Parents Kris Thompson and Ibolya Adam, from Wigan, are questioning the care given to their 22-month-old daughter by doctors following her death from a condition linked to Group A streptococcus, an inquest heard
A toddler died just hours after she was sent home from hospital with her parents told to give her Calpol and Ibuprofen for a viral infection.
Hailey Thompson’s death in December, 2022, has now being linked to the bacterial infection Group A streptococcus, an inquest jury at Bolton Coroner’s Court was told. Hailey, who was 22 months old, was described by her parents, dad Kris Thompson and mum Ibolya Adam, as a ‘very funny and very happy’ little girl who loved muddy puddles and dressing up.
But the jury was told the family, from Ashton-in-Makerfield in Wigan, have serious concerns over her examination by an A&E doctor the day before her tragic death. Coroner Michael Pemberton told jurors the family would ‘likely be asking questions about the care and treatment she received’.
Dad Kris, meanwhile, questioned whether adequate checks of Hailey were made at the Royal Albert Edward Infirmary in Wigan, and whether the Strep A could have been picked up and dealt with by antibiotics.
The court heard that a few weeks before her death, on December 7, Hailey developed a cold and a cough. She was taken to the doctors and given antibiotics for a suspected throat infection, which she took, reported the Manchester Evening News.
Then two days later her mum said she noticed a red rash on her face and neck when she collected her from nursery. They contacted the out-of-hours GP, but were told no appointments were available until December 13.
The jury was told a decision was taken to stop Hailey’s antibiotics in case she had an allergy – her elder sister, Charlotte, is allergic to penicillin. Further GP appointments were sought and she was booked in for December 16.
She had a high temperature and a runny nose at nursery on the day and was collected earlier by her mum ahead of the afternoon appointment. The jury was told her chest and throat were checked by the GP and a viral infection was diagnosed with the advice for her to go home and receive Calpol and Ibuprofen.
On December 17, the jury was told she seemed to improve and ‘ate everything’. But after going to bed in the early evening, Kris checked on her at around 11.30pm and described her as ‘panting for breath’. They called 999 and 111, but the jury heard they were told of a ‘two-hour’ waiting time for 111 advice.
Emergency 999 operators then called back and told them no ambulances were available and it would be ‘better’ if they went to the hospital themselves. The jury heard they went to A&E at the Royal Albert Edward at 1am, where they waited for four hours. After another hour, Hailey was seen by a doctor. The jury was told her chest was clear, but a doctor struggled to check her throat and tonsils.
In a statement, Ibolya said the doctor didn’t shine a torch down her throat and had to go to get a stick to place on her tongue. Dad Kris said he mentioned her previous GP attendance and the viral infection diagnosis to the doctor. In a statement, he said Hailey was biting down on the throat stick and when she did open her mouth, the doctor’s spotlight wasn’t in the right position to see down her throat.
Kris said the doctor ‘seemed to be getting more agitated’. The jury was told the stick was then pushed into her mouth and she ‘gagged’ on it, making her vomit. Kris said Hailey was ‘pale and clingy’ and the doctor appeared to have ‘given up’. No blood was taken, or tests run, and the jury was told no medication for Hailey was given to them.
They were sent home at 6am and told to monitor her. A viral infection was diagnosed again. That evening, December 18, she went to sleep with ‘no worrying signs’ after being given Calpol and was checked on before the rest of the house went to bed.
Kris said he last checked on her in her cot at midnight, and said her breathing ‘was not as laboured’. Mum Ibolya said they got up at 5.30am the following morning, December 19, to find Hailey cold in her cot. Dad Kris ran into the bedroom and dialled 999, saying ‘she’s dying’, the jury heard. “Everything was a blur,” said Ibolya in her statement.
Kris gave her CPR before paramedics arrived and took over and she was taken to the same hospital. Sadly, Hailey died there at around 7.35am. The court heard the A&E doctor on December 18 tried to check her oxygen levels, but Hailey wouldn’t sit still.
Mum Ibolya said all her symptoms should have been checked and that she ‘assumed’ Hailey’s records would have been looked at. The jury heard a cause of death was given as sepsis and pneumonia, but that was later changed to include Group A streptococcus, a bacterial infection. The inquest has been listed to be heard over five days.