Dorset boy in coma after strep A misdiagnosis, family says

A one-year-old boy nearly died after doctors failed to spot a severe strep A infection, his family has said.

Paul Silva, from West Parley, Dorset, said his son Joseph was diagnosed with less serious conditions by both a GP and Bournemouth Hospital in November.

However the boy was later placed in an induced coma on 21 November due to sepsis, Mr Silva said.

University Hospitals Dorset NHS Trust has begun an investigation but declined to comment.

Mr Silva said his son was taken to a GP three times in the three weeks before his hospital admission, with symptoms including repeated fevers, a rash and breathing problems.

He said: “He had a raspy chest rattle. He would sit on my lap just breathing… like you had a little motorbike on you.”

The GP listened to Joseph’s chest which was clear and suspected a viral infection or milk allergy, Mr Silva said.

On 20 November Joseph was sent to Bournemouth Hospital as an “amber sepsis risk” by the NHS 111 line, his father added.

However the hospital performed no blood test or scan, he said.

The family was sent home with a leaflet about bronchiolitis, a viral chest infection.

Mr Silva said Joseph was taken by ambulance the following day to Poole Hospital, which diagnosed sepsis and placed the boy in an induced coma.

He was then transferred to Southampton General Hospital which confirmed a strep A infection and drained fluid from his chest.

Mr Silva said: “It was a truly horrific and harrowing experience and doctors could not confirm if he would live or die.

“His whole traumatic experience would have been completely avoided if [the] GP or [Bournemouth] hospital had run a simple blood test and chest scan.

“It was a complete misdiagnosis. We have lost faith in the health service.”

The toddler is now recovering at home.

In a private email seen by the BBC, Bournemouth Hospital said it had opened an inquiry.

However both the hospital and the GP service, Barcellos Family Practice, declined to comment publicly, citing patient confidentiality.

Sepsis – an infection leading to organ failure – is often diagnosed by testing temperature, heart and breathing rates, or blood, while imaging can determine the type of infection and where it is located, according to an NHS website.

The UK Sepsis Trust said a streptococcus A infection could lead to sepsis.

It said it would be “reasonable” for doctors to order blood tests or scans where parents were worried and children looked “very unwell”, although a clear chest would not warrant a scan.