Hospital ‘very sorry’ after death of boy with sepsis
WHEN Candice Holt checked on her son Alfie in the early hours of the morning, he was awake and laughing. She put him to bed and kissed him good night.
Just hours later he was being rushed to hospital with sepsis.
The fatal infection ‘overwhelmed’ the nine-yearold boy and he died within hours of being admitted to Stepping Hill Hospital in Stockport.
His case demonstrates the devastating speed with which sepsis can claim lives – and potential deficiencies in the way the system deals with it. Now, the trust responsible for his care has apologised – and admitted that they ‘missed important opportunities in his care.’
A coroner notified the health secretary about Alfie’s case after raising concerns about the systems in place across the country for dealing with the bacterial infection.
Alfie’s mum Candice and dad Lee – who are pursuing a civil action against the hospital – claim they were not warned about the severity of his condition until it was too late and now hope to raise awareness of sepsis in the hope of saving other lives.
“Because I was not told how seriously ill Alfie was, I didn’t tell Lee to come to the hospital until 20 minutes before he passed away – so he didn’t get chance to say a proper goodbye,” Candice says. “I’d even told our other children that Alfie would be back home the next day.”
His family describe Alfie, who had cerebral palsy and several complex health problems related to it, as ‘the happiest boy you could meet.’
An inquest at Stockport Coroners Court last month found Alfie died as a consequence of ‘an overwhelming infection on a background of cerebral palsy.’
Alfie had been well when Candice checked on him at 3am on June 3, 2017. But when she returned at 10am, he had become ‘very unwell.’ An ambulance arrived within 10 minutes, medics were put on standby and Alfie was rushed to Stepping Hill with suspected sepsis. Doctors tried to save him, although he was not seen by a consultant and he died 11 hours after admission.
The concerns flowing from his case centre on the speed with which antibiotics were administered to the very poorly little boy – it took doctors more than an hour – and the revelation made in his inquest, by medics, that there is no nationally agreed ‘Paediatric Early Warning System’ (PEWS) for measuring deterioration in children.
Now, coroner Alison Mutch has sent a report to the Secretary of State for Health, Jeremy Hunt.
Ms Mutch stated that the trust responsible for Alfie’s care has done a significant amount of work looking at PEWS scores and escalation processes since Alfie’s death. But she warned that there is a risk of future deaths unless action is taken.
Alfie and his twin Ben were born at 25 weeks and given just a one in six chance of survival – but defied the odds together.
Alfie spent five months in hospital and underwent numerous operations before eventually being diagnosed with cerebral palsy. He was unable to speak, but just weeks before his death, the Express reported on a campaign to raise cash for a machine which would have allowed him to communicate for the first time.
Speaking after the inquest, parents Candice, 32 and Lee, 35, said they are still struggling to come to terms with his death. Mumof-five Candice says twin Ben, who has autism, won’t talk about his brother, with whom he shared a bedroom.
She said: “He often says he feels lonely but when you ask why, he won’t say any more.
“Alfie was the happiest boy you could meet. If you were having a bad day you could just look at him and he would cheer you up – even the doctors mentioned that in their notes. I still think and talk about him every day. He is still very much a part of everyone’s lives.”
Clinical negligence firm Slater and Gordon are representing the family in a civil action against the hospital.
Their lawyer Victoria Beel said: “Sepsis is a devastating illness which can quickly become life-threatening if left untreated and it is vital that fluids and antibiotics are administered in that first ‘golden hour’ of presenting to A&E.
“Tragically for Alfie that didn’t happen and for his family their trauma was also compounded by the fact that doctors didn’t communicate fully how serious his condition was. Candice and Lee had no knowledge of sepsis prior to losing Alfie and are now keen to raise awareness so this doesn’t happen to anyone else.”
Stockport NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Stepping Hill Hospital, said: “We fully accept the coroner’s verdict and our thoughts are with Alfie’s family and all those who loved him. Following Alfie’s death we launched an immediate investigation to fully understand exactly what happened and why and shared this with the coroner.
“It is clear that we missed important opportunities in his care and for that we are very sorry.
“We have sought to ensure that lessons are learned in order to avoid any such problems arising again in the future. Improvements have been made in a range of areas, including medical recruitment, to enable us to ensure all areas are well staffed.”