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Tunbridge Wells mum says Pembury Hospital 'failed' her seven month old son who died at the weekend

By: Sean McPolin smcpolin@thekmgroup.co.uk

Published: 17:05, 24 January 2023

Updated: 19:41, 24 January 2023

A heartbroken mum has said she will fight for justice after blaming her baby's death on a hospital.

Shanice Hall's son Tommy Francis Kneebone died on Saturday morning aged just seven months old.

Tommy Kneebone died at Pembury Hospital in Tunbridge Wells at the weekend. Picture: Facebook

Ms Hall, from Tunbridge Wells, has hit out at Pembury Hospital for her tot's sudden death after she took him to A&E multiple times in the days before his death.

Writing on social media, she said: "Waking up in the morning and not getting Tommy out of bed is the worst pain imaginable – we are devastated.

"We should be looking after our little baby, instead we are grieving.

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"We are such a hard-working, loving family. My Josh is such an amazing dad who is the most positive soul but how does he get back to that person again when our baby was torn from us so quickly? But we will get justice."

"We are devastated..."

The hair stylist took Tommy to A&E on Thursday after he wasn't drinking his milk and began to breathe very fast. She claims she was sent home as Tommy was still happy and smiling.

The following morning he was breathing heavily again and Ms Hall rang her doctors who told her they would book an urgent appointment. But she decided to head straight to A&E as she feared waiting any longer could make things worse.

She arrived just before midday and waited a couple of hours before being told he probably had something viral and he was referred for an X-ray.

Results showed the youngster had bronchiolitis pneumonia. Ms Hall said Tommy became distressed after staff tried to insert a cannula multiple times.

Ms Hall and her son were then admitted to a ward where they tried to put the cannula - a fine tube inserted into a vein using a small fine needle - again without success, and more than seven hours after she arrived the mum was told a cannula would need to be put in his head.

But things took a turn for the worse and Tommy's breathing became worse.

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Ms Hall added: "In this time they had done nothing to help with his breathing which was the problem, and it started to get worse.

"He then got even worse and they used hot oxygen and from then onwards it’s all a blur.

Thousands had been raised for Tommy's family after his tragic death.. Picture: GoFundMe

"Numerous doctors were waiting around for the specialist to come back. We were told Tommy was going to be blue-lighted to the Evelina hospital in London but we had to wait for the special ambulance.

"We waited and waited and waited and in this time there was so many doctors in the room as they said they were going to stabilise him by putting him in an induced coma."

Ms Hall was left "baffled" after it took staff hours to take any sort of action.

She added: "I heard the specialist say 'his pulse is going, he’s dying' so I ran out the room to let them do what they needed to."

The Tunbridge Wells mum says she was then asked to come back in and "see the progress" of what staff were doing but was met with people pumping her child's chest which was "flinging" around.

Staff worked on Tommy for 90 minutes before his heart gave up.

Ms Hall, who declined to comment to KentOnline but shared details on social media, said: "Evelina ambulances arrived and just a little after we were told our baby hadn't made it.

"As traumatic as this is to read, this is the truth. Our baby has died because they didn’t do their job. They failed."

The devastated mum believes if an X-ray had been done when she first took Tommy to hospital he would be here today.

"I'm certain of it," she added.

"I said he’s had an underlying cough for four months and the doctor stated she was worried he was breathing so fast and sucking his stomach under his ribs."

"He lit up every room..."

A fundraiser has been set up for Tommy's family, with more than £10,000 being raised in a couple of days.

Organiser Dan Walker said: "My best friends Josh and Shanice tragically lost their beautiful little boy Tommy on Saturday morning, who was only seven months old and was cruelly taken away from his family and loved ones due to a series of failures by the very service that is there to help and look after you.

"Those that knew Tommy knew just how perfect he was, his laugh, his smile, his facial expressions. He lit up every room, the impact he made to everyone's lives will never be forgotten. He should still be here with us now, he should be at home with his mum, dad and two brothers.

"Time is the biggest healer and it is a long road ahead. Both Josh and Shanice run their own businesses. I want to try and raise funds to allow them the freedom to grieve, to spend their time concentrating solely on themselves and their love Tommy without all the other financial pressures.

"Just know there will be justice for Tommy but also to try and prevent other parents having to go through the unimaginable heartache that I am seeing my best friends go through every minute of every day.

Read more!
Thousands had been raised for Tommy's family after his tragic death.. Picture: GoFundMe

"I understand times are tough but any help big or small will be greatly appreciated so we can give the family as much time to try and get through this impossible situation."

You can donate to the fundraiser here.

A spokesman for Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust said: “Our deepest sympathies and thoughts are with Tommy’s parents and family at this incredibly sad time.

"Our immediate priority is to ensure his family have all the help and support they need.

"A comprehensive review of Tommy’s care is being carried out to understand what happened.”

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