My son, 3, was sent home from A&E after just five minutes – three days later he died from devastating heart problems
TWO grieving parents are demanding answers after the death of their three-year-old son who was sent home "within five minutes" from A&E.
Little Jaiden Milligan died from heart problems just three days after he was dismissed from the emergency room at Ulster Hospital, Belfast, with a suspected sinus infection.
Now his heartbroken parents Caylan Milligan and Charlotte Curran are completely lost while they await the full coroner's findings.
The couple from Downpatrick had only recently bought new nursery school uniform for Jaiden, who they described as their "happy, pleasant wee child".
And they believe their little boy could have had a chance at survival if more tests had been done in A&E.
The mum and dad first took Jaiden to hospital on Thursday July 14 when they noticed he was feeling poorly, not eating his food and coughing.
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Caylan and Charlotte told : "They listened to his chest, took his temperature, looked in his ears and back of his throat.
"They said everything was clear and we were sent home and they said he had a sinus infection.
"We weren't given anything for it, so we went out and bought our own stuff.
"We were told to bring him back if he got worse, so on the Saturday we called the out of hours and were advised to take him back to the Ulster."
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Almost immediately this time, doctors took Jaiden's condition seriously and a multitude of tests showed he had fluid in his lungs and around his heart.
The tot was rushed to another hospital by ambulance where he was kept overnight on Saturday.
Then just hours after the pair went home to get clean clothes and toys for Jaiden, they were called back to the hospital.
A doctor explained Jaiden's body was struggling and needed to be placed in an induced coma.
But the toddler's condition kept getting worse and by 2.30pm staff were desperately performing CPR to try and resuscitate him.
The parents said: "They worked on him for about half an hour, they were fantastic.
"They said they were going to keep trying, and let us down to hold his hand and we had to let him go. Jaiden died at 3:10pm on Sunday.
"The system is broken. Our child suffered for that long and we didn't know.
We just want answers
Jaiden's parents
"We want to know why our son was sent home within five minutes on the Thursday.
"We just want answers, and we know we have to wait for the full coroner's finding to be sent to us, but we just want to know what happened to our son.
"The coroner kept his heart to run tests, so our son was buried without a heart. That is hard to take."
The bereaved parents described Jaiden as their "happy, pleasant wee child" who loved playing in the dirt with his tractors.
They added: "He was just such a good child.
"It is never going to be the same without him. Our house will never be the same. He really was a mummy's boy, and a typical wee boy who would happily sit playing on his own for hours."
The little lad tragically leaves behind his big sister Amelia, whose school has vowed to support her through her grief.
The rest of local community has also stepped up for the family in ways they never expected, gifting enough milk, sandwiches and biscuits to last them a lifetime.
Caylan's employer Poundland paid for a £400 floral tribute to Jaiden and offered the grieving dad as much time as he needs off work.
A copy of Jaiden's Evidence of Death Certificate, seen by Belfast Live, cite the Pathologist’s preliminary findings following the Post Mortem examination as "Dilated Cardiomyopathy, Global necrosis of Myocardium, congestive cardiac failure and pulmonary oedema".
In a statement from the South Eastern Trust, a spokesperson said: "The loss of a child at any time is heart-breaking and we acknowledge the pain and heartache Jaiden’s parents, Caylan and Charlotte are currently experiencing. We would like to express our deepest condolences at this sad time.
"The Trust is aware of Jaiden’s case and will be investigating it fully. We will be in contact with Jaiden’s parents as soon as the outcome of the investigation is complete.
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"However, in the meantime, we would welcome the opportunity to meet and discuss any concerns the family may have surrounding Jaiden’s care and treatment.
"It would not be appropriate for the Trust to comment on the specifics of the investigation."
