A grieving mother has launched a campaign for new legislation after her four-month-old baby died from sepsis. Lia Robertson passed away on January 22, 2024, after doctors initially dismissed signs of the infection in her blood tests when she visited Forth Valley Royal Hospital in Larbert the previous month.
Lia, who was born with Neonatal Marfan syndrome, was sent home from the hospital despite medics having detected markers for sepsis. Her mother Jade, 35, and father James, 38, were unaware of the findings at the time. The following day, Lia rapidly declined, prompting her parents to rush her back to A&E.
Lia was transferred to Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow, where she was diagnosed with sepsis and a collapsed lung. On New Year's Day, surgeons amputated her leg in an attempt to control the infection, but she died on January 22 after her body succumbed to multiple organ failure.
Campaign for Lia's Law
Jade, from Stirling, is now demanding that the Scottish Government introduce Lia's Law to ensure legislation delivers better paediatric care for children at the point of abnormal blood tests. The call comes after an NHS review into Lia's death found a number of learnings.
Jade told the Record: "When we left hospital with Lia in December, we didn't know she had sepsis markers. Doctors said she had a cold." She described how the next morning Lia was grey, so they took her back, where she was taken to resus and worked on for 10 hours before being transferred to Glasgow.
Jade said: "When we got to Glasgow I was thinking we were in a safe place and hoping we were over the worst of it, but then they told us about Lia's leg. They said it was stopping her blood from flowing properly and she had no chance of getting better if it wasn't amputated."
NHS review findings
The NHS review into the tragedy, seen by the Record, included recommendations that in cases such as Lia's, patients should be given a longer period of observation and abnormal blood tests should be repeated before decisions are made regarding discharge. However, Jade believes the guidance does not go far enough.
She said: "The NHS recommendations from the review still leave so many families unprotected. Guidance can be ignored, but new legislation cannot. That is why I'm calling on the Scottish Government to make these recommendations mandatory. Lia's Law is about creating a standard that keeps every child safe."
Jade explained she knew nothing about Lia showing early signs of a sepsis infection until after her daughter had died. She said: "When Lia passed I asked to see her blood tests that were taken when she first went into hospital and it was then that I found out there had been markers for sepsis. That should have triggered an emergency plan because she already had health issues."
Political and health service response
Jade's calls are backed by Scottish Labour Health spokesperson Jackie Baillie, who said: "No family should have to endure the heartbreak of losing their baby after seeking help from the very service they trusted to protect her. No law can undo the unimaginable pain Lia's family has suffered, but Lia's Law could help prevent another family from going through the same devastating ordeal. It would be an important safeguard that could save lives and the Scottish Government should act."
Health Secretary Angela Constance said: "I express my condolences to the family of Lia Robertson on their tragic loss. While nothing can compensate for the suffering which they have faced, I am determined to help ensure infants receive the best possible care. We will carefully consider this petition and we are taking actions to strengthen patient safety and ensure children receive the highest quality of care."
An NHS Forth Valley spokesperson said: "Following the sad death of this young child in January 2024, we carried out a detailed internal review. Our review identified a number of areas for learning and improvement which have all been addressed, including carrying out repeat blood tests where abnormal results have been assessed as being due to environmental or sample quality factors."
The spokesperson added that the Scottish Public Service Ombudsman also reviewed the care provided and considered the initial clinical assessment to be reasonable and consistent with the approach taken for any child presenting with similar symptoms. They noted that an extended observation period may have been appropriate, particularly for children with complex underlying medical conditions, but concluded this would not have significantly changed the outcome given the short time between discharge and readmission.
Jade has sent a petition to the Scottish Government, and it is currently under consideration.
