As I grow older, I question my trust in doctors. Perhaps it’s because of all the stories I read about people who have been misdiagnosed!
The thing is that I should feel the opposite, because I will need more care as I get older, so you can understand how anxious I get when I think there is something wrong with me. Not getting any diagnosis at all or getting an incorrect diagnosis is one of my biggest fears.
Just last week, a five-year-old girl died shortly after she was denied treatment because she was five minutes late to the doctor’s office.
If that doesn’t sound scary to you then wait until you read this story.
Kirsty Ermenekli, 32, took her six-year-old daughter Layla-Rose to the emergency room after her temperature spiked and she became lethargic and sick.
Once in the hospital, the daughter had developed a rash on her hip.
“It felt like ages before the doctor came, a good couple of hours. We were seen by the nurse three times in between but I was quite concerned as I had never had a child with a temperature that high with it not coming down,” Kirsty told the Daily Mail.
In the end, her daughter was examined, the doctor said the mark on her daughter’s hip was a bruise and that she had a viral infection.
The mother and daughter were sent home. But the six-year-old girl’s condition deteriorated when she got home. Kirsty went back to the hospital with her daughter, but it was too late. She died eight hours after her arrival at Royal Oldham Hospital, in Manchester, England.
“I felt I was being looked at as a paranoid mother and the doctors couldn’t be bothered. I was not being kept informed of developments. I couldn’t fault the care on the children’s ward but all that time in A&E could have made a difference and Layla should have been admitted sooner,” Kirsty told The Daily Mail.
Layla passed away from meningococcal meningitis and septicaemia which was later described as having one of the ‘worst cases of meningitis’ doctors had ever seen.
An internal report by the hospital later revealed there were ‘missed opportunities’ to accurately diagnose her. This led to a three-and-a-half-hour delay in treatment.
“The doctor who saw the patient initially did not recognize the rash, which was not documented at the time as being of a worrying nature, as a result the diagnosis of sepsis was missed for three-and-a-half hours, during which treatment opportunities were missed,” the report said.
‘We have made a number of changes to significantly strengthen and improve our procedures in referring patients to the pediatrics department, and have implemented rigorous training with regards to recognizing poorly children and common pediatric conditions and appropriate escalation,” the hospital said.
No matter how much information Kirsty gets now, there’s nothing that will ever give her her little girl back.
Kirsty added: “Nobody knows their child better. Now I’m more paranoid than ever. At the time I thought she was in the best care.”
Rest in peace Layla, little angel!
This story again shows how important it is for parents to trust their instincts!
The vast majority of doctors can be trusted, but as in all occupations, things can go wrong.
Do not give up until you receive the care you or your child deserves. Please share this story and make sure that more people become aware of the consequences of getting an incorrect diagnosis!
