Mum's distress as 'baby sent home twice from Royal Stoke hospital' before large brain tumour found

A mother has said her eight-month-old baby was deemed "fit and healthy" by medical practitioners before they spotted she had a large brain tumour.

Chloe Wright-Stanford said medics told her there was "nothing wrong" with her daughter Esmai Stubbs even after the eight-month-old began to suffer 60 seizures a day.

Esmai, from Meir Heath, was found to have a tumour the size of a grapefruit growing in her skull.

Ms Wright-Stanford said: "I ended up going back to A&E the next night and the doctor said to go home and wait for the referral letter to come through.

"He said he wouldn't be sending a seven-month-old baby home if he didn't think she was fit and healthy and told me not to worry."

She added: "But I knew my baby wasn't well and I asked if he could do something, but he said there was nothing wrong with her."

Doctors told Ms Wright-Stanford her daughter would be referred to a consultant within 10 to 14 days.

The seizures began on Tuesday, October 5, but it wasn't until the toddler's third visit to A&E on Thursday, October 7, that she finally underwent a CT scan after her mum insisted on more tests.

Ms Wright-Stanford, 26, said: "It started out when I rang the doctors up as I knew something wasn't right with her as she had started being sick."The doctor told me to go to the walk in centre and they believed it was the early signs of epilepsy."That night I ended up ringing 999 because she went into a bad fit and I was scared. Paramedics took us to A&E and it took about three hours until we actually saw a doctor."

Ms Wright-Stanford added: "The doctor went to speak to a practitioner and without seeing Esmai they said they didn't think it was seizures. I was really mad."

The doctor said the patient would be referred to a consultant up to two weeks later.

The next day she went back to A&E and was told by a doctor he was sure Esmai was fine and to go home and wait for a referral letter, she claims.

"I knew my baby wasn't well and I asked if he could do something, but he said there was nothing wrong with her," said Chloe.

The next day she rang 111 and while on the phone Esmai began having a "full blow seizure and she was shaking from head to toe".

Paramedics were called for and Esmai was put on oxygen as she was struggling to breathe.

The scan found the brain tumour and Esmai was rushed to Alder Hey Children's Hospital where she underwent surgery to remove it.

Ms Wright-Stanford said her daughter has bounced back from the surgery, but the family are anxiously waiting for results of a biopsy to find out whether the tumour was benign or if Esmai will need chemotherapy.

Chief Nurse Ann-Marie Riley, at the Royal Stoke University Hospital, said: “We understand it is an extremely distressing experience for any parent when their child is unwell and we are very sorry that Ms Wright-Stanford has had cause to complain about the service she and her child received here at UHNM."

Ms Wright-Stanford said she will be putting a complaint through PALS after Esmai was sent home twice.

She now wants to encourage other mums to listen to their maternal instinct and not give up if they believe something is wrong with their child.