A story in recent news reports of a teenage girl who has sadly died after being sent home from the hospital after her full symptoms weren’t fully diagnosed. (source)
Amy Carter, 15, begged Doctors at Worcester Royal Hospital not to send her home as she said “I’m dying”. Amy was diagnosed with Glandular Fever and was sent home by Doctors who told her to take paracetamol and get plenty of rest. Amy sadly died three days later after suffering from four heart attacks and multiple organ failure.
A Post-mortem examination showed that Amy had died from Glandular Fever and Streptococcal Toxic Shock Syndrome, a very lethal combination of illnesses which has never been seen in a patient before. Amy developed Septicemia after being released by Doctors. Amy hadn’t been able to eat for nineteen days and weighed only six stones.
Despite Amy’s parents accepting that their daughter received the necessary treatment, they still want answers as to how Amy’s condition led to her devastating death. Mrs Carter reportedly said that her daughter was not well enough to go home; Amy was frightened and even asked if she was going to die as she felt so ill. Mrs Carter wants to know how a child who hasn’t eaten for weeks can possibly be sent home.
Amy was released from hospital before swab results and blood test results were received which identified that bacteria had entered Amy’s blood stream which led to the Septicemia. Amy’s parents feel that the treatment of their daughter was “inadequate”.
Accordingly it isn’t common practice to carry out swab tests on patients who contract glandular fever and so the Septicemia wasn’t diagnosed immediately in Amy.
This is a devastating story and it’s very sad to think a girl of such a young age could die from diseases which, if they had been diagnosed early on, could potentially have been treated.
