Toddler Dies After Being Discharged from Hospital, Parents to Face Doctors in Legal Review One Year Later

A toddler who swallowed a toilet cleaner dies one week after she was discharged from the hospital. Authorities want a further investigation of how the tragic incident happened. 

According to BBC, Arietta-Grace Barnett started vomiting a "bright pink" liquid on June 28, 2019. Because of that, she got rushed to Southampton General Hospital on the same day. On July 2, 2019, her doctors allowed her to go home because they believed that the little girl's condition had started to improve.

Back to the hospital

However, her parents brought her back to the hospital on July 9, 2019. The two-year-old suffered cardiac arrest and bleeding, which led to her death. According to Sky News, Rosamund Rhodes-Kemp, the coroner, explained what happened in detail. 

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She said that a recent inquest believed that Barnett had access to the toilet cleaner even though manufacturers said it was child-proof. The girl swallowed a Toilet Duck gel capsule that was designed to slowly release chemicals when stuck to the toilet bowl. 

Difference in color between the vomit and the toilet cleaner

Rhodes-Kemp also noted the unclear reason for the difference in the color of the toddler's vomit with the cleaner color. She said that Barnett's vomit was color pink while the toilet cleaner was blue-green. 

According to The Guardian, the coroner said the untoward incident needs further investigation because it seemed hard to connect the dots. She noted the connection between the product and what had happened was difficult to understand. 

(Photo : GoFundMe)

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Rhodes-Kemp explained to the outlet the mechanism of the cleaner. She said that it was designed not to be flushed through by the water and should stick to a wet surface. She added that the manufacturer should be aware if their product contains agents that could cause that kind of corrosion. 

She also said that the production company should investigate themselves and take measures to avoid having the same incident from occurring. 

First in the world

A pediatric surgeon, Simon Keys, said that it would be the first time to happen in the world if the toilet cleaner chemical had caused Barnett's death. He told The Guardian that the tragedy has wide implications for everyone including the medical team and the manufacturer. 

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Barnett's relative created a GoFundMe page to help her brother and sister-in-law. The page reads that even though a year had already passed, the parents still have to undergo the pain as they face the inquest into the circumstances of their daughter's death. 

Apart from that, they also want to know why their daughter's doctors did what they did. The organizer also wrote that the funds would help support legal fees to make sure that Barnett's parents would find answers to their questions.