Grieving Mother Sets Up Support Group

23 April 2012, 17:04 | Updated: 23 April 2012, 18:07

Joanne Hughes from Hitchin has set up a support group offering advice to parents of ill children that are concerned about the treatment they are receiving in hospital.

It follows the death of her daughter Jasmine who died at just 20 months old.

Jasmine caught a rare natural disease and was treated at both the Lister Hospital in Stevenage and Great Ormond Street.

Joanne told Heart that doctors delayed Jasmines treatment. 

She says it was made clear during the inquest last week that this had been due to communication problems between the two hospitals.

On top of this, Joanne felt as though medical professionals did not listen to her when she knew her daughter’s condition was deteriorating.

"I said to them that I felt that my child was fading, I felt like I was losing her, I thought she shouldn't be waiting for diagnostic tests it just simply did not make sense to me that my child was being sent home"

Joanne has therefore decided to call the support group Mother's Instinct.

She is getting help from two other mothers who also believe hospitals did not listen to their concerns about their children's health.

Lucy Connolly from Northampton who lost her son Harry in May last year and Odette Mould from Milton Keynes whose son, also called Harry, died in March 2009.

At the moment the support group exists only as a Facebook Group but Joanne hopes it will become a registered charity. 

To access the Facebook group Mother's Instinct click here