Fresh inquest will investigate death of disabled boy, three, at scandal-hit Mid Staffs hospital over claim milk given to him as part of trial may have killed him – five years after coroner ruled he died from ‘natural causes’

• Jonnie Meek suffered from de Grouchy syndrome and was lactose intolerant  
• He fed through a tube and Stafford Hospital tried him on new milk at age three 
• Died within three hours and original inquest ruled the cause was pneumonia 
• New evidence suggests it may have been caused by an allergic reaction to milk 

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Jonnie Meek (pictured) died at Stafford Hospital following his taking part in a trial for new milk 

A new inquest is to be held into the death of a disabled boy at scandal-hit Stafford Hospital after it emerged that milk medics gave him may have killed the youngster.

Jonnie Meek, who suffered from de Grouchy syndrome, which causes deformities, mental disabilities and growth problems. 

The youngster was fed through a tube and also suffered from lactose intolerance. 

When he was three years old, medics tried feeding him on a new milk they were trialling.

He was dead within three hours, leaving his devastated parents John Meek and April Keeling demanding answers.

Up to 1,200 patients died as a result of poor care at Stafford Hospital, which is run by Mid Staffordshire NHS Hospital Trust, between January 2005 and March 2009. 

Staff shortages meant that patients were sent home misdiagnosed or prematurely and some in the hospital were left unwashed for a month.  

An initial inquest recorded Jonnie’s 2014 death as being down to ‘natural causes’  after he contracted pneumonia in his right lung.

But the High Court has ordered a second inquest after fresh evidence emerged, suggesting the milk could have killed him.

John Meek and April Keeling (pictured) branded the original verdict on their child’s death ‘ridiculous’ and a whistleblower came forward to suggest they had been brushed off

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Lord Justice Hamblen said it was ‘necessary and desirable’ for a new inquest to reveal the true cause of Jonnie’s death.

Lauren Tew (pictured) accused staff at the hospital of fabricating a witness statement in her name 

The court heard the boy, from Cannock, suffered from ‘complex health problems’, including the rare congenital disability de Grouchy syndrome and lactose intolerance.

He was fed by a tube into his stomach and doctors were trying him on the new feed on the day he died.

The judge said an initial post mortem examination recorded ‘no reason to suspect the change of feed played a part in the death’.

The parents said the verdict was ‘ridiculous’ and a nursing assistant who was in the room during the trial accused hospital staff of ‘inventing’ a witness statement in her name.

Lauren Tew, 26, who has since left the hospital, said Jonnie’s anxious mother was ‘palmed off’ by nurses and a doctor who said things were ‘normal’. 

Ms Keeling said the skin on his hands began to darken, his mouth swelled up and he became fidgety after the trial. 

But a nurse who checked his condition at 2pm and then again 3pm recorded it as ‘normal.’ 

WHAT IS DE GROUCHY SYNDROME? 

De Grouchy syndrome, also known as 18p Deletion Syndrome, is a genetic defect caused by the loss of part of the 18th chromosome and is present from birth.

Nicknamed after French scientist Jean de Grouchy, who discovered it in 1963, the condition is thought to affect as many as one in every 50,000 babies.

The disorder causes physical deformities, growth problems and mental disabilities.

Typical signs of de Grouchy syndrome include moderate to severe learning disabilities, slower growth in childhood, a round face and ‘drooping’ mouth, and deformed ears.

Other signs are an unusually small head, brain and heart defects, a short or webbed neck, abnormal teeth, widely spaced eyes, or an undersized jaw – although these are less common.

Outlook for patients varies and depends on how severe their deformities are – some babies only survive for a few months while others can live into adulthood.

The condition cannot be cured.

Source: Contemporary Clinical Dentistry       

At 3.30pm she recorded that he was coughing and gave him suction to clear his airways and at 3.40pm he was placed on high oxygen and an emergency team summoned. He was pronounced dead at 4.11pm, two days after his third birthday. 

Consultant paediatrician Dr Martin Farrier conducted an independent review in October 2015.

He said the ‘most likely’ cause was an allergic reaction to the new feed, the judge continued.

A further review cited ‘asthma exacerbation’, allergic reaction and administration of a ‘less hypoallergenic milk’.

The case reached court after an application by the NHS Cannock Chase Clinical Commissioning Group for quashing of the first inquest.

It said the new evidence showing the finding that the death was caused by pneumonia ‘cannot stand’ and the substantial truth had not been revealed.

Lord Justice Hamblen, sitting in London with Mr Justice Stuart-Smith, quashed the original verdict.

‘In the circumstances, we are satisfied that it is necessary and desirable for a new inquest to be heard,’ he said.

The family, who were not in court today, were helped in their search for the truth by NHS campaigner Julie Bailey, whose efforts resulted in the inquiry into the scandal-hit hospital in 2008. No date was set for the new inquest to be held.

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