Father begged for hour to get medic to see dying son

A SERIOUSLY ill three-year-old died in his father’s arms after waiting more than an hour to see a doctor, it has been claimed.

Muawai Mohammed took his son Basil to A&E after he became ill at home, but the boy died in the waiting room.

Basil suffered from rare WolcottRallison Syndrome, which causes diabetes and can lead to kidney and liver failure. Mr Mohammed, 38, has demanded to know why his son was not seen by a doctor sooner.

He said they were seen by a triage nurse within about 20 minutes of arriving at Birmingham Children’s Hospital last Wednesday but were then left in the waiting room for more than an hour.

The father of four said: ‘I told the staff, “He’s my son and I know he’s going to go”. They said, “What do you mean?” and I said, “He’s going to die soon if you don’t find me a doctor to see him”.’

Mr Mohammed said he wanted a full investigation into what had happened in A&E last week and urged the hospital to review its waiting room CCTV footage.

Mr Mohammed, who lives in Birmingham with his wife Asma Osman, 37, first took his son to hospital last Monday.

On Wednesday he received a call from his wife saying his son was struggling to eat and not passing urine. He took his son back to hospital and despite explaining the situation to staff he was ‘passed from desk to desk’ until his son passed away in his arms. Mr Mohammed said doctors tried to revive Basil but were unable to. ‘They said, “OK, we have done the best we could”. I said, “No, you haven’t because I could see he was fighting for his life”.’

Dr Fiona Reynolds, chief medical officer at Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, said they were investigating the circumstances surrounding Basil’s death.