THE parents of a baby who died of sepsis have criticised his hospital care, as legal proceedings concluded.

Layton Boys-Hope was rushed to Sunderland Royal Hospital by parents Dave and Nicol on February 8, 2015.

The one-year-old had been recovering from chicken pox when he became ill at home. On arrival at hospital he had a temperature of 39.9°C and his left foot was purple.

The boy was assessed around half an hour after he was admitted, at which time an enlargement of his liver was recorded and a possible bacterial infection noted.

He was given Calpol to lower his temperature but blood tests were not assessed for three and a half hours, when a low white blood cell count was discovered.

Specialists at Hudgell Solicitors- who led the family’s legal case against City Hospitals Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the hospital- said this should have triggered an immediate decision to administer antibiotics to fight infection.

After further tests Layton was moved to a ward at 9pm and given antibiotics at 11.25pm but his condition deteriorated. He was transferred to theatre but died after 30 minutes of CPR.

An inquest heard earlier antibiotics may have saved the boy’s life.

The Trust admitted it had breached its duty of care by failing to carry out observations or assessments to establish Layton’s clinical condition for six hours but denied liability for his death.

His parents have now agreed a damages settlement with the Trust.

The couple, who have six other children, want others to be aware of how serious sepsis can be and the need for doctors to act speedily.

Dave, 38, an optical lab technician, said: “All of us are total shadows of our former selves after losing Layton and it makes it even harder to accept or understand when you know he was let down.”

The couple have set up an online fundraising page called Layton’s Legacy to raise funds and awareness for The UK Sepsis Trust.

Ian Martin, medical director at the Trust, said in the past three years there has been a major focus on ‎increasing awareness of sepsis to support healthcare professionals in recognising and treating symptoms of the 'silent killer'.

He said it was a key quality improvement priority and a dedicated sepsis lead now works with teams across the Trust to provide regular training and support for staff.

"Sepsis is a serious complication of an infection and a leading cause of death across the UK‎. It is extremely difficult to recognise and diagnose and working together with the UK Sepsis Trust, the NHS is now making great strides to raise awareness amongst all staff groups to help potentially save more lives in future."