A third pre-inquest review hearing (PIRH) into the death of one-year-old Archie Squire is due to take place at 2pm on Monday 14 April at North East Kent Coroner’s Court, in Maidstone.
Archie, who had an undiagnosed heart condition, died on 23 November 2023 following two cardiac arrests.
The “happy little lad who was always smiling” had been reviewed in the A&E and Urgent Care Centre at Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother (QEQM) hospital in Margate more than 10 times since his birth on November 20, 2022, with symptoms including constipation, breathlessness and failure to thrive.
The day after his first birthday, Archie was admitted to the hospital from A&E due to constipation and vomiting.
He died two days later after suffering two separate cardiac arrests. A postmortem examination found that Archie had a rare heart condition, which had gone undetected.
Parents Lauren Parrish and Jake Squire say Archie loved to dance especially to the Fireman Sam theme tune, the sherry song by the Four Seasons, or My G by Aitch & Ed Sheeran.
Jake told The Isle of Thanet News: “Lauren and I cherish memories of our time spent at the zoo, swimming, and holidays but especially bath time! Archie would bum shuffle and pull the funniest of faces which would brighten up any room.
“He’d wave at strangers and went shy when people gave him attention. He was adored by everyone lucky enough to have known him but was yet to build memories with his baby brother Albie.”
An East Kent Hospitals’ incident investigation report last year into the potentially avoidable death of Archie highlighted:
- Faltering Growth was not accepted as an urgent referral from the GP.
- An ECHO (a scan used to look at the heart) was ordered in October but was not requested as urgent. It was subsequently not triaged as urgent; Archie had still not received the ECHO when he sadly died in November.
- Clinic letters and previous attendances and admissions were not reviewed when Archie attended Paediatric services or was admitted to the ward.
- X-Rays completed in October showed an abnormal cardiac shadow which was not acted upon.
- Medical jargon was used to explain that cardiac abnormalities were being looked into, which was not understood by the family.
- There was no communication used by the medical team to check the family understood.
- Medical information was not always appropriately shared.
- Archie was treated for bronchiolitis and a wider list of possible different diagnoses were not considered.
- Nursing team not completing observations as per the escalation message
- Archie was not deemed ‘a watcher- to be regularly checked and monitored- even though he met two of the criteria on the watcher list.
- Documentation of clinical reviews were not completed in a timely manner.
- Radiologists not being able to report on Paediatric X-rays caused a delay in imaging being reported on and this was then not detailed enough
- It was noted that Archie’s parents felt that after their son’s death, there was a lack of compassion and post death information sharing was factual rather than caring.
HM Area Coroner Sarah Clarke is expected to make a decision on which witnesses will be called to give live evidence at the full inquest, which is listed 19 – 29 May.
Archie’s family are represented by Leigh Day medical negligence solicitor Lily Hedgman, who has instructed Emily Raynor of Old Square Chambers.
Archie’s family said: “We have waited a long time for answers about what happened to Archie. As a family, this has been an incredibly painful journey, made harder by the many questions that remain unanswered. Archie was a much-loved, happy little boy whose death has left an enormous hole in our lives.
“We are hoping that the full inquest in May will finally help us understand whether more could and should have been done to prevent Archie’s death. We remain committed to seeking the truth for Archie, and to ensuring that lessons are learned so that no other family has to go through what we have.”
Lily Hedgman said: “Archie’s family have shown great strength and dignity as they seek to understand how their much-loved son came to die at just one year old.
“They hope that the inquest will provide a full and transparent account of the care Archie received and whether opportunities were missed to diagnose his condition. They are determined that no other family should suffer a similar loss.”
