Report identifies 'missed opportunities' at Harrogate Hospital before death of toddler
A Wetherby mum whose two-year-old daughter died from two rare strains of meningitis after being treated at Harrogate Hospital has said she will keep on "fighting for answers".
Leila Normington, from Wetherby, first contracted the disease in June 2023 and was treated at Harrogate District Hospital.
But when she became unwell again staff initially believed it was an upper respiratory tract infection.
An investigation by the hospital identified missed opportunities in Leila's care but could not confirm whether the death might have been avoided.
Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust offered its "deepest sympathies" but said a coroner had determined the death was from "natural causes" and denied liability.
“We would like to offer our deepest sympathies to the family and friends of Leila Normington,” a spokesperson said.
“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.”
Leila's mum, Sarah Normington, 42, said she and her husband, Mark, 48, had been left with "so many unanswered questions" about why a recurrence of meningitis was not considered sooner.
“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.
"What we witnessed was so horrific, Mark and I both have complex PTSD," she said.
"Contracting two strains of meningitis within the space of two weeks is a rare occurrence but it's not impossible, as in Leila's case.
"The pain is just indescribable, it really is, and we need those answers."
Leila, who had a history of respiratory infections, became unwell with a rare strain of pneumococcal meningitis in mid-June 2023 and was treated at Harrogate District Hospital with antibiotics before being discharged on July 6.
However, 11 days later her parents began a series of contacts with the hospital, either in person or on the phone, over concerns about a change in their daughter's behaviour, alongside a cough and some unsteadiness.
The family returned to the paediatric unit again on July 22 as she had fever and flu-like symptoms but, after being assessed by staff, she was sent home with a working diagnosis of an upper respiratory tract infection.
The following day Leila's parents took her back to hospital worried as she had become increasingly unwell, was drowsy and may have suffered seizures at home, but at this stage staff continued to believe it was a viral infection.
After her mother raised concerns, she was later that afternoon taken to a treatment room where she suffered two seizures in front of her family.
A report would later confirm that her father had been "inappropriately" asked to time the seizures using a staff member's mobile phone during resuscitation attempts as the room did not have a clock on the wall.
It was only after this significant deterioration that doctors suspected Leila had a "very rare" recurrence of meningitis and sepsis.
Her condition continued to deteriorate, and she was transferred to a paediatric intensive care unit at another hospital early the following morning, where a CT scan revealed significant brain damage.
Leila was moved to Martin House Hospice where she died on July 25, 2023.
Leila's mum, Sarah, said she had raised concerns at the time about whether it could be a recurrence of meningitis.
"She'd been so unwell I couldn't sleep on a night because I was so concerned about how unwell she was becoming," she said.
"Because it mirrored exactly the same as the first episode of pneumococcal meningitis. I just felt so frustrated and I wasn't listened to."
A patient safety investigation report carried out by the trust identified multiple "missed opportunities" in Leila's care but "could not confirm through the investigation that if changed, this would have prevented her deterioration".
An investigation found there was a "missed opportunity" to admit Leila in July but could not say if it would have made a difference.
Leila’s parents have asked law firm Irwin Mitchell to launch legal action in connection with their daughter’s care against Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust, which has denied liability.
Sarah said her daughter's death had "ripped our entire life and family apart" and that they would only find peace if they receive "the answers we desperately need".