A heartbroken Darlington family have paid tribute to their “beautiful” and “brave” son who died from natural causes in relation to an potentially life saving spinal surgery, an inquest has concluded.

Alfie Bower was 15-years-old when he underwent a potentially life saving scoliosis operation at Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Infirmary on November 21, 2022 which was “successful” but saw him develop a significant chest infection as a result.

The “strong” teenager, who was one of three children, lived with “complex” medical needs including a genetic mutation that saw him dependant on family care as he spent his life in a wheelchair.

The condition led to him developing rapidly progressing scoliosis that saw him “suffering”, but the inquest heard the eventual operation was the “final straw” for Alfie who was found to have bacteria that was able to develop into a chest infection in his vulnerable state.

He was discharged from hospital three weeks after surgery following stints in intensive care and passed away on December 14 at home.

An inquest at Crook Coroners’ Court into Alfie’s death, which concluded yesterday (Wednesday, September 18), concluded that Alfie died from natural causes linked to respiratory failure, scoliosis surgery and his genetic mutation.

During the inquest, a family statement from parents Graeme and Caroline Bower described Alfie as a “fighter” and added that they hope lessons will be learned following his death.

The court heard: “Alfie was our world – a beautiful boy. Strong, brave and a fighter. We will miss him every day for the rest of our lives.

“We did not want what happened to Alfie to happen to any other child. We promised him that lessons will be learned.

“As a parent of a child who has needed hospital care since he was 15 months old, the situation on November 21 was nothing we had never experienced before. We do not believe we have all the answers.”

Part of the conclusion saw Coroner James Thompson suggest to representatives of Newcastle NHS Hospitals Trust that an invitation could be extended to the Bower family to meet with executives to address some of their concerns.

Ms Julie Ford, representing the trust affirmed that this would be passed on.

Mr Thompson told the court: “Overall, the picture was of a deteriorating situation. The cause of death is a natural one.

“The surgery he underwent was elective but in my view was a necessary operation. All operations are not entirely free of risk. Complications can arise.

“The medical care and treatment he received was sufficient. There were no lapses of treatment in his care that would have been related to his death.

“Clearly, concerns from Alfie’s parents persist but that does not mean they are any less important to the cause of his death.

“Sadly in the end he could not survive without intubation and that is not a treatment that could be provided forever.”

Following proceedings, Alfie’s dad Graeme Bower spoke more about his son and the verdict itself.

He said: “Alfie was great – he was a tough kid. All the way through his life he had his problems, but he was never a problem.

Read more of the inquest:

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“He was really our world and sadly he isn’t here anymore. He really was a great little boy. Hopefully something will come out of this, and we will maybe have a meeting with the trust.”

A spokesperson for Newcastle Upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said: “We offer our sincere condolences to Alfie’s family and accept in full the factual findings made by the Assistant Coroner. We will now work towards addressing the questions raised by the Assistant Coroner.

“Our Chief Executive will be reaching out to Alfie’s family to offer a meeting so that we can understand how we can best support them and listen to their concerns.”