By . Sam Greenhill . PUBLISHED: . 12:22 EST, 3 May 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 01:44 EST, 4 May 2012 . Perched on a special red chair in her hospital bed, this was tragic Hayley Fullerton just a few days before she died. Bright-eyed and munching on a piece of toast, she was recovering well from heart surgery. And although the blonde-haired one-year-old was still underweight for her age, her parents and doctors had every hope she would grow to live a full life. Heartbreaking: Hayley Fullerton is shown here recovering from surgery just six days before she died . There was no sign that just six days later she would be dead from a massive heart attack after doctors inserted the wrong size tube into her lung, causing it to collapse. Her devastated mother Paula Stevenson, 40, has blamed Birmingham Children’s Hospital for her death, saying staff ignored the family’s repeated pleas to help her. Hayley’s operation for a congenital heart condition was a success but the complications arose during her recovery. Mrs Stevenson has told an inquest into her death she spent several days trying to warn staff that her daughter was having trouble breathing. Tragically, on November 11, 2009, both of Hayley’s lungs collapsed and she went into cardiac arrest. Tragedy: Hayley died of a heart attack after doctors inserted the wrong sized tube into her lung . Yesterday Birmingham Coroner’s Court heard how Hayley had seemed in good spirits on the paediatric cardiac ward of Birmingham Children’s Hospital. Nurse Sheila Bennett described how Hayley had been sitting ‘in a high chair eating breakfast and playing’, in the week before she died. But when Nurse Bennett returned to work after the weekend, Hayley was lying with her head in an oxygen ‘headbox’ to help her breathe, and being fed through a tube. She told the court: ‘I haven’t got an explanation for Hayley’s sudden collapse, but I can tell you that in 17 years of working on Ward 11, I have seen babies having sudden and inexplicable cardiac arrests.’ Overlooked: Paula Stevenson told an inquest her one-year-old daughter was neglected at the hospital . The coroner heard from a succession of doctors and nurses who said Hayley’s rapid deterioration had come as a shock to them. Mrs Stevenson has told the inquest she begged nurses to move Hayley into intensive care, but was repeatedly assured this was unnecessary. At one point, she even tried ‘bribing’ a nurse with £100 to pay more attention to Hayley, who was born in Northern Ireland. Mrs Stevenson told coroner Aidan Cotter: ‘I could not believe that Hayley had just been left to deteriorate. All along the family had expressed their concerns about Hayley's breathing and had even asked if there was a problem with her lungs, yet nothing was done. ‘All she did was sleep. I missed my little girl so much and I felt as though I hadn't seen her eyes in so long, her big blue eyes.’ Hayley was born with a hole in her heart and was recovering from surgery when complications arose . Describing the awful moments as her daughter’s life ebbed away, she said: ‘I saw that Hayley was really gasping for breath. ‘Her eyes were panic-stricken and they started rolling back in her head. ‘Hayley looked awful, she was like a fish out of water. She was gasping and gasping for every breath.’ Paula Stevenson, seen here with a picture of her baby girl Hayley, says the staff at Birmingham Children's Hospital failed 'abominably' Mrs Stevenson said there were around 15 people in the room working to save her daughter. She said: ‘All the time I was stroking her head and telling her she was the best wee girl in the world. ‘They worked on her until their hands hurt. All I could see was the monitor flashing [cardiac] arrest. ‘All the time I kept squeezing her hand gently just to see if she would squeeze it back. Hayley never squeezed my hand back. It was cold and lifeless. ‘After 19 minutes everyone had stopped looking at Hayley and they were now all looking at me with pity in their eyes. ‘At 20 minutes [a doctor] confirmed my worst fears. He said, “Sorry mum, we've lost her.” ‘And all I could think about was that I was no longer a mummy because Hayley was my only child and she was dead. I was in shock and utterly devastated. ‘The treatment has led me to question how can the staff at Birmingham Children's Hospital fail Hayley so abominably?’ Mrs Stevenson and her husband Bobby Fullerton now live in Australia, and have another daughter, one-year-old Casey. The inquest was adjourned and is not expected to resume until September when expert medical witnesses are available.
One-year-old Hayley died after her lungs collapsed .
Paula Stevenson spent days trying to warn hospital staff about her daughter's breathing problems .
She even tried 'bribing' a nurse to get her to pay more attention .
