Kettering family's concerns investigated after baby death

Jessica Mitchell believes she was discriminated against by NHS workers in Kettering who did not "care enough" to save her baby.

Her son Reggie died at home on 5 March from an as yet unknown illness. He was just six weeks old.

Ms Mitchell, 18, says Kettering General Hospital "refused to do proper checks" after Reggie "went floppy and began shaking" in February.

A spokesperson for NHS Northamptonshire said a multi-agency review of the case was under way.

The day before his death, Reggie's parents took him to Kettering's Dryland Medical Centre but were turned away by receptionists who, Ms Mitchell claims, told them, "he'll be fine".

An inquest will be held in February.

Before the day of Reggie's death, everything looked promising for the new family's future.

Ms Mitchell was two weeks from her 18th birthday and about to leave the care of social services. She and her boyfriend, Andrew Maynard, were living in a new flat together. And the couple were besotted with their "beautiful baby boy".

But as Jessica turned over in bed to look at Reggie, she noticed something on his face.

"I switched the light on, and there was a blood clot on his nose and his mouth was full of blood," Ms Mitchell said.

"I rang Andrew, who was coming home from a night shift.

"I couldn't speak. I was just screaming 'call an ambulance' like he was cold, he was gone."

Paramedics arrived within minutes but they could not save Reggie and recorded his death at 07:11GMT.

From birth Reggie had been prone to illness.

Jessica said she repeatedly tried to persuade doctors that something was seriously wrong.

"I just couldn't believe it, nothing felt real," she said. "I instantly started blaming myself - why didn't I force them to help him? I just feel like I failed him."

Jessica's teenage years were filled with anguish.

When her mother died in 2016 she was placed into the care of Northamptonshire children's services. She rarely speaks to her father, who is in prison in the United States.

Jessica was in labour for three days with Reggie at Kettering General Hospital (KGH).

During her stay there, she claimed she was treated as "just another care kid" and that a nurse told her to "stop acting like a child" when she complained about her catheter being left in.

She and her son were diagnosed with sepsis, given antibiotics and discharged after six days.

Two weeks later, Jessica said Reggie "went floppy and began shaking". The couple took him back to hospital and he was admitted to Skylark (Paediatrics) Ward on 4 February.

However, she said doctors refused to carry out any diagnostic tests beyond those for sepsis, which twice came back negative.

"Because we didn't have proof of him shaking, they acted as though it didn't happen," Mr Maynard said.

Ms Mitchell said: "They didn't do any scans. They didn't do anything. They literally just took blood work and went, 'oh sepsis', but it's not there.

"They talked down to me and I've got so much anger built up, because the number of children that go to hospital, like, why wasn't my child good enough? I just don't understand."

Judged "fine and healthy", Reggie was discharged from KGH for the second time.

On 4 March, the day before Reggie died, he vomited.

Concerned, his parents took him to the Dryland Medical Centre, which was within walking distance of their home.

Jessica said reception staff at the centre turned them away because they did not have sufficient proof of address and asked her to obtain a tenancy agreement from her social worker.

"I said, 'he still needs to be seen - he's a baby, he's ill', but two guys behind computers looked at him and said, 'oh no, he'll be fine; come back on Monday'."

"We thought 'okay we must be exaggerating, it's a first baby parent worry', so I've gone home," she said.

The following morning Jessica found her baby dead in the bed beside her; she was interviewed by police under caution and then released.

She said she and Mr Maynard have been left "completely out of the loop" about the cause of Reggie's death and were told by the coroner's office they might have to wait until January to find out the results of a post-mortem examination.

"It's almost as though he never existed, that's how they've tried to make us feel."

In the event, post-mortem tests were carried out last week after the BBC made contact with various agencies involved in the case.

The pathologist could not establish a cause of death and an inquest will be held on 15 February.

Reggie's body hasn't been returned to the family.

A spokesperson for NHS Northamptonshire Integrated Care Board said: "We would like to extend our sincere sympathies to the family and our thoughts are with them at this difficult time.

"A multi-agency review has begun into the issues raised by the family.

"With formal inquiries under way, it would not be appropriate to comment further at this time."

A GoFundMe page has been set up to raise money for Reggie's funeral.

In May, Josh MacAlister, who led an independent review of children's social care, said growing up in care should become "a protected characteristic" under the Equality Act.

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