The mother of a one-year-old boy who died from sepsis has called for urgent reform of the NHS 111 helpline, following a report that found multiple missed opportunities to save his life. William Mead passed away in September 2014 within 12 hours of a call to the non-emergency helpline, which failed to identify warning signs of the infection.
An NHS England report identified 16 mistakes contributing to William's death, including failures by local GPs and the 111 service to diagnose pneumonia and sepsis. The report noted that the 'tickbox' system used by call handlers did not include 'sepsis red flags', despite sepsis being a leading cause of child deaths. It also found that doctors were under pressure to avoid prescribing antibiotics or referring patients to A&E unless absolutely necessary.
William's mother, Melissa Mead, told the BBC that she was initially reassured by the helpline, which deemed her son's condition non-urgent and promised a six-hour callback. By the time an out-of-hours doctor called back, she said, 'William's fate was sealed.' She added: 'We learned in the worst possible way that the system isn't sensitive to sepsis.'
Lindsey Scott, director of nursing for NHS England in the south-west and a report author, acknowledged that the 111 pathway is 'not as sensitive as it should be to sepsis.' She said: 'Had different action been taken, the course of William's illness would have been different and William most probably would have survived.'
The UK Sepsis Trust's chief executive, Dr Ron Daniels, stressed the need for better education and measurement of health systems. The report's authors have pledged to ensure lessons are learned from William's death to prevent similar tragedies.
