Family of Archie Squire ‘keeping his memory alive’

“When you take your child to hospital and they don’t come back out again – I just couldn’t wish it on anyone.”

Lauren Parrish and Jake Squire have spoken of their shock and grief following the death of their one-year-old son Archie.

Archie suffered heart failure just days after his first birthday, following repeated visits to the Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother (QEQM) Hospital in Margate.

“They just didn’t do everything they could,” Lauren said, following an inquest into his death.

The couple told the BBC their little boy had “brightened everyone’s life”.

“He was a happy little boy. He just brought us all together as a family,” Lauren said.

But they had noticed that their son was not growing and developing as he should have been.

“We didn’t quite realise how small he was until we looked at the other one-year-old children,” said Lauren.

“He wasn’t walking. He was hardly crawling. It was just such a shock.”

Regarding the care Archie received at the QEQM hospital in Margate, Jake said: “We never got a straight answer to what was actually wrong with him. Never.

“We would say one thing and they would say they know best.

“If they had put him down as ‘failure to thrive’ he would have been seen within 24 to 48 hours for a heart scan and then obviously he would have been fixed from there.

“It’s too late.”

Lauren and Jake said they have been supported by family throughout their ordeal.

The family has attended every session of the coroner’s court regarding Archie’s death.

Lauren said her parents were often the ones looking after Archie and had frequently expressed their concerns.

She said her mother would tell her “he’s not right – we need to take him to get checked”.

“You never expect your children to pass before you,” said Lauren.

“You’ve got your child one day and the next he’s not there. It’s just heartbreaking.”

Jake said their younger son, Albie, keeps them going.

“I think the main thing for us, for the family, is just keeping his memory alive,” said Lauren.

At an inquest, Sarah Clarke, area coroner for North East Kent, concluded there was “no doubt” that an earlier diagnosis of a congenital heart defect would have “altered the outcome” of Archie’s care.

The coroner recorded Archie’s cause of death as heart failure and congenitally corrected transposition of the great arteries.

She told the family: “You are an absolute credit to each other and have supported each other outstandingly throughout this process.

“From my point of view and the view of the entire coroner service, we will never forget Archie.”