Mother says she begged for stronger asthma medication before 7-year-old's death
Tasmine Nichols says daughter Bonnie Haydon, 7, died at Bristol Royal Hospital after a series of hospital visits; family questions care received at Derriford Hospital
A mother has said she asked clinicians to increase her seven-year-old daughter's asthma medication days before the child died at a specialist children's hospital.
Tasmine Nichols said her daughter, Bonnie Haydon, who had suffered from asthma from a young age, was taken to Derriford Hospital in Plymouth repeatedly after her symptoms worsened in July and August. Ms. Nichols told reporters she asked doctors during a second admission on Aug. 10 to up Bonnie’s inhaler and other treatment, but that her request was refused and the child was discharged.
According to Ms. Nichols, she brought Bonnie back to hospital 12 days after the Aug. 10 admission. She said the child had been “playing” and “singing” during that visit but was placed into an induced coma a few days later, on Aug. 26. Clinicians later told the family that Bonnie had no brain activity after scans, and she died on Aug. 29 at Bristol Royal Hospital for Children, Ms. Nichols said.
Ms. Nichols said she was initially told staff planned to sedate Bonnie to allow her to rest but that she learned later the child had been placed into a coma. She described being told of the absence of brain activity after a CT scan and an MRI. She praised staff at Bristol Royal Hospital for Children, saying they “explained everything and never kept us in the dark.”
A family friend, Charlie Wilkinson, set up an online fundraiser to help cover funeral costs. In the fundraiser, he described Bonnie as a child who brightened every room she entered and wrote that “Bonnie was sadly failed by the health professionals who were meant to help her.” The campaign page states the family is planning a funeral and asked for contributions to ease the financial burden.
Ms. Nichols’s account raises questions about the course of medical care and escalation of treatment during the weeks before Bonnie’s death. The family’s statements describe a rapid deterioration in the child’s condition over late August that culminated in life-support measures and the finding of absent brain activity on imaging.
Asthma is a common chronic condition in children and can range from well-controlled symptoms to life-threatening exacerbations that require urgent treatment. Standard management of acute asthma attacks typically includes bronchodilators and, where appropriate, systemic corticosteroids and supportive measures; hospitals may escalate care for severe episodes, including oxygen and respiratory support. Families and clinicians sometimes disagree about the intensity of treatment and the timing of escalation.
University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust, which runs Derriford Hospital, was contacted for comment. The report of the family’s account was published publicly by news outlets and accompanied by the fundraising appeal; there has been no public statement from the trust in response to the family’s allegations in those reports.
Bonnie’s death has prompted expressions of sympathy from friends and relatives, and the fundraiser describes plans to give her a funeral. Ms. Nichols’s account is the family’s description of events leading up to Bonnie’s death; investigators or hospital spokespeople, if they provide further details, may offer additional information about the clinical course and care provided.
The case highlights the concerns families can face when a child with a chronic respiratory condition experiences repeated or worsening symptoms, and it underlines the importance of clear communication between clinicians and carers about treatment options and warning signs of deterioration.