By . Sam Greenhill . PUBLISHED: . 12:22 EST, 3 May 2012 . | . UPDATED: . 01:44 EST, 4 May 2012 . Perched on a special red chair in her hospital bed, this was tragic Hayley Fullerton just a few days before she died. Bright-eyed and munching on a piece of toast, she was recovering well from heart surgery. And although the blonde-haired one-year-old was still underweight for her age, her parents and doctors had every hope she would grow to live a full life. Heartbreaking: Hayley Fullerton is shown here recovering from surgery just six days before she died . There was no sign that just six days later she would be dead from a massive heart attack after doctors inserted the wrong size tube into her lung, causing it to collapse. Her devastated mother Paula Stevenson, 40, has blamed Birmingham Children’s Hospital for her death, saying staff ignored the family’s repeated pleas to help her. Hayley’s operation for a congenital heart condition was a success but the complications arose during her recovery. Mrs Stevenson has told an inquest into her death she spent several days trying to warn staff that her daughter was having trouble breathing. Tragically, on November 11, 2009, both of Hayley’s lungs collapsed and she went into cardiac arrest. Tragedy: Hayley died of a heart attack after doctors inserted the wrong sized tube into her lung . Yesterday Birmingham Coroner’s Court heard how Hayley had seemed in good spirits on the paediatric cardiac ward of Birmingham Children’s Hospital. Nurse Sheila Bennett described how Hayley had been sitting ‘in a high chair eating breakfast and playing’, in the week before she died. But when Nurse Bennett returned to work after the weekend, Hayley was lying with her head in an oxygen ‘headbox’ to help her breathe, and being fed through a tube. She told the court: ‘I haven’t got an explanation for Hayley’s sudden collapse, but I can tell you that in 17 years of working on Ward 11, I have seen babies having sudden and inexplicable cardiac arrests.’ Overlooked: Paula Stevenson told an inquest her one-year-old daughter was neglected at the hospital . The coroner heard from a succession of doctors and nurses who said Hayley’s rapid deterioration had come as a shock to them. Mrs Stevenson has told the inquest she begged nurses to move Hayley into intensive care, but was repeatedly assured this was unnecessary. At one point, she even tried ‘bribing’ a nurse with £100 to pay more attention to Hayley, who was born in Northern Ireland. Mrs Stevenson told coroner Aidan Cotter: ‘I could not believe that Hayley had just been left to deteriorate. All along the family had expressed their concerns about Hayley's breathing and had even asked if there was a problem with her lungs, yet nothing was done. ‘All she did was sleep. I missed my little girl so much and I felt as though I hadn't seen her eyes in so long, her big blue eyes.’ Hayley was born with a hole in her heart and was recovering from surgery when complications arose . Describing the awful moments as her daughter’s life ebbed away, she said: ‘I saw that Hayley was really gasping for breath. ‘Her eyes were panic-stricken and they started rolling back in her head. ‘Hayley looked awful, she was like a fish out of water. She was gasping and gasping for every breath.’ Paula Stevenson, seen here with a picture of her baby girl Hayley, says the staff at Birmingham Children's Hospital failed 'abominably' Mrs Stevenson said there were around 15 people in the room working to save her daughter. She said: ‘All the time I was stroking her head and telling her she was the best wee girl in the world. ‘They worked on her until their hands hurt. All I could see was the monitor flashing [cardiac] arrest. ‘All the time I kept squeezing her hand gently just to see if she would squeeze it back. Hayley never squeezed my hand back. It was cold and lifeless. ‘After 19 minutes everyone had stopped looking at Hayley and they were now all looking at me with pity in their eyes. ‘At 20 minutes [a doctor] confirmed my worst fears. He said, “Sorry mum, we've lost her.” ‘And all I could think about was that I was no longer a mummy because Hayley was my only child and she was dead. I was in shock and utterly devastated. ‘The treatment has led me to question how can the staff at Birmingham Children's Hospital fail Hayley so abominably?’ Mrs Stevenson and her husband Bobby Fullerton now live in Australia, and have another daughter, one-year-old Casey. The inquest was adjourned and is not expected to resume until September when expert medical witnesses are available.
she spent several days trying to warn staff that Hayley’s lungs collapsed and she went into cardiac arrests.’ Overlooked: Paula Stevenson At one point, she even tried ‘bribing’ a nurse with £100 to pay more attention to Hayley, who