Mother’s instinct ignored by NHS before boy’s death
14 minutes agoGrace WoodBBC News, Yorkshire
HandoutA new report into the death of a five-year-old boy who died days after being sent home from a hospital emergency department has found the NHS failed to listen to a “mother’s instinct”.
Yusuf Nazir died eight days after he was prescribed antibiotics by staff at Rotherham General Hospital to treat a lung infection.
The 139-page NHS England report said the concerns of Yusuf’s family were repeatedly not acknowledged by healthcare providers.
The health service said it accepted the report’s recommendations and acknowledged the issues the investigation had uncovered.
Yusuf’s family has called for a full inquest and insisted that the NHS learn lessons from his death.
His mother, Sonyia Ahmed, said: “Every night when I close my eyes I hear Yusuf’s helpless voice in my ears saying, ‘Mummy, I can’t breathe, I can’t breathe, I really can’t’.
“And the image of him being handed over to me after his life ended, as though someone has torn my heart out and placed it in my hands.”
“My son was left to die right beside me. He was crying in pain yet he received no pain relief.”
“They say a mother’s instinct is a powerful thing, it can neither be ignored nor explained, yet my concerns were ignored each and every time,” she said.
“The report concluded 13 missed opportunities to escalate Yusuf’s care all while I was trusting the NHS to protect him.
“The failings identified are truly shocking. Yusuf deserved better, every child does.
“I will never stop speaking his name. I will never stop fighting for him. We demand accountability, we demand change.”
Jamie Coulson/BBCYusuf, who had asthma, died after the infection spread to his lungs.
He was first seen by a GP on 15 November 2022 and prescribed antibiotics. He was taken to Rotherham General Hospital’s emergency department, but was discharged with more medication.
Yusuf’s family said they were told they were “no beds and not enough doctors” and their son could not be admitted.
On November 18, he was taken to Sheffield Children’s Hospital and three days later he was admitted to intensive care.
On 23 November, Yusuf died after multiple organ failure and several cardiac arrests as a result of the infection.
PA MediaA report into Yusuf’s case in October 2023, by independent consultants and published by NHS South Yorkshire, found his care was appropriate and “an admission was not clinically required”, but this was rejected by his family.
The new report, led by the former general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, Peter Carter, stated: “Our primary finding is that the parental concerns, particularly the mother’s instinct that her child was unwell, were repeatedly not addressed across services.
“A reliance on clinical metrics over caregiver insight caused distress for the family.
“This led to a lack of shared decision-making and there was limited evidence of collaborative discussions with Yusuf’s family around clinical decisions, leading to a sense of exclusion and reduced trust in care plans.”
Health Secretary Wes Streeting, who met Yusuf’s family last year, said their concerns had “repeatedly not been addressed” by the NHS.
He said: “There are no excuses for the tragic failings in the lead up to Yusuf’s death and I know first hand how hard it has been for his family to live without the answers they deserve.
“It is now the responsibility of the NHS to implement the recommendations in this report so that the family can at least take small comfort in knowing that because of Yusuf, and thanks to Yusuf, children will be safer and better cared for in the future.”
Family handout/PA MEDIARotherham MP Sarah Champion backed the family’s call for an inquest.
She said: “The two inquiries the family have demanded and secured have showed 16 failures.
“I will stand with the family to make sure every one of those is acted on because that is the only way we can prevent this happening in the future.
“But still now they do not know why their beloved son died. So I stand in solidarity with them to get that inquest because it’s only with the truth that you will be able to move forward.”
Prof Aidan Fowler, national director of patient safety in England, said the health service was working to “ensure families are actively involved in care decisions”.
The report made a number of recommendations including training around communicating with caregivers and recognising and responding to “diverse cultural needs”.
It also called on the health service to record parental concerns, review workloads for ambulance crews, and review training around cannula, vascular access insertion, and intravenous therapy.
Dr David Crichton, chief medical officer at NHS South Yorkshire, said the organisation accepted the report’s recommendations in full.
Yusuf’s family called on the trust to ensure families were told that when their children were on a ventilator they may still be able to hear them, and should be encouraged to interact with them.
They also requested that any items such as clothing or equipment can be saved so families can keep as memories when a child died.
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