A baby boy tragically passed away just days after he was wrongly dismissed from hospital by his doctors.
15-month-old Olly Stopforth was rushed to the hospital by his concerned parents in the middle of the night on March 20, 2020, after suffering a 40.7C (105.26°F) fever, an elevated heart rate of 202, and a sandpaper-like rash.
According to Olly’s parents, Karl Stopforth and Laura Stopforth, the doctors failed to carry out a complete check-up and went on to discharge the baby boy from the hospital early while blaming the symptoms on a simple viral infection.
Two days after returning home, Olly passed away suddenly after showing no signs of improvement since his dismissal from the hospital.
“I went into Olly’s room and I just knew …. that he had passed away. I picked him up and ran to the top of the stairs and shouted at Karl to ring an ambulance,” the grieving mom said during an inquest.
“Karl came up and grabbed Olly and then immediately passed him back and ran to call an ambulance.
“I am a trained first aider and tried CPR with the ambulance person on the phone giving instructions until paramedics arrived.”
Unfortunately, the boy could not be saved, and his parents were left wondering why the Countess of Chester Hospital from Cheshire, UK, didn’t do more to save their baby.
It was also confirmed that the boy succumbed to Scarlet Fever – a bacterial infection that can easily be treated with antibiotics. As the boy’s parents confirmed, one of the nurses expressed her concern that the boy was suffering from Scarlet Fever at the time of the boy’s hospitalization but no proper tests were carried out by the doctors to confirm her fears.
“The doctors were with him for no longer than ten minutes,” Olly’s father claimed.
“The doctors did not really talk to me. No one, doctors or nurses spoke to me about the rash either. There was no investigation like blood tests to find the underlying cause of Olly’s illness. I think they made their minds up it was a viral infection and stuck with that.”
It has since the tragic death been confirmed that the hospital accepted liability in the case while saying they were experiencing one of the busiest nights ever at the time Olly was admitted.
“With hindsight I would have changed things but I was just trying to do my best. We had other sick children and it was the start to the pandemic and it was very confusing about what we should or should not be doing,” consultant pediatrician Alison Timmis, who was on duty the night Olly was admitted, told the inquest.
What are your thoughts on this matter? Let us know in the comments and don’t forget to SHARE this post with your family and friends. For more news and stories, follow us on Facebook!