Inquest into death of King’s Lynn baby after dash between hospitals

Posted 13/10/2014

An inquest opens on Wednesday (15 October) in Norwich into the death of a newborn King’s Lynn baby, who was rushed between hospitals after he fell ill and doctors could not agree a diagnosis.

Jackson Sellers-Mitchell was born prematurely on 4 May this year at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King’s Lynn. But when he was only four days old he developed a distended stomach and X-rays revealed what medical staff thought was a common gastro-intestinal emergency among newly born babies.

The plan was to transfer him to the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital during the night. But there was a delay during which his condition deteriorated and he needed drugs and resuscitation. When Jackson arrived at the Norfolk and Norwich, medical staff there disagreed with the diagnosis of his illness. Jackson’s condition remained poor and eventually he went into multi-organ failure. He died during the early hours of the next day. The Coroner later confirmed that his death was caused by a rare but well known complication.

Jackson’s parents, Ricky and Zoe Mitchell, are represented by Ashtons Legal medical negligence specialist Sharon Allison. She explains: “Quite understandably, my clients have a number of questions that remain unanswered in relation to their son’s death. They will be keen to hear the evidence at the Inquest to understand quite crucially what happened before Jackson was transferred to the Norfolk and Norwich Hospital.”