Asthma girl’s parents call for unlawful death ruling
A FAMILY is calling for an unlawful killing verdict at the inquest into a five- year- old girl who died after being turned away by her GP.
They claim that Dr Joanne Rowe was negligent by refusing to see Ellie-May Clark when she arrived at the GP surgery four minutes late for her appointment.
Ellie-May died of a sudden asthma attack five hours later, after being denied the steroids which could have saved her life, in a scandal revealed by The Mail on Sunday in February.
Police took no action against Dr Rowe, 53, and the General Medical Council let her off with a warning.
But Ellie-May’s family are hoping t he GP is held to account when a coroner finally conducts an inquest into the tragedy next month – almost twoand-a-half years after the schoolgirl died.
Her grandmother Brandi said last night: ‘We want some answers and reassurance this isn’t going to happen to another family. The health board held an inquiry but it was strictly confidential and what happened was kept secret from Dr Rowe’s patients.
‘We wanted her struck off but she was allowed to return to work as if nothing happened. We think there was negligence and want the coroner to bring in an unlawful killing verdict so the police can reopen the case.’
Ellie-May became ill at school on January 25, 2015, and her mother Shanice rang the surgery and was given an emergency appointment at 5pm. The Grange Clinic in Newport, South Wales, was aware that EllieMay had life-threatening asthma and had been admitted to hospital at least five times previously.
She arrived at 5.04pm and was told Dr Rowe would not see her because she was late. Ellie-May later collapsed at the family home at 10.35pm and was taken to by ambulance to the Royal Gwent Hospital, where doctors could not revive her.
The 16-page report of the Aneurin Bevan Health Board’s inquiry into the tragedy has been handed to senior Gwent coroner David Bowen.
Gwent Police also launched an investigation, but the doctor was never arrested or charged.
Dr Rowe, who now works at a surgery ten miles away in Cardiff, has been called to give evidence at the inquest in Newport.