Post-mortem results show a Wigan toddler, who died hours after being sent home from hospital, had sepsis and pneumonia

The family of Hailey Thompson are now considering pursuing a medical negligence case against Wrightington Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust as the 22-month-old from Ashton was not subjected to any tests before her discharge, a doctor having told them that she had a viral infection and that they should just keep giving her fluids and Calpol.

She was put to bed that same night, the laboured breathing she had presented with at hospital continuing. But when her parents got up early the next morning they found her unresponsive.

Kris Thompson gave her CPR under instruction from a 999 operator on the phone until an ambulance arrived, but further resuscitation attempts by a paramedic and hospital staff were in vain and poor Hailey was pronounced dead at Wigan Infirmary.

Kris and partner Ibolya Adam have since received an interim death certificate which says that Hailey had sepsis and pneumonia when she died but her death as yet remains unascertained because there are further tests to carry out, including one to find whether she also had the strep A infection that has claimed the lives of several children in recent weeks.

The interim certificate does mean though that Kris and Ibolya can now start making funeral arrangements.

They told Wigan Today that the coroner has not yet decided whether an inquest will be held into the circumstances of Hailey’s death on Monday December 19.

Kris said: “We at least have some of the answers that we had been looking for but there are plenty more to come yet.

"At least with the interim death certificate we can begin to plan Hailey’s funeral.

"We are now exploring avenues as to legal action. We feel more strongly than ever, now that we know that she had sepsis and pneumonia, that the A&E staff should have carried out tests to find out what was wrong with her, rather than just check blood-sugar levels, sound her chest and try to look at her tonsils.”

Hailey had been intermittently off colour for 12 days. She had been to see a GP who prescribed antibiotics but she had an allergic reaction to them, coming out in a rash, so her parents stopped them after a couple of days.

She seemed to rally and was well enough to attend nursery on Thursday December 16, but the following day she was sent home early and then went to a pre-arranged appointment at Ashton medical centre where the GP said she had a viral infection so there was no point giving her anti-biotics and the parents should continue doing the right thing by giving her fluids and Calpol or Nurofen.

On the Saturday she was well enough to be running around and jumping up and down when the football was on the telly, and also ate and drank well. She went to bed at her usual time of 6.30pm, but when Kris was retiring five hours later he looked in on her and her breathing was loud and laboured, like panting, he said.

He rang 999 and was told that an ambulance would be there soon, but after 15 to 20 minutes, an ambulance did not arrive so he tried NHS 111 only to be informed there would be a two-hour wait. The ambulance service then rang back and advised they drove Hailey to A&E which they did, arriving at 1am on Sunday.

It was one of the department’s busiest days of the year and WWL would later declare a critical incident as staff struggled to cope with massive workloads.

After triage the family waited for four hours, were then shown to a cubicle but it was another hour and a quarter before a doctor examined Hailey, came to his diagnosis after using a stethoscope, testing for blood sugar and then being unable to check her tonsils before telling them to go home.

The family arrived home at 6.30am and Hailey went straight to sleep. She awoke at lunchtime but was coughing, had a runny nose and no energy, just sitting on the sofa all afternoon, which was completely out of character, her parents said.

She was put to bed and drank fluids at 6.15pm, Ibolya gave her Calpol at 9pm and Kris checked her when he came to bed at midnight, saying her breath was like it had been before but lighter.

Less than six hours later the couple made the most tragic of discoveries.

A spokesperson for Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust said: “Our sincere condolences go out to Hailey’s family at this tragic time. We are aware of the family’s concerns and are currently awaiting further information to understand more.”