Crawley parents hope lessons can be learned after daughter's death

Nailah Ally, from Crawley, was diagnosed with necrotising enterocolitis (NEC) – a serious illness which sees the gut become inflamed and start to die – shortly after her birth in October 2019.

Nailah was also diagnosed with a hole in the heart during the pregnancy.

She was taken to hospital on December 28, 2019, and continued to have a swollen stomach and received treatment for suspected sepsis.

Emmanuel Ally, Nailah Ally and Laila Tabota (Image: Emmanuel Ally and Laila Tobota)

However, the doctors did not perform a barium enema – a test that helps to highlight the large bowel so it can be clearly seen on an X-ray – to consider the possibility that her intestine could have narrowed because of damage caused by NEC.

Nailah’s parents, Laila Tobota, 26, and her partner Emmanuel Ally, instructed medical negligence lawyers at Irwin Mitchell to investigate her care under Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust, which runs East Surrey Hospital.

The legal team highlighted that an NHS investigation showed that a consultant believed Nailah might have had an intolerance to cow’s milk and changed the formula she was feeding on.

The team said the report found there was a “missed opportunity” to recognise how sick Nailah was when she attended hospital on January 10.

She was sent home from East Surrey Hospital on January 7, 2020, with a follow-up appointment three days later.

The following day Nailah went into septic shock and an X-ray showed a suspected perforated bowel.

Her condition worsened and she died on January 13 2020.

A post-mortem examination found she died from multiple organ failure caused by NEC and a narrowing of the intestine.

Nailah Ally (Image: Emmanuel Ally and Laila Tobota)

A spokesman for Irwin Mitchell said: “A root cause analysis investigation report by the Trust found there was a failure to perform barium enema, which in retrospect, may have found Nailah’s narrowed intestine which she suffered ‘due to her episode of necrotising enterocolitis’.

“The failure to perform the test was down to poor documentation, poor face-to-face handovers between doctors and poor ownership of Nailah’s case by one named consultant, the report found.”

The spokesman said that the trust had paid an undisclosed out of court settlement to Nailah’s parents to help them access the specialist support they required following her death but it did not admit liability.

Ms Tobota, an HR manager, said: “While it’s three years since Nailah died the hurt and pain we feel is still as raw now as it was then.

“She was the most adorable and beautiful child who didn’t deserve the suffering she had to go through in her short life. Nailah was an absolute fighter and so brave until the end.

“We can’t thank enough the heart surgeons for everything they did to help Nailah.

Nailah died on January 13, 2020 (Image: Emmanuel Ally and Laila Tobota)

“However, after Nailah was transferred we felt that some staff were dismissive of our needs and that nobody on any ward rounds or staff handovers really asked us about our child.

“It felt like Nailah’s feeding issues were often put down to milk intolerances rather than the focus being on her medical needs.”

Emily Mansfield, the medical negligence expert representing the family, said: “The last few years and coming to terms with Nailah’s death has understandably been incredibly traumatic for Laila and Emmanuel.

“Nailah’s case not only vividly highlights the dangers of sepsis but the potential consequences of poor communication between doctors as well as between doctors and families.”

A spokesman for Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust said: “We are very sorry for the experience Nailah’s family had at East Surrey Hospital and our deepest sympathies remain with them at this very difficult time.

“We take any death extremely seriously and as a trust we have already investigated and put in place a thorough action plan to ensure we learn the lessons needed, and importantly, improve our care for future patients.”