A MUM has thanked the city's hospital for helping her baby boy to beat an illness that could have claimed his life.

Jamie Nicholson was admitted to Worcestershire Royal Hospital's children's ward in March with a viral respiratory condition called bronchiolitis.

His mum, Olivia Yapp, praised hospital staff for helping Jamie to battle the condition over the course of four nights.

Miss Yapp, aged 25, of Astwood Road, Worcester, said: "It could have been life-threatening.

"He could have lost his life. I wouldn't say he was on death's doorstep but if I left it any longer it might have got a lot worse.

"I took him to out-of-hours at A&E on Sunday morning and the on-call doctor took him to the children's ward. The hospital could have sent us home, but they admitted him to hospital.

"He was there for four nights. It was terrifying."

She added that staff at the hospital gave Jamie their full attention and treated him with medicine, oxygen and antibiotics.

He was released from hospital after four nights, although he returned 12 hours later after his condition deteriorated.

The youngster's second stay on the ward lasted for two days, before he headed back home.

Jamie, who is now seven-months-old, has since made a full recovery.

Miss Yapp, whose mum works as an NHS cleaner, added: "I want to say thank you. Straight from the bottom to the top, the hospital's run really smoothly.

"From the night nurses to the day nurses you never knew when there was a change of shift. Even the cleaners were really nice and made an effort to speak to you.

"When I was sat there on my own and Jamie was asleep, the nurses would just sit with me to keep me company."

Miss Yapp, who gave birth to both of her children at Worcestershire Royal, first noticed Jamie was unwell when he started coughing and developed a temperature.

Her partner, Dale Nicholson, also wants to thank the hospital staff for their amazing service.

He lavished praise on a midwife who helped Miss Yapp give birth to Jamie in March.

The Parcel Force worker said the midwife was unable to get home because of the Beast from the East.

He added that she spent the night sleeping at the hospital to make sure there were enough people present to deal with the delivery.

A spokesman for Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust said: “We’re pleased to hear that the family had a positive experience in our care.

"All staff across our hospitals work exceptionally hard day in, day out to provide the best possible care to all our patients.

"We’re grateful for this feedback and will share her comments with our staff who will be delighted to hear her views.”