Lily Gibson, from Halfway near Sheffield, died at the Bodrum resort in Mugla, Turkey
A three-year-old girl died after falling ill at a Turkish holiday may have been poisoned by paracetamol prescribed by foreign medics, a pre-inquest heard.
Lily Gibson’s parents Lisa and Chris took her to a walk-in medical centre after she suffered ‘yellowing’ of the skin – a symptom of jaundice – and was given a prescription for a nearby pharmacy.
But the keen dancer later died in her hotel room after being given drugs said to have included paracetamol during the Thomas Cook holiday in August 2018 to the Bodrum resort in Mugla, Turkey.
A pre-inquest review in Sheffield yesterday heard Lily, from Halfway near the South Yorkshire city, may have suffered fatal liver damage after being poisoned by an ‘inappropriate dose’.
Assistant coroner Professor Robert Forrest said paediatric pathologist Dr Marta Cohen analysed Lily’s organs after they were flown to Britain, but she could not determine a cause of death.
Lily may have suffered fatal liver damage after being poisoned by an ‘inappropriate dose’
However, she expressed ‘worries’ about the medicine Lily was advised to take.
Mr Forrest said: ‘Lily plainly had a problem with her liver and what Dr Cohen wants to do is look at all the details we have of the treatment Lily received at the walk-in centre in Turkey.
‘Not to beat about the bush, the thing that slightly worries Dr Cohen could be an inappropriate dose of paracetamol being given to Lily.
‘I’m not in any way suggesting that is the cause of death but it is something that Dr Cohen wants to look at.’
Mr Gibson said Lily spent six hours at the medical centre and was wired up to a drip before being discharged with a prescription for rehydration sachets, magnesium and a drug which ‘we assumed was their version of Calpol’.
The hearing was also told the British Foreign Office has requested vital documents, including a Turkish police report, but these have still not yet been provided.
Lily spent six hours at the medical centre and was wired up to a drip before being discharged with a prescription for rehydration sachets, magnesium and a drug equivalent to Calpol.
In April, a coroner at a pre-inquest hearing asked Thomas Cook to provide information about cleanliness and food safety standards at the four-star hotel, a popular destination for British families.
The four-star Bodrum resort in Mugla, Turkey, where three-year-old Lily died in August 2018
Lawyers representing Lily’s parents were previously said to be hoping to investigate whether the child could have contracted a bacterial infection such as E.coli, salmonella or shigella.
Mr Gibson told the hearing in April: ‘We just want to know what’s happened.’
At the previous hearing, Mr Gibson was also asked if he was given ‘accurate information’ on what dosage to give his daughter by Turkish medics.
He told the coroner: ‘No. I was given a prescription by the reception and told to go fetch it myself. I went to the pharmacy around the corner and they gave it to me.’
Lily’s final inquest next year is also set to look at whether evidence of poor food safety at the hotel – which reportedly had a hygiene score of 54 per cent – could have caused her to fall ill in the first place.
It is suspected that she may have contracted a type of viral hepatitis, which could also have led to her death.
Friends and family raised more than £4,000 for the Gibsons, with one relative describing the tragedy as ‘the worst possible scenario imaginable’.
The relative said: ‘Without any explanation, a three-year-old beautiful, happy baby girl was taken from a kind, loving family.
The coroner insisted that the liquidation of Thomas Cook last month would ‘not affect in any way the thoroughness of my inquest into Lily’s death’
‘Lily passed away with absolutely no warning whatsoever and there was no way of preparing for the loss.
‘To lose a child under any circumstances is horrific, to lose a child while on a family holiday when it should be a time of joy and love is hard to even fathom.’
Mr Forrest previously said in April that there had been a reported anecdotal increase in illnesses at the hotel around the time of the Gibsons’ holiday.
He said: ‘The evidence of poor food safety at the hotel and the possibility that Lily died as a consequence of a food-related illness provides justification for additional inquiries of Thomas Cook.’
A spokesman for the now-defunct firm said in April: ‘Our deepest condolences are with the family after the heartbreaking death of their daughter on holiday last year.
‘We have provided the coroner with all the information we have been able to gather from the hotel and healthcare facilities.
‘The cause of death remains unclear. We continue to support the Coroner and the family in any way we can and await the outcome of the inquest.’
Mr Forrest insisted yesterday that the liquidation of the company last month would ‘not affect in any way the thoroughness of my inquest into Lily’s death’ and promised a ‘full and fearless investigation’.