Our daughter, 2, died days after docs sent her home with fever – we weren’t listened to by NHS until it was too late

THE parents of a two-year-old who was sent home from hospital hours before her death have said they “weren’t listened to”.

Leila Normington had just finished treatment for meningitis when her parents took her to the hospital for a four day fever, and the doctors diagnosed her with a respiratory infection.

The two-year-old died just hours after she was transferred to a hospice as a report now details the “missed opportunities” in her care.

Despite her medical history the doctors at Harrogate District Hospital did not consider that the infection had returned.

Leila, from Wetherby in Yorkshire, was diagnosed with an upper respiratory tract infection and sent home on July 22 2023, she died three days later.

Her mum Sarah said it felt like their daughter was still suffering from the bacterial infection but she wasn’t listened to.

Sarah, 42, said: “In the days before we took Leila to hospital she wasn’t herself. Her behaviour had changed and she was suffering with seizures. To us it felt like she hadn’t got over her meningitis.

“However, when we tried to raise our concerns we felt we weren’t listened to.”

Leila was rushed back to hospital the next morning and admitted to the paediatric ward at around 1.30pm.

Sarah and dad Mark, 48, told the staff about her high temperatures, balance issues, drowsiness and seizures.

But the staff said it did not sound like Leila had experienced seizures, an NHS patient safety report later found.

Leila continued to be treated for a respiratory infection and was taken to a playroom to wake her up.

The toddler suffered two seizures in front of her family that afternoon.

Mark was asked to record the timings of his daughter’s seizures on his mobile phone as the playroom had no clock.

Investigators have now concluded this was inappropriate.

Sarah said: “It was absolutely awful seeing Leila so poorly and having seizures. It’s something no parent should have to see, let alone be asked to help with.

“All we wanted to do was to help our girl, but we felt powerless.”

The doctor’s eventually suspected Leila’s meningitis had come back along with sepsis, but it was too late and her condition rapidly deteriorated.

Leila was transferred to a specialist paediatric intensive care unit and a CT scan revealed she had a catastrophic brain injury.

The next day Sarah and Mark moved their daughter to Martin House Hospice, where she died on July 25, 2023.

A post-mortem confirmed Leila died from meningitis.

Sarah said in a heartbreaking tribute: “Losing Leila in the way we did is something that will stay with us forever.

“Leila was the most adorable, loving and caring girl with the cheekiest smile.

“We remain deeply concerned that Leila’s symptoms were a mirror image of the first time she contracted meningitis.”

She added: “We always got the impression we weren’t being listened to and later found out not all calls were properly recorded in Leila’s notes.

“It remains difficult not to think the doctors didn’t take Leila’s previous diagnosis into account despite everything we said and by the time meningitis was considered again it was too late.

“We were saying Leila was incredibly ill but instead staff were saying it sounded like Leila hadn’t suffered seizures and to take her to a playroom.”

An investigation has found that there may have been a “missed opportunity” to start antibiotics sooner when Leila was brought in on July 22.

The report could not confirm if Leila’s death could have been avoided and the trust has denied liability.

A section has been added to the early warning scoring system for parental concerns as it was found the hospital did not properly account for them.

Investigators have also criticised the lack of support offered to Leila’s family during resuscitation efforts.

Sarah said: “Leila was born after several failed attempts of IVF. She was our only daughter and our world.

“That we’ll never get to see her grow up and celebrate milestones in life like starting school and passing her exams devastates us.

“We’d do anything to have Leila in our lives, but we know that’s not possible.”

A spokesperson from Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust said: “We would like to offer our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Leila Normington.

“Following Leila’s death, we commenced an investigation with an independent external expert.

“We met with Leila’s parents throughout the investigation and shared our final report with them.

“We also shared our findings with HM Coroner who determined that Leila’s death was from natural causes.”

Sarah hopes Lelia’s tragic death will raise awareness about the dangers of meningitis and the importance of early treatment.