Concerns at hospital after baby's sepsis death

The parents of a baby who died from sepsis said their son deserved a “fighting chance” after concerns were raised over his care in hospital.

Ten-week-old Tommy Gillman was admitted to King’s Mill hospital on 7 December 2022 but died the next day.

An inquest heard the seriousness of his infection was not recognised for hours.

Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said it welcomed the review and a “rapid” programme of improvements was being worked on.

Dr Elizabeth Didcock, who examined Tommy’s death, said the system for assessing an ill baby in the emergency department was not “robust” and said action should be taken.

Tamzin Myers and Charlie Gillman said their son deserved “a fighting chance” by getting prompt treatment

The prevention of future deaths report, published on Monday, gives hospital bosses 56 days to respond.

Tommy Gillman, from Coddington, Nottinghamshire, was “extremely unwell” with what proved to be salmonella Brandenburg meningitis when admitted to the Sutton-in-Ashfield hospital at 12:35 GMT.

His assessment was delayed, and then the severity of his condition missed, meaning correct treatment with antibiotics and fluids did not start until 17:00.

The report identified a lack of experienced paediatric nurses and confusion in handovers between staff.

“I am not reassured that necessary actions to address these serious issues identified are in place,” the coroner said.

However, Dr Didcock said there was no way of knowing whether earlier treatment would have saved Tommy’s life.

‘Unanswered questions’

During the inquest his parents, Tamzin Myers and Charlie Gillman, said despite informing staff of Tommy’s history of infections, they “were not listened to”.

Responding to the report, Ms Myers said: “We still have these unanswered questions about whether or not it would have made a difference or not.

“But he still deserved a fighting chance, we know he deserved that chance and they should have seen him earlier.

“I’m hoping that these changes will be put in place and no other children have to die”.

His death came just two days after that of Meha Carneiro, a five-year-old who died after developing sepsis caused by the bacterial infection, and the subject of a separate highly critical coroner’s report.

Dr David Selwyn, the trust’s medical director, said: “We would like to express our deepest condolences and reiterate our unreserved apologies to the families of both Meha and Tommy for their losses.

“As a trust, we are committed to providing outstanding care to all our patients and we have welcomed the additional scrutiny that the coroner’s review has brought into both cases to identify opportunities where we can learn and improve.”

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