The mother of a one-year-old boy who died from sepsis has criticised the NHS 111 helpline after a report found it failed to identify 'red flags' for the infection. Melissa Mead spoke out after an NHS investigation into the death of her son, William, revealed that four opportunities to save his life were missed.
The report found that the 'tickbox' system used by call handlers did not include 'sepsis red flags', despite sepsis being one of the most common causes of death in children. William died in September 2014 within 12 hours of a call to the 111 helpline, which had advised that his condition was non-urgent.
Ms Mead said she had been reassured by the advice she received, but later realised the system was 'broken'. She added that repeated visits to a local GP in Cornwall also failed to diagnose the seriousness of his condition. The report identified 16 mistakes that contributed to William's death, including pressure on doctors not to prescribe antibiotics and difficulties accessing patient records out of hours.
Lindsey Scott, director of nursing at NHS England South West, said the report showed that had different action been taken, William would most likely have survived. Dr Ron Daniels of the UK Sepsis Trust said more needs to be done to educate health professionals and the public about sepsis.
