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Leybourne dad to raise money for Pembury hospital after department prescribed baby son antibiotics strong enough for 11-stone child

A dad is hoping to improve safety at a hospital department after they prescribed his baby son medication “10 times the correct dosage”.

After being taken to Tunbridge Wells Hospital at Pembury with a chest infection, doctors prescribed Archie Moorcroft, who was just 11 months old at the time, with antibiotics powerful enough for an 11-stone child.

Archie Moorcroft was prescribed antibiotics powerful enough for an 11-stone child
Archie Moorcroft was prescribed antibiotics powerful enough for an 11-stone child

Despite the mistake, dad Conor is taking on monthly challenges throughout the year in the hope of raising money for the paediatrics department so no child will have the same experience.

Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust has since apologised for the “extremely rare” incident and a spokesman said they take such things “very seriously” to ensure lessons are learned, and investments made in technology such as electronic prescribing to help support patient safety.

Little Archie first developed a persistent cough after starting nursery at the end of 2024. He was checked by his GP several times.

But when he developed a fever, his dad and mum, Kim, took him to Maidstone Hospital for further investigation.

Doctors told them to bring him back if he developed another temperature so when he did on December 22, they took him to Pembury on the advice of 111.

Archie became sicker after taking the prescribed medication
Archie became sicker after taking the prescribed medication

After being seen, Archie, who is now a year old, was prescribed antibiotics which Kim picked up the following morning and gave him immediately.

Conor said: “Straight away after, he sort of didn’t seem himself. He seemed really ill.

“We assumed if he was taking the antibiotics he would get better so we gave him his second dose four hours later which he threw up about 20 minutes after taking them.

“Then the third dose, he threw up straight away.”

Kim, worried Archie could not keep the medication down, took him to the Tesco pharmacy close by to ask if there was anything they could advise.

The antibiotics doctors at Pembury prescribed Archie
The antibiotics doctors at Pembury prescribed Archie

Conor said: “The pharmacist just sort of straight away went ‘Oh Jesus - you need to get him up to the hospital now.’

“They had given him the dosage for an 11-stone child rather than an 11-kilo baby.

“And, the particular antibiotic they had given him was a last resort. There were so many others they could have, it’s not really given to children - it’s an adult one.”

The couple have raised complaints with the hospital but Conor is hoping to help improve the department by taking matters into his own hands and doing something positive.

Over the coming year, he aims to complete a cyclothon of more than 2,000 miles to raise as much money as possible to go towards additional training and technology to stop something similar happening again.

Archie with his dad Conor and mum Kim
Archie with his dad Conor and mum Kim

It will be split into 12 monthly challenges, starting with a few miles on the bike but each ride getting longer, and harder, as he goes. It will culminate in a 300-mile ride.

A link to his JustGiving page can be found here.

On his page, Conor writes: "This prescription turned out to be 10 times the safe dose for our baby and inevitably made him even more poorly."

He added: “The way I look at it is that a more effective way to improve is to raise funds for the department so they can improve for the next child’s care or, God forbid, if we ever need to use them again.”

A spokesperson for Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust said: “Our priority is to provide safe, high-quality care to everyone and we are very sorry that on this occasion some areas of our service have fallen short of our high standards.

“While incorrect prescriptions are extremely rare, we take these incidents very seriously to ensure we are learning and investing in technology such as electronic prescribing to help support patient safety.

“We once again offer our sincere apologies to Mr and Mrs Moorcroft for Archie’s care.”

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