A HYDE girl’s death was ‘contributed to by neglect’ after she was found hours after being sent home from hospital.
Five-year-old Lila Marsland was found unresponsive in bed by her mum about eight hours after she was discharged.
Now an inquest jury has determined the little girl’s death was ‘contributed to by neglect.’
Lila had been sent home from Tameside Hospital with antibiotics and a throat spray for tonsillitis.
Hours after enjoying a walk with loved ones at Dove Stone Reservoir, she was taken as she suffered headaches, a sore throat, a high heart rate, neck pain and limited neck movement, vomiting, lethargy, and was unable to pass urine.
During an eight-day inquest, Stockport Coroners’ Court heard how her mother, Rachael Mincherton – a district nurse who worked for Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust at the time, asked paediatric advanced nurse practitioner, Claire Casey, whether her child was suffering from meningitis.
That remained a ‘differential diagnosis’, the court heard, but the nurse said her physical examination of Lila and her blood test results, suggested the symptoms came from tonsillitis.
Ms Casey told Ms Mincherton she was ‘confident’ the child did not have meningitis and Lila was given a dose of antibiotics.
After being discharged at about 2am on December 28, 2023, her mother said they drove home, got in bed together and fell asleep.
She woke up at about 4am complaining of a headache and was given a half dose of Calpol.
At about 9am, Ms Mincherton woke up and found Lila unresponsive.
She called 999 and attempted CPR. Paramedics arrived at the home and Lila was pronounced dead at 9.19am.
On Thursday, June 5, the inquest concluded Lila died from pneumococcal meningitis streptococcal pneumonia.
And the jury stated: “Had Lila been admitted to hospital and given broad spectrum antibiotics within the first hour of being triaged, this would have prevented Lila’s death.”
Coroner Chris Morris wrote two ‘prevention of future deaths’ reports, sent to relevant authorities, also to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care voicing concerns and to bosses of Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust, raising fears about its lacking implementation clinical guidance around meningitis, and notes missing from Lila’s case, including a record of the final review by a senior paediatric registrar before she was discharged.
Speaking after the verdict, Rachael Mincherton alongside Lila’s father, Darren Marsland, said: “After eight traumatic days reliving Lila’s death, we welcome the jury’s decision of natural causes caused by meningitis contributed to by neglect.
“On behalf of my family, I would like to thank the jury for coming to this conclusion, based on the evidence provided, a conclusion I have known for 17 months.
“I could not even put into words the pain our family has been left to feel because of the failings that Lila encountered.
“Throughout the investigation process we have faced continued defences to the care Lila received and whether any shortcomings contributed to her death. We got the outcome that we believed we should have.
“But hearing the word ‘neglect’ is something a parent should never have to hear and we are now left with the devastating loss of our daughter for the rest of our lives.
“To sit in court and listen to statements around the loss of our five-year-old little girl has been a living nightmare.
“The failings in care that have led to Lila losing her life is something that must be looked at. We believe serious changes need to be implemented because children should not be neglected when taken to hospital by a concerned parent.
“I sincerely hope that Tameside Hospital can now make serious changes so that another child does not die and another family does not have to go through this horrifying experience.
“The unfortunate care my daughter received was below the standard of how an NHS trust should be treating people.”
A spokesperson for Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust said: “We want to express our sincere condolences to Lila’s family for their heartbreaking loss.
“It is clear from the independent investigation that there were missed opportunities in Lila’s care. We accept the coroner’s findings and apologise unreservedly for this.
“As a Trust, we have made and will continue to make improvements to ensure we learn from this case.”
Since Lila’s death, Rachael has helped set up Lila’s Light, a charity which helps siblings cope with the loss of a brother or sister.
You can find it at https://www.lilaslight.co.uk.