By . Andy Dolan . A boy of four choked to death in hospital after his nurse went on a two-hour break. Daniel Hames had acute gastroenteritis but hospital staff were not fully aware of his medical history, an inquest heard. His mother, Christina Smith, told how she had fallen asleep in a chair beside his bed and woke to find a nurse standing over him. Tragic: Daniel Hames died at Doncaster Royal Infirmary after falling ill with gastroenteritis . Parents: Daniel's mother Christina and father Daniel have paid tribute to the four-year-old schoolboy . ‘I jumped up and I just saw my son . lying there,’ she said. ‘He was on his back, not moving. I said to him, . “Don’t leave me, don’t leave me”.’ But Daniel was already dead. The . staff nurse who had been monitoring him at Doncaster Royal Infirmary had . gone on a break after telling a second nurse to carry out observations . on the child. But the inquest heard the observations were not done and Daniel was later discovered to have vomited and choked to death. Assistant coroner John Sleightholme asked a hospital matron if the length of the break was normal. She . said: ‘You anticipate a degree of flexibility but the length of time on . that occasion was not acceptable nor, I am aware, common practice.’ The . nurse who went on the two-hour break was later sacked after a . disciplinary hearing. The inquest heard that Daniel had been admitted the previous day, in March last year, after he began vomiting. A doctor advised his family to take him home and care for him there, making sure he drank liquids after he stopped being sick. Hospital: A nurse at Doncaster Royal Infirmary took a two-hour break when she was supposed to watch him . Hours . later, however, he had to be taken back to hospital by ambulance and . admitted to A&E, before being moved to a paediatric ward. The . inquest heard he had been ill several times with the same condition the . year before, spending four days in hospital, and had been sent home from . school with diarrhoea in February 2013. But . staff in the children’s ward did not have access to a system available . in A&E which brought up a snapshot of the patient’s medical history, . while the paramedic’s notes about Daniel, who was from Doncaster, were . not taken to the ward, as they should have been. At about 7am a doctor was called to Daniel’s cubicle after he was discovered to have vomited. Family: Daniel's mother, grandfather, uncle, father and aunt outside his inquest in Doncaster . Despite the best efforts of the medical staff, he was pronounced dead at 7.39am, less than seven hours after being admitted. Mr . Sleightholme said ‘communications in some way could have done better’ but ruled the death was due to natural causes – acute aspiration of . stomach contents due to adenoviral gastroenteritis. The . hearing, at Doncaster Coroner’s Court, was told that since the tragedy . Doncaster and Bassetlaw Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust had carried out a . full investigation and brought in a number of changes. These . include a pilot scheme making medical records more easily available . between 11pm and 7am. A warning system has also been introduced to . monitor the observation results of children. Daniel’s . father, also called Daniel, 29, said after the inquest: ‘He was a . well-loved and happy child and he is going to be missed by his mum, dad, . granny and grandad.’
Daniel Hames was repeatedly hospitalised with acute gastroenteritis .
He spent the night at Doncaster Royal Infirmary in March last year .
Nurses were supposed to monitor him but one of them took a two-hour break and workers were unable to access his medical records .
Mother spent the evening by his bed and woke as he was choking to death .
By . Andy Dolan . A boy of four choked to death in hospital after his nurse went on a two-hour break. Daniel Hames had acute gastroenteritis but hospital staff were not fully aware of his medical history, an inquest heard. His mother, Christina Smith, told how she had fallen asleep in a chair beside his bed and woke to find a nurse standing over him. Tragic: Daniel Hames died at Doncaster Royal Infirmary after falling ill with gastroenteritis . Parents: Daniel's mother Christina and father Daniel have paid tribute to the four-year-old schoolboy . ‘I jumped up and I just saw my son . lying there,’ she said. ‘He was on his back, not moving. I said to him, . “Don’t leave me, don’t leave me”.’ But Daniel was already dead. The . staff nurse who had been monitoring him at Doncaster Royal Infirmary had . gone on a break after telling a second nurse to carry out observations . on the child. But the inquest heard the observations were not done and Daniel was later discovered to have vomited and choked to death. Assistant coroner John Sleightholme asked a hospital matron if the length of the break was normal. She . said: ‘You anticipate a degree of flexibility but the length of time on . that occasion was not acceptable nor, I am aware, common practice.’ The . nurse who went on the two-hour break was later sacked after a . disciplinary hearing. The inquest heard that Daniel had been admitted the previous day, in March last year, after he began vomiting. A doctor advised his family to take him home and care for him there, making sure he drank liquids after he stopped being sick. Hospital: A nurse at Doncaster Royal Infirmary took a two-hour break when she was supposed to watch him . Hours . later, however, he had to be taken back to hospital by ambulance and . admitted to A&E, before being moved to a paediatric ward. The . inquest heard he had been ill several times with the same condition the . year before, spending four days in hospital, and had been sent home from . school with diarrhoea in February 2013. But . staff in the children’s ward did not have access to a system available . in A&E which brought up a snapshot of the patient’s medical history, . while the paramedic’s notes about Daniel, who was from Doncaster, were . not taken to the ward, as they should have been. At about 7am a doctor was called to Daniel’s cubicle after he was discovered to have vomited. Family: Daniel's mother, grandfather, uncle, father and aunt outside his inquest in Doncaster . Despite the best efforts of the medical staff, he was pronounced dead at 7.39am, less than seven hours after being admitted. Mr . Sleightholme said ‘communications in some way could have done better’ but ruled the death was due to natural causes – acute aspiration of . stomach contents due to adenoviral gastroenteritis. The . hearing, at Doncaster Coroner’s Court, was told that since the tragedy . Doncaster and Bassetlaw Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust had carried out a . full investigation and brought in a number of changes. These . include a pilot scheme making medical records more easily available . between 11pm and 7am. A warning system has also been introduced to . monitor the observation results of children. Daniel’s . father, also called Daniel, 29, said after the inquest: ‘He was a . well-loved and happy child and he is going to be missed by his mum, dad, . granny and grandad.’
break. Daniel Hames had acute gastroenteritis but in a chair beside his bed and woke to find a previous day, in March last year, after he began nurse at Doncaster Royal Infirmary took a two-hour break when she was supposed to watch him the best efforts of the medical staff, he was