Family reject report on death of boy sent home from hospital

Five-year-old Yusuf Mahmud Nazir died on 23 November 2022

The family of a five-year-old boy who died after being sent home from hospital have rejected a report which found his care was appropriate.

Yusuf Mahmud Nazir died on 23 November, eight days after he was seen at Rotherham General Hospital and sent home with antibiotics.

A report into his care was published on Thursday, after his family claimed he should have been admitted to hospital.

Yusuf's uncle, Zaheer Ahmed, said: "It's not an accurate report."

Yusuf died after a severe infection spread to his lungs.

The report made several recommendations, but said "these would not have changed the course of events" for the child.

Yusuf died eight days after he was sent home from hospital

Yusuf, who had asthma and suffered from repeated respiratory infections, was taken to hospital by his family on 14 November complaining of a sore throat.

He had been given antibiotics the previous day by a GP, but his condition had not improved and he was having difficulty breathing.

After a six-hour wait in hospital, the youngster was seen by a doctor who diagnosed severe tonsillitis and prescribed more antibiotics.

But his condition deteriorated and he was taken to Sheffield Children's Hospital by ambulance on 18 November. He died five days later.

The family called for an investigation, arguing Yusuf should have been admitted to hospital earlier.

Yusuf suffered multiple organ failure and several cardiac arrests as a result of the infection

"It's not what has happened to Yusuf. A lot of information is missing," Mr Ahmed said, after reading the report.

"We were begging for IV [intravenous] treatment. We were begging for them to just observe him while he was having these breathing episodes. Nothing was done."

The independent review, commissioned by South Yorkshire's NHS Integrated Care Board, stated that when Yusuf was initially seen at hospital his "clinical observations did not warrant an admission".

Mr Ahmed countered: "At the time, they said we've got no beds available, we've got no doctors available, we've got children waiting in the waiting area. Nobody listened to us."

Yusuf's uncle Zaheer Ahmed had led calls for an independent inquiry

According to the report, admissions were still being made to the children's ward at that time. It stated if it had it been "considered necessary" to admit Yusuf, "a bed would have been found".

The report, by Niche Health and Social Care Consulting, detailed how a key theme raised by the case was the experience of Yusuf's family, and how they felt their concerns had not been listened to.

Yusuf's mother was experienced in managing his asthma as well as his "repeated respiratory infections", the report noted, and she expressed her concern many times while they were in Rotherham's urgent and emergency care centre,

"An admission to the children's ward at Rotherham Hospital, which, while not clinically indicated, could have been given more consideration and could have been discussed with his family, given their concerns," the report stated.

'Empowerment for parents'

The report highlighted this issue as a "key point of learning for the future assessment of sick children".

Among several recommendations made, it said there was a need for the development of a process that would "enable empowerment for parents without conflict".

The report said: "How his family felt they were treated, and spoken with, is very real and is an important reflection for everyone involved in this very sad situation."

Dr Jo Beahan, medical director at the Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust, said changes would be made to staffing to make sure children were seen in a more "timely fashion".

She added the trust would look at other aspects, including the value in "listening to parents and dealing with parental concerns".

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: "Our deepest sympathies are with Yusuf's family.

"Anyone has the right to make a complaint about any aspect of NHS care, treatment or service and there are arrangements in place for families to provide feedback. These arrangements are an important means of identifying about where and how NHS services can be improved.

"We are committed to ensuring that the NHS listens to, learns from and acts on feedback, including complaints, in order to improve the safety and quality of services."