Tyla

To make sure you never miss out on your favourite NEW stories, we're happy to send you some reminders

Click 'OK' then 'Allow' to enable notifications

Not now
OK
Advert
Advert
Advert

Six-Year-Old Dies Of Meningitis Hours After 'Medics Told Mum He Was Trying To Milk It'

Lisa McLoughlin

Published 
| Last updated 

Six-Year-Old Dies Of Meningitis Hours After 'Medics Told Mum He Was Trying To Milk It'

Featured Image Credit: East Anglia News Service/ SWNS

A six-year-old boy died of meningitis just hours after medics told his mum he was trying to "milk it" following an examination at their local GP surgery, an inquest has heard.

Schoolboy Oliver Hall passed away at the James Paget University Hospital in Norfolk on 24th October 2017 shortly after a paramedic "rolled his eyes" and commented that he spent much of his time dealing with "over-anxious mothers".

Oliver's mother Georgie, 38, told the inquest at Suffolk Coroner's court in Ipswich how she warned medics her son could have meningitis - but the medical professionals ignored her worries about the rash that had appeared on his body.

The schoolteacher, who is seven months pregnant, said she was slow to react as her son's condition worsened after returning home because she had been wrongly reassured by what she had been told.

Advert
Oliver Hall died of meningitis less than 24 hours after falling ill. Credit: East Anglia News Service
Oliver Hall died of meningitis less than 24 hours after falling ill. Credit: East Anglia News Service

But she eventually became so worried that she took him back to the Cutlers Hill surgery in Halesworth where a doctor finally began to suspect that he had meningitis and gave him an injection of penicillin.

She said: "I said I was worried about meningitis and they assured me he was well enough to return home.

"They rejected meningitis out of hand. I was told everything was fine. I was made to feel I had to trust the medical professionals."

Advert

The inquest heard how a paramedic asked Georgia if she had been going on the internet to check her son's symptoms and mimicked the "grunting" noise Oliver was making.

Oliver's parents Bryan and Georgie Hall. Credit: East Anglia News Service
Oliver's parents Bryan and Georgie Hall. Credit: East Anglia News Service

He also suggested that Oliver was going to "milk it" after the lad tripped over a step after visiting the GP surgery with them.

Father Bryan added: "We both suspected meningitis and Georgie was raising this as a potential diagnosis.

Advert

"We were made to feel we were over-sensitive parents who did not know what we were talking about."

Nigel Klein, a professor of infectious disease at the Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, said that he believed Oliver could have survived if he had been treated sooner.

He said that even if he had been treated as late as 3pm on 23rd October, he would still have lived, although he might have been left with scarring or loss of fingers or toes.

Loading…

Advert

But he said that Oliver's death would have been "inevitable" if he had not been treated by around 3.30pm, nearly three hours before he was seen for the second time at the GP's surgery.

Topics: Life News, Real, Health

Lisa McLoughlin
More like this
Advert
Advert
Advert

Chosen for YouChosen for You

Entertainment

Gogglebox star George Gilbey dies aged 40

13 hours ago

Most Read StoriesMost Read

Viewers binge 'gripping' crime drama in one go amid calls for second series

2 days ago