A FAMILY has claimed their baby boy was left “catastrophically” brain damaged following a catalogue of alleged failures by hospital staff.

Four year-old Ibrahim Mehdi, from Bury, was born healthy but developed jaundice – which is usually harmless but can be dangerous if left untreated – in the days that followed.

Now Ibrahim cannot walk, talk or feed himself and has severe learning and developmental difficulties.

His family are suing Pennine Acute, the NHS trust which runs North Manchester General Hospital in Crumpsall, Manchester, because they say community midwives’ and hospital staff’s lack of knowledge and “basic errors” led to these life-changing conditions which require round-the-clock care.

Angharad Hughes, a specialist in brain injury cases at JMW Solicitors, who is representing Ibrahim and his parents Gulshan Batool and Aamir Altaf, said it was an “extremely distressing case”.

“We have gathered evidence from leading independent medical experts who believe his injury was completely preventable had community midwives ensured he was tested promptly and referred to hospital, and had hospital staff started treatment urgently,” said Ms Hughes.

“Unfortunately there was a catalogue of basic and extremely concerning errors which included a lack of knowledge about jaundice, lack of equipment and staff not being able to operate basic phototherapy equipment.”

Ms Hughes added the delays by Pennine in responding to the allegations and requests for information have also been very upsetting for the family.

Legal proceedings have now begun at the High Court in London.

Ibrahim was born at North Manchester Hospital on June 23, 2012, in a good condition.

He was born slightly prematurely and his older brother had been treated for jaundice as a new born which also increased Ibrahim’s risk of developing jaundice.

These factors were known by the community midwives who attended to him at home on June 26 and 27.

The family say that a midwife failed to promptly test Ibrahim when the jaundice was first apparent, and that if this had been done it would have revealed that Ibrahim’s levels of bilirubin, the substance that causes the yellowing of the skin and eyeballs, were extremely high and there was a significant risk of brain damage without urgent treatment.

A different midwife then allegedly failed to refer him to hospital as an emergency on June 27 either when she identified his jaundice and deteriorating condition at the time of her morning visit, or when a test was eventually done on that day and revealed how severe his condition was and how urgently he required treatment.

Ibrahim’s parents took Ibrahim to North Manchester General, in Delaunays Road, at 3.21pm on June 27 where he was seen by doctors who, the parents allege, wrongly interpreted his blood test results and failed to realise he required an urgent blood transfusion.

Doctors then failed to arrange a transfer to a hospital where this could be carried out, whilst treatment with phototherapy was also delayed as staff were unable to locate all the equipment and use it correctly.

On behalf of Ibrahim’s parents, lawyers say these unacceptable delays in testing Ibrahim and beginning urgent treatment caused his brain damage.

Appropriate phototherapy was not established until 8.30pm and Ibrahim was then transferred to the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital at 4.30am on June 28 for a blood transfusion and he was later diagnosed with severe kernicterus brain damage.

The legal proceedings follow a report in December which said mothers and babies may have died in North Manchester General because of poor maternity care.

A spokesperson for The Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust said: "This is a very sad and distressing case that happened over four years ago and our sympathies are with Ibrahim’s family.

"We are looking into the allegations and have maintained contact with the family and their solicitors, whom we updated yesterday, and we will respond formally as soon as possible."