A doctor and two nurses have been charged with manslaughter over the death of a six-year-old boy who was allegedly mistaken for another child who had a “do not resuscitate” order.

Jack Adcock died of pneumonia at Leicester Royal Infirmary after Dr Hadiza Bawa-Garba allegedly confused him with another youngster who had already been discharged.

The Crown Prosecution Service announced that Bawa-Garba and two nurses – sister Theresa Taylor and staff nurse Isabel Amaro – had been charged with gross negligence manslaughter over his death.

Jack, who had Down’s syndrome, was admitted to hospital on 18 February 2011 with sickness and diarrhoea. However, he developed pneumonia and septic shock and died later that day.

At an inquest at Leicester town hall in July last year, Bawa-Garba said she had interrupted attempts to resuscitate Jack believing he was under a “do not resuscitate” order. The paediatrician said she had mistaken Jack for another boy who had been discharged earlier that day.

As soon as she realised her mistake, she returned to Jack with a team of medics but their attempts to save him were unsuccessful. The inquest was halted after it heard that Jack may have been mistaken for another boy.

Fiona Morrison, specialist prosecutor with the Crown Prosecution Service special crime division, said: “We have carefully considered the evidence gathered by Leicestershire police into the treatment and care of Jack Adcock.

“Having completed our review, we have concluded there is sufficient evidence and it is in the public interest for Dr Bawa-Garba, Sister Taylor and Staff Nurse Amaro to each face charges of gross negligence manslaughter.”

Speaking of Jack’s final minutes, his mother, Nicola Grey, of Glen Parva in Leicestershire, told the inquest that she was crying hysterically when medics took out his tubes, with one nurse telling her: “Jack needs his mummy.”

Within minutes, Grey said, a doctor came rushing in and said: “He can have everything,” before she was “shoved” out of the room.

The inquest was told that Jack’s father, Vic, had left the hospital at about 7.20pm when they believed their son was getting better. However, he fell unconscious just an hour later and never recovered.

In a tribute after his death, Grey said: “Jack loved life and life loved Jack. The room lit up when he walked in. He broke so many hearts wherever he went.

“He was like a magnet, with his cheeky smile and his cheeky ways. Everyone loved him. He was always happy and smiling.

“We miss him so much. Our life is empty, painful and horrible without Jack, and will never be the same again. He was an amazing son, such a special little boy who was one in a million. Jack was such a tough cookie.”