Esta High died at Leeds General Infirmary in November 2023, days after she was taken into the A&E with a high temperature and vomiting.
Her parents Lynsey Carr and Leon High claimed doctors missed crucial opportunities to test for a bacterial infection and begin vital antibiotic treatment.
Ms Carr told an inquest at Wakefield Coroner’s Court how their concerns were ignored until it was too late.
An inquest jury of five women and six men concluded on Tuesday that: “Esta died of natural causes which was contributed to by neglect.
“Had Esta received required care, based on the balance of probabilities, it would have probably saved or prolonged her life.”
The jury said chances were missed as doctors stuck with a Covid diagnosis after she tested positive for coronavirus.
There was no dispute that the young girl’s cause of death was streptococcus pneumoniae meningitis, the court heard.
Lawyers for Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust admitted during the inquest that there had been missed opportunities to diagnose the bacterial infection which causes meningitis and give Esta antibiotics.
Ms Carr told the jury how Esta was a “happy, healthy, smiling girl” before she became ill on 31 October 2023.
The family, from Leeds, was put in a side room at the hospital’s children’s assessment and treatment (CAT) unit, Ms Carr told the inquest.
She believed staff were more concerned with isolating Esta due to the risk of Covid than with listening to her and Mr High.
Ms Carr said she and Mr High refused doctors’ advice to take Esta home as she had a temperature above 40C and would not stop vomiting.
She said her daughter developed a rash and her arm started shaking, which she feared was a seizure.
Mr High filmed Esta’s arm movements and this was shown to the jury.
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Ms Carr told the jury “we were extremely worried” and “we kept asking for help”, but “staff were rude and don’t listen to our concerns”.
She said Esta’s time on the CAT unit was “15 hours that were filled with missed opportunities”.
By late afternoon on 2 November, Esta was not responding and the jury heard how scans and other tests showed evidence of meningoencephalitis and streptococcus pneumoniae.
Esta was taken to intensive care and efforts were made to save her life, but Ms Carr said it was too late. The child died on 6 November.
Ms Carr told the jury: “In just five months, Esta touched the lives of everyone who met her.”
She added: “Unfortunately, as our daughter had been left untreated for 55 hours, it was too late to save our darling girl.”
Dr Elizabeth Garthwaite, chief medical officer at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “We are deeply sorry that we failed Esta and her family, and offer our sincere and heartfelt condolences to Lynsey and Leon following the tragic death of their daughter.”
Dr Garthwaite added: “We recognise that serious failures occurred in the care provided to Esta and that these failures had devastating consequences.
“We take the concerns raised by the coroner extremely seriously and will carefully consider the report’s findings and recommendations.
“We are committed to responding openly and fully, and to taking any further action necessary to improve patient safety.”
