with their loss but have had the added burden of meeting a wall of silence when they asked what went wrong.

    In a moving interview with Fearghal McKinney, to be shown on “The Issue” on Ulster Television tonight (Thursday), Mae, from Station Road, Letterbreen, speaks about the little girl she lost, and her concern that the Sperrin Lakeland Trust has not been held accountable.

    As much as what she says, the fact that such a usually private woman felt compelled to give the interview at all is remarkable in itself. But it is clear she has taken the extraordinary step in a bid to get answers.

    Mae told The Impartial Reporter: “We have been through so much and didn’t want to talk publicly before. This has been inside me for four years, and I thought the inquest was my opportunity to get it out.”

    However, the family was “astounded” when the consultant paediatrician in charge of Lucy’s care at the Erne, Dr. Jarleth O’Donaghue, refused to give evidence at Lucy’s inquest.

    “But Dr. O’Donaghue didn’t speak and we haven’t got the answers from the Trust. We have been treated terribly,” complained Mae.

    In UTV promotional material for tonight’s programme, Mae says: “There were no answers coming forth so then we felt we had to go to a solicitor which we didn’t want to do. We’re just ordinary people and all we wanted was answers to what happened to our little girl. It has been a long road and the Sperrin Lakeland Trust has brushed Lucy’s death under the carpet for so long.

    “They don’t want to be accountable for her death but they have to be accountable. They are accountable,” she insists.

    The mother also speaks about the little girl she lost.

    “Lucy was very bright, a very busy little girl and brought so much into our lives. When we lost her, it has just been terrible since then,” says Mae, who with her husband, Neville, has two older children.

    “We all enjoyed looking after her, the four of us, and we had a great time with her. Some day we hope to be able to look back on those memories and think what a great pleasure she gave to us all.

    “It was a busy house. It changed the house and our family very much. She brought so much joy and she was such a special, special little girl. We will never forget the joy that she brought into our lives,” says Mae.

    The interview is to be shown on “The Issue” at 11 pm on Ulster Television tonight. The programme will also feature an interview with the Chief Medical Officer for Northern Ireland, Dr. Henrietta Campbell.

    Lucy was suffering from diarrhoea and vomiting and was dehydrated when she was admitted to the Erne in April 2000. At her inquest at the end of last month Belfast coroner John Leckey found that she died because she was given too much of the wrong type of fluid and there was a failure to regulate the rate of infusion.

    “The errors in relation to the fluid replacement therapy were compounded by poor quality medical record keeping and confusion by the nursing staff as to the fluid regime prescribed,” he stated.

    His findings were forwarded to the Chief Medical Officer for Northern Ireland, Dr. Henrietta Campbell. She has now admitted that Lucy’s death and that of a nine-year-old girl in Derry in similar circumstances could have been avoided.

    “The deaths of Lucy Crawford and Raychel Ferguson are a terrible tragedy. Nothing can bring comfort following the death of one’s child,” stated Dr. Campbell.

    “From the evidence now accumulating in the medical literature it would appear that the deaths of Lucy and Raychel were preventable. Since March 2002, we have had guidelines in place which should prevent any such tragedy in the future. I have asked to be assured that these guidelines are being implemented and carefully monitored,” she added.

    The Sperrin Lakeland Trust has also said that changes have been made at the Erne.

    “The Trust adopted new procedures on fluid replacement in 2001, ahead of the guidelines issued by Dr. Etta Campbell, Chief Medical Officer, in 2002, and staff have been trained in these practices,” it stated.

    “The Trust will be carefully reflecting on the conclusions of the coroner and ensure that our Trust and others learn the lessons of this tragic case,” it added.

    The coroner also forwarded his findings to the General Medical Council which monitors professional standards and investigates complaints against doctors.

    Yesterday(Wednesday) the GMC confirmed: “We have received the coroner’s report and will be looking to see what action, if any, needs to be taken.”

    The GMC is best known to the public through handling complaints or other information which casts doubt on a doctor’s fitness to practise. Initially it will look at the coroner’s report to see if the case falls within its remit.

    The GMC can take action: when a doctor has been convicted of a criminal offence; when there is an allegation of serious professional misconduct; when a doctor’s professional performance may be seriously deficient; or when a doctor with health problems continues to practise whilst unfit.