ITV Granada Reports correspondent Rob Smith has the latest from Chester.
An expert witness has told an inquest that giving antibiotics to a baby boy, who died after being discharged from hospital, would have given him a chance of survival.
Olly Stopforth, who was 15 months old, was found dead in his bedroom in Frodsham in 2020, less than 48 hours after he was sent home from the Countess of Chester Hospital.
A jury at Cheshire Coroner’s Court has heard how Olly had a very high temperature, very high heart rate, difficulties in breathing and a rash on his body.
The court was told staff believed the toddler had a viral illness and nothing was done to rule out a bacterial infection.
Dr Mary Montgomery a consultant paediatrician, asked to review the case for the coroner said that their were 'missed opportunities'.
Paediatric Registrar Dr Kieran McCarthy, who discharged Olly from hospital in the middle of the night, apologised to the toddler’s parents in the court room.
He said: "I know it means nothing now but I’m sorry."
Dr McCarthy said he wished that things could have been different but told the inquest jury that his assessment of baby Oliver was not as hands-on or as thorough as it should have been.
He described it as not his "normal assessment" but more of an "end of the bed one".
Dr McCarthy said it was at the beginning of the Covid pandemic in March 2020, and the department was busy with staff trying to restrict physical contact.
In court, the doctor was shown a photo of the rash as it appeared on Olly’s skin, taken while the toddler was in hospital and he said “that really could be Scarlet Fever” but he added he thought the rash looked different - more viral - when he saw it.
Olly had been taken to the Countess of Chester by ambulance after days of being ill.
A paramedic who noted his high temperature, heart rate, breathing issues and rash suspected he had sepsis.
The youngster’s mother found him dead at home less than 48 hours after he was discharged.
Other evidence read to jurors detailed Olly’s cause of death as an invasive bacterial infection leading to sepsis.
There was also a significant underlying viral infection.
Olly's mum Laura Stopforth, from Frodsham, Cheshire, told the inquest on Tuesday:"Olly was such a lively, energetic, happy boy and a lovely younger brother to our eight year old son Finley who desperately misses him.
"I cannot describe the trauma and disbelief that followed finding our baby boy Olly had passed away in his sleep less than 48 hours after being discharged with what we were led to believe was something relatively minor.
"Finley does not understand why his little brother is no longer with us. He regularly tells us that he feels lonely and is being provided with counselling support in school.
"This should not have happened. The medical staff simply didn’t seem interested in finding out what was really happening to Olly and our little boy has lost his life as a result."
The coroner will sum up the evidence to jurors on Wednesday, 10 January.
