THE death of a seven-week-old baby, who passed away within 24 hours of a visit to Royal Blackburn Hospital, could not have been prevented by a longer stay or extra treatment, an inquest ruled.

Baby Ameen Mizan was born six weeks prematurely to parents Mohammed and Mavish, of Lambeth Street, Blackburn, on November 9, 2013, the Blackburn hearing was told.

Coroner Michael Singleton heard that on Christmas Eve, Mr Mizan noticed Ameen lose consciousness and turn a ‘blue-ish’ colour following a normal feed.

Ameen was taken to hospital in an emergency ambulance with his father but appeared well on arrival, according to Dr Rosemary Belderbos, who treated him at the time.

Speaking at the inquest, Dr Belderbos said: “He showed a normal temperature and, after a full examination, appeared to be well. He was referred to the children’s ward for observation and kept in overnight. The most likely cause of the problem was a choking episode.”

Dr Belderbos went on to say that Ameen was discharged the next day, Christmas Day.

But he was rushed back to Royal Blackburn Hospital in cardiac arrest on Boxing Day and CPR was carried out for 35 minutes but, Dr Belderbos explained, resuscitation was not possible.

She said the hospital had investigated the chain of events leading up to Ameen’s sudden death, but found there was nothing else they could have done to prevent his passing.

She added: “If we’d have kept him in hospital for longer, it is my opinion that sadly, the same thing would have happened to him.”

Dr Gauri Batra, a consultant pathologist who carried out a post mortem examination. said there were no signs of injury or infection and no underlying medical conditions detected.

Mr Singleton addressed Ameen’s father and said: “On the balance of probabilities, we can rule that this was a natural death. We do not know what causes infant cot death and we may never know exactly what caused Ameen’s death, but we can safely conclude that it was natural.”