THE mum of a 6-year-old girl from Harlow who died months after a routine appendix operation says she is’ hopeful lessons will be learnt from her death in hospital.’ reports the Local Democracy Reporter.

Ruby Rose Trussler died in hospital from sepsis brought on by a bowel obstruction, caused by scar issue from an earlier appendix removal operation.

Five months after that routine operation, Ruby was admitted to Princess Alexandra Hospital on October 7, having complained of pain. She was transferred to Addenbrooke’s Hospital by ambulance to have an operation on October 8 , which the family says ‘should have been quick and easy.’

Ruby’s Mum, Emma, said there were ‘delays with organising an X-Ray and transport from PAH to Addenbrookes.’ But Ruby contracted sepsis and, over the next following days in the PICU at Addenbrooke’s, Ruby had several operations.

She didn’t wake up after the first operation. On Friday October 11 a week after she first became sick, Ruby’s parents made the painful decision to turn off the machine that was keeping her alive.

She said Princess Alexandra have committed to changes to improve their services following an inquest hearing that concluded earlier in the month with the cause of death as natural causes.

She said: “This is what we wanted because we don’t want anyone else to go through what would go through.” The family add the charity they have set up – the Ruby Rose Foundation – will ensure Ruby’s name will endure.

She said: “In setting up The Ruby Rose Foundation, we can ensure that Ruby’s legacy will live on forever. We are hoping this will help families who have been affected by sepsis because we know personally as well how much bereavement counselling costs and hopefully we would like to be able to help people if they need it.”

Jo Ward, Interim Chief Nurse at The Princess Alexandra Hospital NHS Trust (PAHT), said: “We offer our deepest condolences on the sad loss of Ruby and our thoughts continue to be with her family.

“We are unable to comment on individual cases, however, we have fully investigated the circumstances surrounding Ruby’s care and treatment at our hospital and with our partner organisations. We are committed to ensuring that learning from any incident is part of our focus on continuous improvement.”