Inquest continues for six-year-old girl from Harlow who died after appendix surgery
Ruby Trussler died from multiple organ failure caused by sepsis
Last updated 8th Jan 2026
An inquest for a six year old girl, who died seven months after having her appendix removed, is continuing today.
Ruby Trussler, from Harlow, has been called "a beacon of kindness and respect" by her family.
Her family turned out in numbers at Chelmsford Coroners Court, with Senior Coroner Lincoln Brookes remarking that he had "never seen this many members of the family" attend an inquest.
The inquest heard that Ruby’s cause of death was multiple organ failure, caused by sepsis, which was in turn caused by an adhesion as a complication of appendicitis surgery.
Ruby's parents, Emma and Dean, believe a lack of urgency “directly contributed” to Ruby’s death, and they say “significant delays” had a “catastrophic” outcome. A family statement told the court that Ruby was "always smiling", an "exceptional student", and would leave behind a "legacy of kindness, warmth, and joy."
The inquest heard from witnesses from Princess Alexandra Hospital, where Ruby was admitted before being transferred to Addenbrooke's Hospital on the 8th of October 2024.
Her post-mortem confirmed that she died on October 11th.
The hospital has offered their condolences to the family.
The inquest heard from a letter sent by the parents to Princess Alexandra Hospital, in which they launched a "formal complaint."
They believe that a lack of urgency "directly contributed" to Ruby's death, and feel there were missed opportunities.
They say that "significant delays" had a "catastrophic" outcome, and called her care "completely unacceptable."
Ruby was brought to Princess Alexandra Hospital by her father on the 7th of October, with blocked bowels and black bits in her vomit. She was transferred to the Cambridgeshire hospital when her condition worsened the next morning.
An abdominal adhesion was found, and surgeons tried to remove it. However, they found it had blocked blood flow to Ruby's left leg, which was then amputated.
Ruby never regained consciousness after the amputation surgery, and a follow-up procedure. Her life support was turned off on the 11th of October.
Vikki Stone, Head of Nursing and Neonates at Princess Alexandra Hospital, said:
"We are determined to learn from this experience."
She also commented that changes have happened to reduce delays and make referrals better.
Dr Kingston-Hepner, paediatric consultant, who was part of Ruby's care between admission at 9pm and 2am, told the inquest that she agreed that Ruby needed an x-ray earlier than she received it.
She said that black bits can be more common in children's vomit.
She also said that the hospital is now better at getting information for sepsis diagnoses, with new software helping medical professionals.
Dr Ray, who was also part of Ruby's care, said that Ruby's vomiting led to de-hydration, and that it was a "mystery" as to why Ruby had such a severe reaction.
She also said that there were things that could have changed about their care, but based on what they were presented with, they would not have acted differently with the information that they had at the time.
She remarked that things "seem to be very, very different" when Ruby arrived at Addenbrooke's Hospital.
An ambulance nurse who was part of Ruby's escort, wrote that she was in "visible discomfort." The journey to Addenbrooke's Hospital took 45 minutes. She accidentally left discharge documents inside the ambulance, which led to some confusion upon Ruby's admission.
Witnesses from the Cambridgeshire hospital will be appearing at the inquest today.