Inquest date set into toddler death
Family handoutA date has been set for the inquest into the death of a one year old who died at a Kent hospital.
Archie Squire died from heart failure after repeated visits to the Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother (QEQM) Hospital in Margate, a report says.
A serious incident investigations report, conducted by the East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust (EKHUFT) and seen by the BBC, found there were "missed opportunities to diagnose him appropriately".
At a pre-inquest review on Thursday at Oakwood House in Maidstone, coroner Sarah Clark set a date for a six day inquest to be held from 19 May 2025.
Archie's parents believe there was a "lack of compassion" from hospital staff after their son died.
In a statement EKHUFT said: "We offer our heartfelt condolences to Archie's family and we will work with the coroner to give the family answers."
Other issues highlighted in the report included:
- A delay in recognising Archie's clinical deterioration in a timely manner.
- A lack of consideration of a wider differential diagnosis other than bronchiolitis.
- Inconsistencies in accurate documentation when prescribing and administering medications.
- Missed opportunities to recognise an abnormal cardiac shadow on a chest X-ray by both paediatric and radiology teams.
- Archie's chest x-rays were not reported fully and not in a timely manner on several occasions.
- There were inconsistencies in the quality of documentation of reviews, investigation findings and response to treatment given.
A third pre inquest review has also been set for the 14 April 2025.
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