Toddler died of meningitis after dash to hospital

Kyra Davies was just 17 months old when she was rushed to the accident and emergency department at Pinderfields Hospital in Wakefield, after her parents noticed a suspicious rash.

Shelley Budby and Mark Davies say that despite telling doctors they thought it was a case of meningitis, they were told it was just an ear infection and sent home, only to lose their daughter hours later.

Now they say they are taking legal action against the Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust as they claim Kyra would still be alive if staff had listened to their pleas.

Miss Budby, of Lupset, first noticed symptoms on Friday, January 8.

She said: "Kyra had been her normal, happy, laughing self. Then she started crying and getting sleepy. Then I noticed she had a temperature and had a rash on her chest.

"I rang the doctor, who couldn't come out, so we rang an ambulance and went up to the hospital. When we got there the doctor who looked at her said it was just an ear infection.

"But I kept showing them the rash and told them I thought it was meningitis. But they ignored me. They said it was an ear infection and told us to go home and gave us a bottle of baby paracetamol."

Over the course of the day Kyra continued to deteriorate and developed bruise-like rashes in her eyes and on her head that did not disappear vanish under a glass, a classic symptom of meningitis.

Kyra's father Mark Davies, 39, said: "We knew there was something seriously wrong so we called 999.

"Within an hour of being back in hospital she was covered in black bruises all over and her body was swelling up."

Doctors decided they couldn't treat her at Pinderfields so Kyra was taken to Queens Medical Centre, in Nottingham, at 8pm for special treatment but at 12.30am on Saturday, January 9, Kyra died of meningitis and septicaemia.

Mr Davies said: "They brought her back four times. But the fifth time there was nothing else they could do, we'd lost her.

"I'm absolutely devastated, so angry. I feel like I've been ripped in half."

Miss Budby claims her daughter could still be alive. "My daughter would still be alive if they had listened. As a parent you're constantly told to be aware of the signs.

"We did act fast but we were ignored. I don't want this to happened to any other child. There's just no words."

An investigation has been launched by Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust following Kyra's death.

Last night the medical director for the Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, Prof Tim Hendra, said: "We would like to express our deepest sympathies to the family for their tragic loss. We immediately started a thorough investigation to understand and learn from what happened.

"We will complete the investigation as soon as possible so that we are able to share the findings with the family."

He added: "It would be inappropriate to comment further until we have fully investigated and have all the facts."

Telltale signs to watch for

Early symptoms of meningitis and septicaemia can be hard to recognise.

Symptoms can appear in any order but the first are usually fever, vomiting, headache and feeling unwell.

Other signs include a stiff neck, aversion to bright lights, very sleepy or vacant and a rash that does not fade when pressed with a glass tumbler and seizures. Not everybody will get all these symptoms.

The Meningitis Research Foundation estimates there are around 3,500 cases of bacterial meningitis and septicaemia every year in the UK and Republic of Ireland.