[ad_1]
A college student has died of sepsis after trying 25 times to go to general surgery only to be refused an appointment, an investigation has found.
Toby Hudson, 19, was unable to speak to anyone at the cabinet in Weymouth, Dorset due to a faulty telephone system, so gave up and tried again the next day.
When he contacted a staff member, he was told he could not have an appointment for at least 48 hours.
The teenager learned that due to his enrollment at another practice in his university town of Southampton, Hants, he could either wait two days to re-enroll or go to a walk-in emergency care center .
He went to the center and was seen by nurse practitioner Briony Jefferis, who wrongly diagnosed him with tonsillitis and gave him antibiotics.
Over the next 24 hours, Mr. Hudson’s condition deteriorated as his parents called 999 when he fell unconscious.
He suffered cardiac arrest but was delayed to get to hospital because an ambulance went to the wrong place.
Toby died on the night of July 4, 2019, two days after first seeking help at the Wyke Regis & Lanehouse Medical Practice in Weymouth, Dorset.
A post-mortem examination showed that he had died of multiple organ failure due to sepsis, due to infectious mononucleosis (glandular fever).
An investigation into his death at Bournemouth revealed that Mr Hudson had previously been patient at Weymouth’s practice.
However, when he moved to Southampton to study chemistry at university, he enrolled in a new clinic closer to campus.
He had been coughing for about two months before returning to his family home in Weymouth in the summer of 2019.
Toby was first heard of swollen glands, “swollen” tonsils and a sore throat when his parents told him to talk to a GP.
Providing evidence, Dr Matthew Brook, partner at Wake Regis & Lanehouse Medical Practice, admitted problems with the phone system due to a high patient load.
Dr Brook said: “We were having huge problems with our phone system which could not handle a much higher number of calls.
“We had updated the system but it was not working properly.
“There was a queue system, but in many cases people waited a long time to hang up.
“We’ve had an exam since and no one has remembered taking Toby’s call.”
Dr Brook insisted that the correct procedures were followed. According to national guidelines, temporary residents should only be seen by a general practitioner if they do not need urgent care.
He said: “With temporary residents, receptionists must ask if a patient needs an urgent appointment, within 48 hours.
“If they need it within 48 hours, we refer them to the emergency care unit.
“Otherwise, the patient is re-enrolled and we can then make an appointment.”
Ms Jefferis said she was ‘not very worried’ about Toby’s symptoms when she examined him at the emergency care center at Weymouth Community Hospital.
She added that he “showed no signs of sepsis” and that his symptoms were “consistent with those of tonsillitis”.
Mr. Hudson’s father Peter returned home on July 4th to find him pale and when he helped his son to the damp room of the house he briefly passed out so he called the 999.
The teenager was then taken from his home in Weymouth to Dorset County Hospital in Dorchester, but died later that evening.
Mr. Hudson said: “I felt there was no rush. I had to insist that action be taken and that our concerns be heard.
He added: “We are very concerned about his care.”
With Bournemouth News and Pictures
[ad_2]
Source link