Maddison smiled without a care in the world. Days later the unthinkable happened

A report into the hospital treatment given to a child who died two days after her first birthday has revealed 'delays' in elements of her care - and made recommendations to ensure signs of septic shock are spotted earlier.

'Bubbly' Maddison Rose Patricia Halliday was rushed by ambulance to North Manchester General hospital on October 20 last year after becoming feverish at home. She died the following day after being transferred to the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital.

An inquest into her death has not been held. But a clinical case review of the hospital treatment she received has revealed that she contracted sepsis after suffering an ear infection - and that communication issues, 'compounded' by logistical problems - occurred during her treatment.

Septic shock is a severe complication of sepsis in which blood pressure drops to dangerously low levels.

Her parents, Josh Holliday and Shannon Rhodes, from Bury, spoke last year to the Manchester Evening News of their heartache, days after they sat at her bedside as she passed away. They described the tot as 'amazing' and the 'happiest child' they had ever met.

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Maddison was taken to the Paediatric Emergency Department (PED) at North Manchester General Hospital on the morning of October 20 2022.

She presented as 'generally unwell' on arrival, with a rash on her back and legs. Her family said she had been 'floppy, irritable, and vomiting'.

Until then, she had been 'healthy and developing well', apart from an ear infection, for which she had been taking antibiotics. In her first review, a junior doctor was concerned she there were signs of sepsis from the ear infection.

She was then