Hunt attends memorial for boy ‘let down’ by NHS
Health Secretary says sorry to mourners at service for William Mead, whose illness went undiagnosed
JEREMY HUNT has taken the unprecedented step of attending a memorial service for a one-year-old boy to apologise for the NHS’s failure to diagnose that he had sepsis.
The Health Secretary said he, the NHS and the Government had “let down” William Mead, who died in December 2014.
Friends of Mr Hunt said he had decided to attend after being “moved” by the young boy’s story.
William, from Penryn, Cornwall, lost his life after GPs, “111” call handlers and out-of-hours services failed to spot the signs he was becoming dangerously ill.
Speaking at the private service in Truro Cathedral, Mr Hunt said: “I, as Health Secretary, the Government and the NHS let down William.”
Mr Hunt said he also accepted he had failed William’s parents, Paul and Melissa, who had organised the service to thank the local community for its support following the tragedy.
“I’ve come here to say sorry,” Mr Hunt told the congregation.
“This weekend William should have been enjoying beautiful Cornish sunshine with his parents. We didn’t spot his sepsis before it was too late.”
An inquest heard the baby’s death could have been avoided if he had been admitted to hospital.
The 111 call by his mother, Melissa Mead, was poorly dealt with by an adviser who would have had no more than a few weeks’ training and who failed to notice the “abnormal behaviour” his mother described. Last year, a report into the death of the 12-monthold criticised GPs, out-of-hours services and a 111 call handler who failed to spot he had sepsis caused by an underlying chest infection and pneumonia.
The report said a “deteriorating paediatric patient” like William was “not easily identified through the structured questioning” used by the 111 call handlers.
A friend of Mr Hunt said the Health Secretary wanted to attend because the campaigning by Melissa Mead had forced the Government “to put money into sepsis awareness”. The friend said: “They met a year ago; she told him her story and he was very moved by it. It has gone into policy.”
Mrs Mead said: “There has been so many people involved in the campaign and they’ve been pivotal.
“Without the government support, without the support of all the organisations, we wouldn’t be here where we are today and have made the changes we’ve made.”
Mr Hunt promised Mrs Mead that doctors and nurses would be given extra training in how to spot the signs of potentially fatal blood poisoning.