Parents' instincts must be taken into account by doctors, report says after boy, five, died
Doctors have been ordered to take parents' instincts into account after a five-year-old-boy died when he was sent home from A&E due to bed shortages.
Yusuf Mahmud Nazir passed away from respiratory failure, pneumonia and tonsillitis in November 2022 - just eight days after he was seen at Rotherham Hospital and sent home with antibiotics.
After a previous report branding the child's care 'appropriate' was rejected by Yusuf's family, a new publication by NHS England finally confirmed he was failed by the health service.
The document stated: '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.'
Zaheer Ahmed, Yusuf's uncle, broke down in tears today as he said his nephew was failed by medical staff before developing multi-organ failure and suffering several cardiac arrests.
'Despite all these failings, despite all these issues that we've had, we still do not know how Yusuf has died. We want answers. We want an inquest. An inquest will tell us how Yusuf has died. And this is what the family are demanding,' he said.
Yusuf Mahmud Nazir died on November 23, 2022, eight days after he was seen at Rotherham Hospital and sent home with antibiotics
The little boy developed multi-organ failure and suffered several cardiac arrests which he did not survive
Yusuf's uncle Zaheer Ahmed has consistently claimed the family were told 'there are no beds and not enough doctors' in the emergency department
Speaking at a news conference after the report was published today, Soniya Nazir said her concerns 'were ignored each and every time', adding 'my son was left to die right beside me'
Today's report concludes that the 'instincts' of Yusuf's mother should not have been overlooked.
Speaking at a news conference after the report was published, Soniya Nazir said her concerns 'were ignored each and every time', adding 'my son was left to die right beside me'.
'I carried Yusuf to the nurse, floppy with his eyes rolled back, struggling to breathe, myself to the nurse,' the mother told Sky News.
'She said: 'We're too busy, we can't get a doctor, you'll have to wait.'
Yusuf's uncle Mr Ahmed has consistently claimed the family were told 'there are no beds and not enough doctors' in the emergency department.
He insists Yusuf should have been admitted and given intravenous antibiotics in Rotherham.
Today's report stated 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.
Yusuf, who had asthma, was taken to the GP with a sore throat after feeling unwell on November 15, 2022
Yusuf's case appeared on Sky News today as a report acknowledged he should have received better care
'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.'
A previous report into Yusuf's case in October 2023, by independent consultants and published by NHS South Yorkshire, found his care was appropriate and 'an admission was not clinically required' - but this was rejected by his family.
Yusuf, who had asthma, was taken to the GP with a sore throat after feeling unwell on November 15. 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.
