Calls to change NHS 111 after baby dies when call-handler failed to spot signs of serious illness
- 27.01.2016
- HannahBottomley
- Clinical-negligence, Opinion, Clinical-negligence, Opinion
The tragic case of William Mead has recently come to the public’s attention following the investigation into his death revealed that failure by the NHS 111 call system (amongst other elements) contributed to his death, which otherwise could have been avoided.
The investigation has even prompted the current Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, to indicate that an overhaul of the 111 system is needed.
The facts of William’s death, at least those that have been made public, are truly tragic. An otherwise healthy one year old who developed a chest infection which was not treated and subsequently lead to the development of sepsis and pneumonia which sadly resulted in his death.
It would seem that there were opportunities for multiple health care professionals to have treated William different which could have made a difference to the eventual outcome but it is the call to the NHS 111 service the day before he died which is the main focus.
I have commented before on the practices of the NHS 111 number and one of the concerns raised has always been the fact that serious illness are not always recognised and therefore appropriate treatment is delayed.
I have also commented on many occasions that we understand that in the face of serious illness speed is very much of the essence. Unfortunately here, as William’s serious condition was not recognised by either the NHS 111 call handler or the out-of-hours GP, William did not receive the lifesaving treatment he needed in time.
The question which therefore seems to have come out of this tragic case is one of how can we ensure that those who was handling these NHS 111 calls are able to correctly identify serious conditions and refer on?
The slight concern I have with this position is that after the NHS 111 call William was referred to an out-of-hours GP. This would have been a medically trained individual practising as a GP.
The out-of-hours services however also failed to recognise the seriousness of Williams’ illness. What the answer is in cases like this I simply don’t know, but our thoughts go out to William’s family and all they have been through.