Baby son ‘not safe’ in hospital where he died, mother tells inquest

The mother of a baby who died from an undiagnosed heart condition felt her son was “not safe” in their local hospital as “no-one” took her concerns seriously, an inquest has heard.

Tommy Kneebone was seven-months-old when he died in the early hours of January 21 2023, at Tunbridge Wells Hospital in Pembury.

He had been presented by his mother to the local GP and A&E in Kent multiple times in the months prior to his death without his underlying cardiomyopathy being identified.

Shanice Kneebone told Kent and Medway Coroner’s Court in Maidstone that she and her partner had since undergone tests which found “nothing to suggest a genetic cardiac problem” that they might have passed on to their son.

Tommy’s parents first noticed he had a cough when they returned from a holiday abroad in October 2022, he was prescribed antibiotics for a respiratory illness on November 16.

On December 8, he received another course of antibiotics along with an inhaler from the GP, having been taken to A&E the day before without being seen due to severe delays.

A video taken by Ms Kneebone from that day and played in court showed Tommy coughing and wheezing heavily.

“Over the Christmas period, Tommy’s wheeze went away but his cough persisted,” Ms Kneebone said.

On January 19, Tommy did not take on any fluids and “did not seem right” as he was usually a “smiley, happy baby”, the court heard.

He was taken to Tunbridge Wells Hospital that evening, and then brought back again just after midday on January 20 as his condition had worsened.

“I said it was as if he had drunk a Red Bull, his heart was pounding out of his chest,” Ms Kneebone said.

Tommy had not taken any fluids in two days by the time he was put on an IV drip, one nurse told his parents that she could not do it “due to a lack of experience” and others were unable to find a vein, the court heard.

“I was getting angry now and we had been waiting for too long and I was worried,” Ms Kneebone said.

“I did not feel Tommy was safe at Tunbridge Wells Hospital as no-one seemed to be taking my concerns seriously.”

Tommy continued to deteriorate, until staff at the hospital began to discuss putting him in a medically induced coma to transport him to the Evelina Children’s Hospital in London, his mother told the court.

But while his family waited outside under the impression he was being prepared to be transported, medical staff were performing CPR for more than an hour, the court heard.

Tommy was pronounced dead after 4am on January 21, and doctors identified an underlying, undiagnosed cardiomyopathy which they say caused his death.

On a Gofundme page set up to support Tommy’s family, which has raised more than £24,000, the organiser identified a “series of failures” by the health service, which Ms Kneebone echoed through social media posts.

The inquest continues.