'Missed opportunities' to save girl who died following six hour A&E wait
Makenna-Rose Thackray was suffering with scarlet fever and had been coughing up blood
Last updated 12th Jul 2024
A jury has ruled there were 'missed opportunities' to save a four-year-old girl who died just days after a six-hour wait at Pinderfields A&E.
Makenna-Rose Thackray was suffering with scarlet fever and had been coughing up blood when her parents took her to the emergency department in December 2022.
She was seen by nurses, but waited six-hours to see a doctor, before her family gave up, agreeing to take her to a GP the next day.
Wakefield Coroner's Court heard how they felt the wait was "fruitless" due to the high numbers of patients in the department that night.
Nurse Helen Parker also told the jury how there were "frequent unsafe staffing levels", and on the night Makenna-Rose was there, they saw nearly twice the safe number of patients.
A total of 15 families self-discharged due to the long waits.
At the time, there was an outbreak of Strep A across the country, with pharmacists reporting shortages of penicillin.
In their conclusion, the jury agreed that had Makenna-Rose seen a doctor that night, she may have survived.
The GP she saw the following day was also not aware of the visit to the A&E department that night before, nor the blood in her vomit.
The jury found that, in their opinion, had the doctor been aware of the visit, they may have managed her case differently.
Describing the verdict as "heart-breaking" in a statement, her family said: "Those who met Makenna-Rose never forgot her.
"She was a larger-than-life character, and a real daddy's girl.
"She loved dancing, her pet rabbit and puppy Floss, who she would take to school in a doll's pram.
"We all miss her so much."
Makenna-Rose Thackray died on Tuesday 20th December at Pinderfields Hospital in Wakefield, of natural causes.
Talib Yaseen, Chief Nursing Officer at the Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust said:
“We are extremely sorry for the sad loss Makenna-Rose’s parents, family and friends have suffered and our thoughts are with them.
“We take every opportunity to learn from missed opportunities so we can continue to improve. Everyone at the Trust is committed to providing the best possible care to our patients and we want everyone to receive the right diagnosis and the treatment they need to get better.”