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24
Feb
Family seeks answers from Harrogate hospital after daughter's meningitis death
A family are seeking answers from Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust after their two-year-old girl died from a recurrence of meningitis.
Sarah and Mark Normington took their daughter Leila, of Wetherby, West Yorkshire, to Harrogate District Hospital on July 22, 2023, concerned she had been suffering from a fever for four days following a recent hospital stay and treatment for meningitis.
Hospital staff initially believed Leila had an upper respiratory tract infection, and sent her home that evening following further monitoring.
However, Leila's parents took her back to the hospital the next morning because she had a high temperature, appeared drowsy and had suffered seizures at home.
She was later transferred to Leeds General Infirmary, before she died at Martin House Children’s Hospice on July 25, 2023.
An investigation by the hospital identified missed opportunities in Leila's care but could not confirm whether the death might have been avoided.
Mark and Leila Normington
Leila’s mum, Sarah, 42, said she and Mark, 48, felt “powerless” to help their daughter.
Now, the pair have asked medical negligence lawyers, Irwin Mitchell, to launch legal action against Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust in connection with their daughter’s care.
Sarah 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.
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.
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.
The legal action comes comes after a patient safety investigation report was written by the trust.
It found that given Leila’s previous medical history, including that she had suffered an upper respiratory tract infection, rapid deterioration and meningitis within the last four weeks, there may have been a “missed opportunity” to admit her to hospital on July 22.
Leila in the rainbow tunnel at Harrogate Hospital.
However, while the trust said “there were missed opportunities in Leila’s care”, it could not confirm whether her death could have been avoided. Following legal submissions by Irwin Mitchell, the trust denied liability.
Isabella Whiteley-Tye, medical negligence lawyer at Irwin Mitchell, representing Sarah and Mark, said:
This is truly tragic case which has left Leila’s family devastated. Understandably, they have a number of questions about the care Leila received in the lead up to her death, especially given her medical history.
A spokesperson for 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.
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