Overview
- Five-year-old Lila Marsland was discharged from Tameside General Hospital around 2am on December 28, 2023 with a tonsillitis diagnosis and was found unresponsive about eight hours later.
- A June inquest concluded her death was preventable and was contributed to by neglect in the care she received at Tameside.
- Coroner Chris Morris issued a prevention of future deaths report warning that vital clinical information can be lost in hospitals using mixed paper and electronic systems, writing to Health Secretary Wes Streeting.
- Lila’s mother says an advanced nurse practitioner’s concern about possible meningitis on a handover sheet was not seen by the doctor because A&E notes were split between electronic and paper records.
- Minister Karin Smyth’s reply backs a three‑year rollout of a unified patient record and cites national digital investment, but the family says it fails to set out local fixes at Tameside; the trust has apologized and the Department of Health and Social Care offered condolences.