Via The Guardian: Student dies of flu after family follows NHS advice not to visit A&E. Excerpt:
A young engineering student reportedly died of flu after her family followed NHS warnings over Christmas not to go to A&E unless it was an emergency.
Melissa Whiteley, 18, was admitted to hospital on Christmas Day after failing to shake a cough and suffering flu symptoms. Her condition deteriorated and she was placed into a coma.
Tests revealed Whiteley, from Stoke-on-Trent, was suffering from sepsis, the flu, pneumonia and a fungal infection in her throat. She died at Glenfield hospital in Leicester on 27 January.
Her family say they still feel “numb” after her death following “the best year of her life” and have been left frustrated by the NHS’s message.
Whiteley’s mother, Sharon, 53, told reporters: “We read all the warnings about not coming to hospital if you have a cold or the flu and we just followed them. We thought it was the right thing to do.
“It’s so frustrating that we delayed taking her in because of that. With conditions like sepsis you need treatment as quickly as possible.
“I cannot fault the medical staff who looked after her. They did their best and at the end they were crying too after they got to know how wonderful she was.
“You’re not wasting the doctors’ time if you go in. If you’re not happy with something, or think something is wrong, you can’t delay in getting looked at.”
Recent Comments