Boy, 5, begged 'mummy I can't breathe' before dying in 'catastrophic failure'

The mum of a five-year-old boy who died after he was sent home from A&E said she hears her son every night saying "Mummy, I can't breathe."

Breaking down in tears, Soniya Ahmed vowed to carry on the fightfor an inquest into his death, for “every child that's been failed by the NHS.”

She spoke out after a new reportconcluded her instincts were "repeatedly not addressed across services". The mum said her "happy little boy" had been failed "catastrophically".

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Yusuf Mahmud Nazir, died at Sheffield Children's Hospital on November 23rd 2022, eight days after he was seen at Rotherham Hospital and sent home with antibiotics.

A fresh report into Yusuf's care was published on Thursday with a range of recommendations for the NHS, but his family said there are still many unanswered questions.

Speaking at a press conference in Rotherham, Yusuf's mum said: "For the medical staff there are lessons to be learnt from this tragedy, but for us, our life, Yusuf has been taken away from us in the most horrific way.

“My son went into hospital with tonsillitis and he never returned home. My son was left to die right beside me. He was crying in pain. Yet received no pain relief.

“...The report concludes that 13 missed opportunities to escalate Yusuf’s care. All while I was trusting the NHS to protect him. They failed him catastrophically. Every night when I close my eyes, I hear Yusuf’s, helpless voice in my ears, saying; ‘Mummy, I can't breathe, I can't breathe. I really can't.’ And the image of him being handed over to me after his life ended, as though someone had torn my heart out and placed it in my hands."

Ms Ahmed choked back tears as she said: "Along with these failings, there is still uncertainty on his cause of death.

“Yusuf deserved better, every child does. I will never stop speaking his name. I will never stop fighting for him. I fight for every child that's been failed by the NHS.

“We demand accountability. We demand change. We want to know how our son died and who's responsible.

“And the only way we're going to get these answers is with an inquest.”

The report said in its conclusions: "Our primary finding is that the parental concerns, particularly the mother's instinct that her child was unwell, were repeatedly not addressed across services.

"A reliance on clinical metrics over caregiver insight caused distress for the family.

"This led to a lack of shared decision-making and there was limited evidence of collaborative discussions with Yusuf's family around clinical decisions, leading to a sense of exclusion and reduced trust in care plans."

Yusuf's uncle Zaheer Ahmed has always said they were told "there are no beds and not enough doctors" in the emergency department, and that Yusuf should have been admitted and given intravenous antibiotics in Rotherham.

Yusuf, who had asthma, was taken to the GP with a sore throat and feeling unwell on November 15th. He was prescribed antibiotics by an advanced nurse practitioner.

Later that evening, his parents took him to Rotherham Hospital urgent & emergency care centre (UECC) where he was seen in the early hours of the morning after a six-hour wait.

Yusuf was discharged with a diagnosis of severe tonsillitis and an extended prescription of antibiotics.

Two days later Yusuf was given further antibiotics by his GP for a possible chest infection, but his family became so concerned they called an ambulance and insisted the paramedics take him to Sheffield Children's Hospital rather than Rotherham.

Yusuf was admitted to the intensive care unit on November 21 but developed multi-organ failure and suffered several cardiac arrests which he did not survive.

The 2023 report said there was only one doctor in the paediatric UECC on November 15 and, after midnight, that medic was responsible for covering adults and children.

It added that the doctor who saw Yusuf is an experienced UECC doctor who would not have needed to refer to a paediatrician to admit him.

In 2022, before he was health secretary, Wes Streeting and Sarah Champion MP, wrote to his predecessor saying nothing should be "swept under the carpet" and the family “deserve the truth.

And on Thursday he said: "There are no excuses for the tragic failings in the lead-up to Yusuf's death and I know first-hand how hard it has been for his family to live without the answers they deserve.

"This independent report reveals their concerns were repeatedly not addressed across NHS services.

"It is now the responsibility of the NHS to implement the recommendations in this report so that the family can at least take small comfort in knowing that because of Yusuf, and thanks to Yusuf, children will be safer and better cared for in the future, but I know that really is of no consolation for a loving family living with the unimaginable pain of losing a lovely little boy in these awful circumstances."

Professor Aidan Fowler, national director of patient safety in England, said: "...We accept the report's recommendations and acknowledge the issues this independent investigation has uncovered, particularly the failure to listen to and act on the concerns of Yusuf's family by multiple NHS services, which is unacceptable.,,"

Dr Jeff Perring, executive medical director at Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust, said: "...We are dedicated to delivering the improvements outlined in the report's recommendations."

Dr Jo Beahan, medical director at Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust, said: "Our deepest sympathies remain with Yusuf's family following such a sad loss of a loved family member. We fully co-operated with this investigation into Yusuf's care.

"We have taken steps to address the recommendation and also the concerns raised by Yusuf's family. Our thoughts continue to be with Yusuf's family."