1,500 protest outside hospital after boy sent home with ‘chickenpox’ dies from meningitis
MORE than 1,500 people gathered outside a hospital to protest after a three-year- old boy who had been sent home by doctors died from meningitis.
Armagan Denli’s parents say he had a temperature of 39C (102F) when they took him to casualty, but they were told he had chickenpox and he was discharged.
In fact, he had contracted meningitis B, which is lethal if not treated early, and deteriorated rapidly after being taken home. He died in the early hours of the following day.
His devastated parents, Yucel Denli, 32, and his wife Fatma, 27, have accused North Middlesex University Hospital of negligence.
And the tragedy led to a protest, mainly involving fellow members of the local Turkish community, outside the hospital in Edmonton, North London.
People carried pictures of Armagan and banners with the words ‘Justice for Armagan’ and ‘sent home to death’.
The protest was organised by Democratic Joint Forces Platform, which represents 20 Turkish-speaking community associations in the UK.
The hospital said it was carrying out an investigation but its initial inquiries had found no evidence of negligence. It said
‘Promised a full investigation’
meningitis B is difficult to diagnose and can be confused with other illnesses. Armagan’s parents said: ‘We are utterly devastated by the death of our son and believe he was misdiagnosed when we first took him to hospital.
‘His death could have been avoided if the hospital had been efficient and timely in its response. We spoke to the hospital directors during the demonstration and they promised us a full investigation.’
Mr Denli, from Edmonton, said he and his wife took their son to hospital around 4pm on Saturday, April 18, but it was six hours before he was seen by a doctor.
He said Armagan had a temperature of 39C but claimed a doctor took only a urine sample. Mr Denli said his son was initially diagnosed with chickenpox. When his temperature dropped, they were told he could go home.
Armagan died in the early hours of Sunday, April 19, after being taken back to hospital by ambulance.
Mr Denli said: ‘He got worse after we took him home, so we brought him back to the hospital at midnight. This time they diagnosed him with meningitis. But by now it was too late. My boy died because of the doctors’ negligence.’
Timur Ekingen, one of the protest organisers, said there was concern over the medical treatment received by Turkish immigrants.
‘We believe Turkish speakers in Britain, many of whom do not have a strong command of English, suffer more than most patients because they are unable to explain their symptoms to staff who do not have the time to listen,’ he said.
Mr Ekingen added: ‘More than 1,500 people came to join the protest including the family of Armagan Denli.’ Meningitis B is an aggressive strain of bacterial meningitis which infects the protective membranes surrounding the brain and spinal cord. It leads to around 120 deaths in the UK each year and leaves another 400 with disabilities.
Armagan’s death comes weeks after the Government announced that all babies in the UK would soon be vaccinated against meningitis B. The roll- out has been delayed because the NHS spent nine months haggling with drugs manufacturers over the price of the £20 jab.
Paul Reeves, director of nursing at the hospital, said: ‘We offer our sincere condolences to Armagan’s family. The team of doctors and nurses who treated Armagan in our A&E are devastated by his death.
‘We can confirm that he died as a result of a meningitis B bacterial infection. Our initial investigations indicate that Armagan was monitored carefully and given appropriate tests before being discharged at approximately 7pm. The initial findings do not suggest any negligence by our staff.
‘We will share the full results of the investigation with Armagan’s family as soon as we can.
‘We are committed to working with our partners in the Turkish community and we want to reassure them that we are totally committed to them with first class care that’s responsive to their needs.’