An optometrist has been found guilty of the manslaughter of an 8-year-old boy due to “gross negligence” for missing the signs of a life-threatening illness during a routine eye check.
35-year-old Honey Rose was working an as a locum optician at Boots in Ipswich, in Suffolk, England, when she conducted the exam on Vincent ‘Vinnie’ Barker, then aged 8, in February 2012.
Five months later, in July 2012, Vinnie collapsed at home and soon after died in hospital due to a lethal build-up of fluid on the brain.
During her trial earlier this month, the court heard that Rose’s examination was so below standards it could be classed as “criminal.”
Vinnie’s death was a result of hydrocephalus, a condition of excessive accumulation of fluid in the brain. The excess fluid is cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) — a clear fluid that surrounds the brain and spinal cord. This creates harmful, often fatal, pressure on the tissues of the brain.
The court heard that if Rose had conducted a proper examination, the tell-tale swelling on the optic discs would have been detected.
Prosecutor Jonathan Rees told the jury:
“Given the risk of death involved, her conduct was so bad in all of the circumstances – it fell so far below the standards to be expected of a competent optometrist – that it was criminal.
“The prosecution say that the abnormalities in his optic discs would have been obvious to any competent optometrist who had examined them.”
Rose had a duty of care to refer Vinnie for further and urgent examination. Instead, her assessment said that he needed no further treatment.
Rees told the court that Rose’s failure to detect the swelling of Vinnie’s optic discs was a “significant contributory factor” to his death, and that had she noticed the swelling the boy would undoubtedly have survived.
In her defence, Rose said she had been unable to properly examine the back of Vinnie eyes with an ophthalmoscope because he had photophobia and shut his eyes against the close range light. She also claimed the boy had not looked in the direction she wanted due to “poor fixation”.
Rose is due to be sentenced at a later date.
