When 6-year-old Ollie fell sick, his mother, Georgie Hall, knew something was seriously wrong with her child.
Her son had always been jolly but he had suddenly become sluggish and he had started developing rashes all over his body.
But when Georgie called emergency services, paramedics ‘rolled their eyes’ and said to her that Ollie was ‘milking it.’
What they didn’t know was that Ollie only had a few hours to live.
“My greatest regrets are allowing the paramedics and GPs to ignore my concerns and trusting them instead of my instincts,” Georgie expressed.
She first suspected something was wrong when her son fell ill. His condition quickly deteriorated so the concerned mother contacted emergency services.
Paramedics dismissed meningitis and even mimicked the ‘grunting’ noise the young boy was making.
One paramedic even said that the 6-year-old was going to ‘milk it’ after he tripped over a step.
Ollie was taken to a hospital where it was concluded that he had a viral infection. He was then sent home to take some rest.
“I said I was worried about meningitis and they assured me he was well enough to return home,” Georgie said.
“They rejected meningitis out of hand. I was told everything was fine. I was made to feel I had to trust the medical professionals.”
Her husband, Bryan, added: “We both suspected meningitis and Georgie was raising this as a potential diagnosis.
“We were made to feel we were over-sensitive parents who did not know what we were talking about.”
Only hours later, Ollie developed rash all over his body. However, no emergency ambulance was available so Ollie’s parents drove him to hospital.
Sadly, it was already too late.
Ollie died of meningitis the next morning at the James Paget University Hospital.
“It was shocking how fast the disease took over Ollie’s body,” Georgie said. “In less than 24 hours from showing his first sign of being ill he had died.”
Professor Nigel Klein, a professor of infectious disease, believed that the young boy could’ve lived if he had been treated immediately.
The parents are now urging parents to trust their instincts. “Firstly, trust your instincts,” Georgie said.
“The experts at the inquest into Ollie’s death all agreed that doctors should listen to the parents and parental views should weigh heavily in the medical assessment of the child.
“The hardest part of the inquest was hearing that Ollie could have been saved if he had been treated sooner.”
She added: “The second thing is to have your child vaccinated. MenB has a vaccine. It’s not available to everyone so check with your GP whether your child is covered.
“If they aren’t, the MenB vaccine can be bought in many High Street pharmacies.”
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