A mother who accused a hospital of neglecting her baby after open-heart surgery told today how she apologised to her daughter for being unable to help her.
Hayley Fullerton died at Birmingham Children's Hospital on November 11, 2009, one month after her first birthday.
An inquest into her death at Birmingham Coroner's Court was yesterday adjourned until September, when Aidan Cotter, Coroner for Birmingham and Solihull, will hear more evidence.
During the hearing Hayley's mother Paula Stevenson revealed she told her daughter she was "really sorry" on the day of her death and was afraid to leave her bedside.
Mrs Stevenson said: "I kept a really vigilant eye on her.
Scroll down for more pictures of Hayley Fullerton
Hayley pictured celebrating her first birthday. She died a month later
"I was stroking her head and I was just telling her I was really sorry that I couldn't get her help. It was that fight or flight syndrome, I was so aware. I was so alert.
"I was too scared to even go to the toilet, I did not sleep for 48 hours before Hayley died."
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Following the adjournment, Mrs Stevenson said the family had "serious concerns" about the care given to her daughter by the hospital.
She said: "The death of Hayley has had a devastating effect on our entire family. After her heart operation, we had serious concerns about certain aspects of her care on ward 11 at Birmingham Children's Hospital."
Hayley was born with a heart defect and a hole in her heart
Ms Stevenson, 40, has told the inquest she believes her daughter, who was born in Northern Ireland on October 6 2008 with a heart defect and a hole in the heart, could have lived if staff at Birmingham Children's Hospital had listened to her concerns.
The court heard that Hayley underwent palliative surgery at the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast weeks after she was born. She was then flown to Birmingham Children's Hospital for corrective heart surgery on October 14, 2009.
Ms Stevenson, who is from Northern Ireland but now lives on Australia's Gold Coast, said the operation was a success and Hayley was transferred to the hospital's Paediatric Intensive Care Unit, where she spent 17 days before being moved on to a normal ward.
On November 9 an X-ray revealed that Hayley's right lung had collapsed. She was given physiotherapy the following day but on the morning of November 11 both lungs collapsed and she went into cardiac arrest. She was pronounced dead after a team of doctors spent 20 minutes trying to save her, the inquest heard.
During the hearing Ms Stevenson said her child had been failed "abominably" by medical staff on ward 11, describing her experience as "brutal".
She said staff at the hospital neglected Hayley, "dumped" her at the end of a ward and ignored the family's concerns about her breathing as she recovered from her surgery.
Mandy Luckman, a medical lawyer from Irwin Mitchell representing Ms Stevenson, said: "The last four days have been extremely harrowing for the entire family.
"Paula and Hayley's granddad Edward Stevenson, who have both been called to give evidence to the coroner, have shown immense courage and dignity throughout."
The coroner said he would visit wards 11 and 12 of the hospital before the inquest resumes on September 12.