Jacqueline Manley says her concerns about her daughter were “never taken seriously”
An 18-month-old girl died from cardiac arrest after doctors repeatedly reassured her mother that she was “absolutely fine”.
Jacqueline Manley, 30, took her daughter Connie to doctors after becoming worried about her breathing, but said she was told there was “nothing wrong”. Medical staff attributed Connie’s laboured breathing to laryngomalacia, a common infant condition in which soft tissue around the vocal cords collapses inward, causing wheezing, and said it was not a cause for concern.
In July 2024, Ms Manley brought Connie to Queen Alexandra Hospital in Portsmouth after GPs warned that her oxygen levels were dangerously low. Connie was diagnosed with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), an infection of the respiratory tract, and was discharged with antibiotics.
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Twelve hours later, Ms Manley contacted the hospital again after Connie failed to improve. She said she was advised to continue giving her fluids. The following day, when Connie’s condition had still not improved, she was admitted to hospital. Her health rapidly deteriorated, and she suffered a cardiac arrest. She died three weeks later.
Ms Manley said doctors “wouldn’t listen” to her and that her concerns “were never taken seriously”.
“She wasn’t eating, she wasn’t drinking. I was fighting with doctors to make them see how poorly she was, but no one was listening,” she said. “She was blue and freezing cold. I knew she wasn’t OK, but a nurse told me she was absolutely fine.”
She added that after calling for a doctor, “within seconds” her daughter went into cardiac arrest.
Connie died at Southampton General Hospital in August 2024. A medical report concluded she died from severe brain injury caused by hypoxic cardiac arrest, in which the heart stops due to a lack of oxygen, triggered by RSV.
While in hospital, Connie was also receiving treatment via nebulisers, which deliver medication as a fine mist to the lungs. Doctors said the probable cause of the cardiac arrest was a mucus blockage linked to the nebuliser treatment.
Ms Manley described the experience as “horrible” and urged other parents to trust their instincts.
“I urge mothers to trust your gut – a mother’s instinct is always right. Just because you have a doctor standing next to you doesn’t mean they’re right,” she said. “She was the loveliest, happiest little girl. We all miss her so much.”
In a statement, Dr Natalie Borman, acting chief medical officer at Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust, said a thorough review had been carried out following Connie’s death.
“This included reinforcing with our teams the importance of consistently recording concerns raised by family members,” she said. “We are committed to listening and learning from our patients and their loved ones to continue improving the safe and compassionate care we provide.”
