Nine-month-old Wigan baby with a range of 'complex medical issues' died the day after being rushed to hospital with a bug

An inquest into the death of Noah Benson-Boland heard that a “domino effect” took hold of the child after he was taken to hospital suffering with a viral infection.

His condition rapidly worsened, and he became dehydrated, developed a high temperature and had breathing problems. His condition was complicated by a range of pre-existing medical issues, including a brain abnormality, which had led to him becoming obese as he was “permanently hungry.”

A decision was made to transfer Noah to the intensive care unit at Manchester Children's Hospital, but before he could be taken there he suffered six cardiac arrests and died of multiple organ failure on May 17 last year, the day after he was admitted to Wigan Infirmary.

The inquest at Bolton coroners' court was attended by members of Noah's family, including mum Tazmin Benson and dad Connor Boland, from Leigh, and great grandmother Heather Benson, who also had care of Noah.

Coroner Timothy Brennand heard that Noah's family had a number of concerns about the treatment the baby received at Wigan Infirmary - such as why he was initially assessed as “stable”, only for them to be told a few hours later that he was expected to die; why he wasn't transferred to Manchester ICU earlier; and whether there was any way his death could have been prevented.

Dr Martin Farrier, the consultant paediatrician at Wigan Infirmary, said: “We were their local hospital and we knew Noah well. He had an incredibly complex history with a difficult set of medical conditions, and he was extremely overweight for his age.

"However there was nothing that could have been given that would have altered the outcome and there was no other treatment that would have altered the outcome.”

Dr Farrier added: “There was a devastating downturn in Noah’s condition, which happened at a speed that surprised us. We didn’t anticipate he was going to deteriorate so rapidly.”

A report carried out by WWL NHS Foundation Trust following Noah’s death concluded there had been shortcomings in the standard of care Noah received at Wigan Infirmary, including poor record-keeping and communication among staff, and a lack of training, but these would not have made any difference to the ultimate outcome of Noah’s case.

In a statement read out to the inquest, his mum Tazmin, 20, said Noah was “a happy child”, despite having complex needs.

The coroner Mr Brennand said this was “an extremely sad and tragic case of an infant taken far too soon.” He likened the events leading up to Noah’s death as “a series of dominoes toppling over. A lot of things conspired together to tip those dominoes in a way that was to lead to his death.”

His narrative conclusion read: “Noah Benson-Boland died as the consequence of a combination of recognised complications arising from a significant viral infection, to which he was susceptible by reason of rare pre-existing congenital naturally occurring disease, and the exacerbating effects associated with his obesity.”