A family are threatening legal action against Royal Oldham Hospital after their daughter died of a rare heart infection.

An inquest heard that doctors failed to spot signs that Lola Wood was suffering from heart problems when she and her twin sister were readmitted to hosptial at five days old suffering from jaundice.

Their mum, Kelly Gibson, of Welbeck Avenue, Chadderton, told the hearing that on direct comparison with her sister Maddison, Lola was clearly distressed. But doctors and nursing staff ignored her concerns until it was too late.

She said: "I was constantly comparing one to the other and you could tell Lola wasn’t right.

"Within seconds of a nurse leaving, Lola went floppy and her breathing became more laboured. I scooped her up and took her to the nurses station and they all just panicked."

Despite attempts to resuscitate her, Lola died within the hour on October 9, 2008. Less than three days later the family were to re-live their nightmare as Maddison, who had been discharged from the Royal Oldham the day her older twin died, was rushed to Booth Hall Hospital displaying the same symptoms. But she managed to survive.

Speaking after the inquest at Oldham Magistrates’ Court, Kelly Gibson and Lola’s dad Colin Wood raised grave concerns about the standards of care given.

Kelly said: "I don’t think they could’ve saved Lola but if they listened to us they could have had a better chance. It scares me that they couldn’t do anything after she displayed all the classic symptoms of someone with cardiac trouble."

The couple, who also have a six-year-old daughter Izzy, said they are making a formal complaint of negligence against Pennine Acute Hospitals Trust and are seeking legal advice.

Speaking at the inquest Dr Suhail Ahmed, the consultant paediatrician who dealt with Lola at the Royal Oldham, said: "Because people had seen what had happened to the first sibling (Lola) it was easy to see there was a cardiac issue with Maddison. But I couldn’t have done anything else. We did not expect such an unfortunate outcome."

Recording a verdict of natural causes, Coroner Simon Nelson said: "I don’t believe that even if there had been a specific diagnosis that baby Lola’s untimely death would have been averted."