Doctors are putting babies’ lives at risk from meningitis and sepsis by giving parents ‘false reassurance’, report finds
- One parent was told that a child’s fever was due to a change in milk formula
- More than 1,000 children aged under five die with sepsis in Britain every year
- Meningitis kills up to 150 – antibiotics can control both in the early stages
Family doctors are putting babies’ lives at risk from meningitis and sepsis because they give parents ‘false reassurance’, according to a report.
Parents are too often told their children have ‘trivial infections’ – but these can quickly become life-threatening, the Meningitis Research Foundation said.
Its report lists cases of blasé treatment, including one in which a parent was told a child’s fever was ‘due to a change in milk formula’ and another who was told to give a baby prune juice to lower a temperature.
Family doctors are putting babies’ lives at risk from meningitis and sepsis because they give parents ‘false reassurance’, a report says
-
Commuter, 29, blasts ‘sexist’ NHS after spotting bus poster…
NHS pays £100,000 a day to compensate people who have lost…
Share this article
The charity cites a study which found that in 28 per cent of cases of infant meningitis, parents were told by GPs to stay at home rather than go to A&E. Rapid treatment can be the difference between life and death for sepsis and meningitis, though both are hard to diagnose in the early stages.
More than 1,000 under-fives die with sepsis in Britain every year and meningitis kills up to 150. Caught early, they can be controlled with antibiotics.
Parents were told by GPs to stay at home rather than go to A&E. Rapid treatment can be the difference between life and death for sepsis and meningitis
Vinny Smith of the Meningitis Research Foundation said: ‘Parents often have a gut instinct and know when their child is seriously ill.’
The charity wants ‘safety netting’ advice – such as encouraging parents to go to A&E if a fever continues to rise – to be given in every case.
Professor Helen Stokes-Lampard of the Royal College of GPs, said doctors ‘know all too well’ the dangers of meningitis and sepsis but added: ‘Initial symptoms often present in exactly the same way as common viral illnesses such as flu.’
Source: Read Full Article