Dr Heather Steen to be removed from medical register

A doctor who was found unfit to practise after an investigation into the death of a child is to be removed from the medical register.

Dr Heather Steen was accused of trying to conceal the circumstances of Claire Roberts’ death at the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children in 1996.

A tribunal examining the doctor’s case ruled that the majority of allegations against her were true.

It has now ordered that she is to be erased from the medical register.

At the time of nine-year-old Claire Roberts’ death her parents were told that she had a viral infection that had spread from her stomach to her brain.

But a public inquiry in 2018 determined that she had died from an overdose of fluids and medication caused by negligent care.

The inquiry also concluded there had been “cover up” and the girl’s death had not been referred to the coroner immediately to “avoid scrutiny”.

The General Medical Council (GMC) believed Dr Heather Steen had acted dishonestly and engaged in that cover-up and the case was put to a tribunal.

Dr Steen denied the allegations from the GMC.

Claire Roberts’s parents Alan and Jennifer took on the system – the Belfast Health Trust and the Department of Health – and they won.

The quiet, unassuming couple have fought for justice over the past 26 years.

While Jennifer has cried many tears, Alan has told their story with tremendous composure and compassion.

Claire was their only daughter and her parents said a light went out in their home when she died.

They have been continually misled by senior doctors, health trust and departmental officials about the cause of their daughter’s death.

With dignity they attended the Hyponatraemia Inquiry, which examined the deaths of five children in hospitals, including Claire’s.

It was the longest-running medical inquiry in UK history.

The couple then took their case to the General Medical Council and finally the Medical Practice Tribunal Service.

For years their lives have been dominated by news about Claire.

They never gave up. Their determination to get justice and to fight the system has been mammoth.

While the decision to remove Dr Steen from the medical register is a milestone, Claire’s mum and dad say their fight will continue until everyone is held to account.