A mum claims "lots of mistakes were made" before her baby boy died in hospital after going in with a cough, an inquest has heard.
Henry Kenworthy had Noonan Syndrome and was just 18 months old when he died, having been admitted to Wythenshawe Hospital in Manchester days earlier.
Clutching photos of her late child, mum Nicola said the tot was treated as "just a name" as she spoke before Area Coroner Zak Golombeck yesterday, reports the Manchester Evening News.
Accompanied by partner Danny, she said she does not feel confident "should another Henry turn up" at the hospital with the same symptoms "that something different would happen".
Their son was born in September 2017 with the genetic heart condition, initially defying the odds following a difficult pregnancy.
However, he died months later on March 5, 2019.
In her emotional statement, Nicola said: “I brought these photos of Henry, as I didn’t want anyone to just see him as a name. He was our little boy.
“It’s hard when people die because they become less and less real. We want people to remember he was a real person. He was a really funny, happy and joyful little boy. He was wonderful and cheeky."
She went on to say: “Lots of mistakes were made. He was so poorly and I could see that. I don’t feel confident at all that should another Henry turn up presenting in the same way, anything different would happen.
“We don’t want to blame somebody, but I felt like we weren’t taken seriously and that nobody could see what I was seeing.
"In hospital it just felt very chaotic," she continued, addressing Manchester Coroners Court.
"He was really poorly and I kept trying to explain but I felt nobody could see it or was listening.
"Despite his condition, he was expected to do well and live.
"He was just a normal 18-month old boy. He loved his older sister Matilda, who is now seven, and she adores him still."
The inquest heard yesterday that Henry had first been assessed by doctors at the hospital on March 3 after he had "started with a cough" and was having difficulties breathing.
It was found he was suffering from bronchiolitis and the family were sent home.
The following day, Henry, who also suffered from heart condition hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, was brought back into hospital.
Paediatric Specialist Registrar Dr. Jalisatgi gave him treatments, including high flow oxygen, IV fluids and antibiotics.
He remained mostly stable throughout that evening, but his condition "significantly worsened" the following morning.
The court heard that hospital nurse Ms Phillipa Harrison increased Henry's oxygen after his levels had dropped.
At around 6.20am, it was decided that the youngster also needed a nebuliser - with Dr Jalisatgi calling a cardiology registrar to ensure she wasn’t being "tunnel visioned" with her treatment.
However, reflecting back on the events of March 5, Dr Jalisatgi said she thinks she should have alerted a paediatric consultant.
At around 7.50am, it was decided that Henry needed to be moved to the High Dependency Unit (HDU), where he would be hooked up to a ventilation machine.
It was shortly after that he began wheezing and was "working harder" to breathe, before his condition 'quickly spiralled' according to Paediatric Consultant Dr Elizabeth Wilkins.
"We didn't expect things to spiral downwards as rapidly as they did," she said.
After the 18-month-old had moved units, Henry was needing a lot of oxygen to keep him breathing and cannulas had stopped proving effective.
Despite further measures, the situation began "getting worse", as the little boy's heart rate started dropping.
Dr Wilkins added: "He started cardiac compressions and became less responsive."
The inquest is set to conclude today.
