Brit baby boy dies while on holiday with his parents in Algarve after suddenly falling ill with septicaemia

A BRITISH baby boy has died in an Algarve hospital after falling ill while on holiday with his parents. The 11-month baby lost his life while awaiting a 50-minute transfer from an intensive care unit at Portimao Hospital to Faro Hospital to reportedly be treated for septicaemia. .Portimao Hospital where the British boy is said to have died waiting on a transfer[/caption] The baby boy was found to have developed septicaemia and died later that day The youngster was pronounced dead late on Friday after his condition worsened, with sources saying he went into cardiac arrest on route to an air ambulance. The tragedy has led to demands for an investigation in Portugal after it emerged a medicalised helicopter had to be scrambled to take the baby to Faro because a lack of specialist staff made a normal transfer by road impossible. The unnamed child, thought to have fallen ill with bronchitis before medics discovered he had septicaemia, died at Portimao Hospital after his condition worsened. Portuguese news outlet Correio da Manha claimed medics on the Algarve had initially sought a transfer to Santa Cruz Hospital in Lisbon before deciding to transfer the baby to Faro using an air ambulance. The youngster has been described locally only as a “foreign child”, but well-placed sources confirmed today he was British and was on holiday with his family. A spokesman for Portugal’s National Institute of Medical Emergency (INEM), said it had a received a request from Portimao Hospital to transport an 11-month-old baby to an intensive care paediatric unit at 2.18pm local time on Friday. They insisted the child was being “properly accompanied” by the hospital’s paediatric teams at the time. In a statement it added that the Faro Hospital was “without paediatrics” and the paediatric transport ambulance was “inoperative”. The INEM spokesman said the baby suffered a “worsening of its clinical condition which prevented the transfer and led to the medical teams returning to Portimao Hospital around 5.45pm after initiating procedures for the helicopter journey.” The agency added: “INEM deeply regrets the outcome of this situation and we send our sincere and heartfelt condolences to the baby’s family.” A union chief demanded an investigation into the British child’s hospital death before the INEM reacted. A Portuguese hospital union chief Rui Lazaro said other solutions could have been activated such as the transfer of a specialist medical team to Portimao Hospital by helicopter. He insisted: “They could have come from Lisbon, or Coimbra or even from Porto. “Someone from INEM or from the guidance centre for emergency patients must have made that decision not to activate that option. “We don’t know why it occurred and this needs to be properly investigated. “The appropriate means were not made available in a timely manner.” Local reports said the youngster went into cardiac arrest as he was being taken to the air ambulance. Well-placed sources said the youngster had been put on antibiotics after being diagnosed with bronchitis. They allege he was getting better at his holiday accommodation with his family before taking a turn for the worse and being admitted to Portimao Hospital where doctors discovered he had septicaemia. The source said: “The main problem was that the ambulance that would normally have taken the child to Faro Hospital was inoperative because there was no paediatric emergency physician available. “It was off-duty for 24 hours.” THIS IS A DEVELOPING STORY… The Sun is your go to destination for the best celebrity news, football news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures and must-see video. Download our fantastic, new and improved free App for the best ever Sun Online experience. For iPhone click here, for Android click here.  Like us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TheSun and follow us from our main Twitter account at @TheSun.