THE heartbroken parents of a premature baby girl who died after a hospital blunder have said they were ‘fobbed off’ by health bosses about her worsening condition.

Betsy Rose Riley was born early at 24 weeks on February 7, 2016 at Princess Anne Hospital, Southampton.

Mum Leanda Collins and her partner, Neil Riley, of Newport Road, Ventnor, on the Isle of Wight, noticed she lost grip in her fingers and suddenly stopped moving her arms.

“We questioned it straightaway. We noticed a huge sudden change but we kept getting fobbed off,” said Leanda.

Tests revealed an abnormality in Betsy’s spinal column and five weeks later on March 30, she died.

At an inquest this week, coroner Grahame Short heard from the University Southampton NHS Foundation Trust that a feeding tube had been inserted incorrectly into Betsy’s artery. An X-ray taken did not reveal the mistake to staff.

A post mortem revealed Betsy died of an infarction on her spinal cord and complications due to being premature.

Mr Short concluded that “on the balance of probabilities” the placement of the line had led to the infarction.

A trust spokesman said: “Betsy’s death was extremely sad and difficult for everyone involved with her care and our thoughts remain with her parents and family. We will continue to offer them our support and will keep them updated with changes made to minimise the risk of a similar error occurring in the future.”