The medical profession is failing us on meningitis

Mum who lost son and father in double tragedy makes heartfelt plea to end death toll.

A mum whose family has been torn apart by the death of her 10-year-old son has launched an impassioned plea to halt the meningitis death toll.

William Cressey, 10, died of meningitis after bungling medics repeatedly failed to diagnose his condition, despite desperate pleas from mum Cheryl.

Last week Cheryl’s devastated dad Ronald Bamlett, 74, laid 12 roses at his grandson’s grave before parking his car close to William’s childhood home and setting himself on fire in an apparent grief-driven suicide.

Cheryl believes her dad could no longer cope with the memory of the shocking medical blunders during his illness and was tortured by the belief that justice was not done.

Now as Cheryl battles the grief of a second tragic death in her family she has issued a stark warning to parents that some medics have a blind spot when faced with meningitis.

She said: “It is a failing on the part of the NHS and Government that medics in ignorance of the warning signs of meningitis are employed in our health service, they pose a danger to all which is wholly unacceptable.

“Information on these warning signs is available to all and I can only say to every parent and carer please pick up a leaflet and read and remember the warning signs, you cannot dwell on them but make yourself aware of them.

“But it is not he responsibility of parents and carers to inform themselves of every illness or disease that may ever affect their children That is what a medical degree is for.

“As parents and carers we can be informed, we can take the right action and immediately seek medical help when we ourselves suspect meningitis but we cannot administer the medication or take the clinical action needed to prevent loss of life or disability, that is the responsibility of medics.”

Last week a Sunday Post investigation revealed £46m has been paid by the NHS in England to 140 patients or their families following botched care and missed diagnoses.

The true figure could soar to £90m because the NHS Litigation authority set aside another £30m to make payments for patients who need lifelong care and there are another 34 claims ongoing.

Among the damning statistics is William who died at Darlington Memorial Hospital in 2005.

Cheryl had brought him in into A&E on a Sunday night worried he was displaying symptoms of meningitis. He was admitted for the night but vital checks for meningitis were not carried out and he was discharged at 6pm the following day.

He soon collapsed and at home writhing on the floor and she rushed him back to hospital as his condition quickly deteriorated. But even when meningitis was diagnosed blundering medics delayed giving him antibiotics as the terrified youngster pleaded for his life.

It took five years for the hospital to apologise for the catalogue of blunders and pay damages. Dr Malik Alam was given a warning by the Medical Practitioners Service and nurse Christopher Kirby received the same punishment from the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

Cheryl has warned the sheer scale of meningitis clinical negligence pay-outs should be a concern for everybody.

She said: “That anyone with medical training can still fail to identify this disease in any stage of progression or development is a staggering failure by medics, the NHS and indeed Government.

“There are no excuses. Deaths resulting from failure to diagnose or misdiagnosis of meningitis simply should not happen.

“The failure of the NHS and Government to address the magnitude of this issue is a national disgrace.”

Meningitis campaigners, including Workington MP Sir Tony Cunningham, are campaigning for a meningitis B vaccine to be made available throughout the UK.

Bexsero has been licensed by the European Medicines Agency but the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation which advises UK governments has not backed the drug, claiming it lacks evidence it is cost effective.

But Cheryl claims the nation owes it to future generations to lobby for a national vaccination.

She added: “The decision has to be taken with one view and one view alone, that each and every child has the potential to be ‘the child’ that contracts the meningitis infection and therefore each and every child should be protected.

“That protection can only come from a national vaccination program, that will protect our children.

“Let us leave them a legacy of protection from a disease as horrific and devastating as meningitis, a legacy of a chance at life that failure to vaccinate denies.”

A Department of Health spokesperson said: “We have made big progress in the diagnosis and treatment of meningococcal disease but it remains notoriously difficult to diagnose in its early stages.

“A new vaccine against meningitis B has been licensed but our independent group of vaccine experts found that we lack important evidence. We need to know how well it will protect, how long it will protect and if it will stop the bacteria from spreading from person to person.

“We need to work with the scientific community and the manufacturer to find ways to resolve these uncertainties so that we can come to a clear answer on whether introducing the vaccine would be an effective use of NHS resources.”