Parents of baby who died after hospital failures says staff should have listened to their fears

The parents of Kinglsey Olasupo have been speaking to ITV Granada Reports' correspondent Andy Bonner.

The parents of a twin baby boy who died of infection after maternity staff failed to give him antibiotics say the hospital should have listened to their fears that he was seriously ill.

Kingsley Olasupo and his twin sister, Princess, were born premature at Royal Bolton Hospital just after 7am on 8 April, 2019, when mum Nicola Daley was 35 weeks pregnant.

At ten-days-old, the baby boy died of multiple organ failure caused by bacterial meningitis and sepsis.

There had been a “systemic failure” to recognise the infant was showing subtle signs of infection in his first four days of life.

The hospital say they "fully accept the outcome of the inquest" and are "truly sorry" that their care fell below standards.

Tunde Olasupo, Kingsley and Princess’ father, has said he wants his son to be recognised and remembered as "the baby who put new and better policies in place."

In a statement, Mr Olasupo said:"We want the details of Kingsley’s case to be used in hospitals nationwide to prevent this from happening again.

"No amount of money in the world can ever replace Kingsley; our only wish is that no one else goes through what we have and are failed the way Kingsley was.

"We will not stop pushing for changes and one of the things we want to push for is a permanent memorial of Kingsley, to always remind the doctors and midwives that simple mistakes can lead to a catastrophic outcome.”

Meconium - a baby's first stool - was found in the amniotic fluid by an attending midwife which was an "indicator" Kingsley's condition "may have been compromised before birth." This was not recorded on by an advance neonatal nurse practitioner.

The baby boy had a low temperature when he was born and did not feed well, which, according to the inquest findings, were clinical indicators he may have had an infection.

He was placed in an incubator to raise his temperature and a decision was made to monitor him.

However, a neonatal hypoglycemic colour coded chart, which would signal any underlying conditions, was not used and details such as heart and respiratory rate were not recorded.

After being transferred to the post natal ward at 12:45pm on 8 April, an experienced midwife noted a rash which she considered to be "non-concerning".

After concerns were raised about his temperature on the evening of 9 April, a paediatric doctor recommended he wear a baby grow.

Kingsley was removed from the incubator on 10 April after it was concluded that he could regulate his own temperature.

But his feeding was still poor and concerned midwife called a junior doctor just after 6am on 11 April, who recommended a "review by the paediatric day team."

After being assessed on his fourth day, a junior doctor referred Kinglsey to a more experienced colleague.

He was admitted to the Special Care Baby Unit by the registrar, who did not have access to the child's records at the time of her assessment, for feeding support.

On 12 April, Kingsley was tested for infection for the first time with a temperature of 37.8C and a decision was made to put him on antibiotics and transfer him to the intensive care unit.

The screening indicated the baby did have an infection, which deteriorated and treated with more antibiotics.

Tests discovered that he had meningitis. Despite increasing his antibiotic dosage, Kingsley was unable to fight the infection and died on 18 April.

Medical negligence solicitor Rachael Heyes, who dealt with the Kingsley's family, has said a "catalogue of errors" by the hospital contributed to the baby boy's death.

Ms Heyes said: "The coroner found that neglect by the hospital contributed to his death and this would have been prevented if antibiotics had been provided, which based on the overwhelming evidence obtained, is the only conclusion that could be reached."

She continued: "“It is now vital that Bolton NHS Foundation Trust, and other trusts, ensure that lessons are learned so that the tragic failures that happened to Kingsley are not repeated again."

Bolton NHS Foundation Trust released this video statement on the inquest's findings:

Francis Andrews, Medical Director from Royal Bolton Hospital, said: “On behalf of the Trust, I would like to offer my sincere condolences to Nicola and Tunde for the tragic loss of their little boy, Kingsley.

“We fully accept the outcome of the inquest and are truly sorry that our care fell below the standards that Kingsley, Nicola and Tunde deserved.

“We undertook a thorough and transparent investigation, and have reviewed our practices and have made significant changes.

“We will continue to do all we can to prevent such a tragedy happening again.”