Our son would have lived if he’d seen GP face-to-face
THE parents of a “caring, charismatic and funny” law student believe not seeing a GP face-to-face led to his death.
David Nash, 26, had four remote consultations with doctors and nurses at a GP practice over 19 days before he died on November 4 last year.
None of the clinicians spotted that he had developed mastoiditis in his ear, which caused a brain abscess, sparking meningitis, his family said.
David’s parents, Andrew and Anne, said their son’s first appointment at Burley Park Medical Centre in Leeds was on October 14.
Andrew said that David “presented four times in short succession with a range of escalating symptoms, and had a fever for nine days despite a negative Covid test, and there still was no clear diagnosis”.
Leeds University student David deteriorated dramatically on November 2 and an ambulance took him to St James’s University Hospital, where he fell, causing an injury to his head.
He died two days later at Leeds General Infirmary.
Airline pilot Andrew, 56, from Nantwich, Cheshire, said: “The mastoiditis is readily treatable with modern antibiotics and it should never have been left to get to the stage where it caused the complication of a brain abscess.”
Now he and Anne are paying for an independent neurosurgeon to investigate how David died and are hoping an inquest starting in Wakefield on November 30 will provide answers.
They also hope for a change in attitude from GPs towards face-to-face consultations.
Mr Nash said: “How do you diagnose an ear infection… without looking in the ear?”
The GP practice and St James’s Hospital said they were unable to comment.
Last week, the Government said patients will be given a new right to demand face-toface appointments.