The 11 missed chances to save woman who died 'bleeding from her eyes' with meningitis less than 24 hours after she was sent home by doctors and told she had the flu
The frantic parents of a 'beautiful' student who died from meningitis repeatedly pointed out symptoms of the disease to medics who diagnosed flu and sent her homeSophie Ward, 20, was displaying more than 10 classic symptoms of the deadly infection, her father said, as an inquest jury slammed Barnet Hospital for not saving her life.The inquest this week heard that Sophie was discharged by medics who told her mother Alice she had a viral infection and 'would be safer at home'.'At reception Alice said 'I'm concerned about meningitis',' father Paul Ward told MailOnline. 'At triage she said 'I'm concerned about meningitis. Then, later to the doctor, she said, 'I'm concerned about meningitis'.'The doctor said it might be flu, you know. He didn't know what it was.Sophie, whose symptoms included a severe headache, body aches and a fever, then became severely ill overnight.Her family frantically called 999 the next morning and was bleeding from her eyes by the time she was rushed back to A&E where she died less than 24 hours after being sent home. Sophie Ward (pictured), an arts student from London, was misdiagnosed with the flu at Barnet Hospital despite presenting with 1 1 symptoms of meningitis Sophie (pictured with her father Paul) was told that her severe headache was likely caused by a viral infection and that she would be safer at home Mr Ward, who has raised £20,000 for Meningitis Now, explained Sophie (pictured) started feeling unwell on the afternoon of Sunday, July 30, 2023 Doctors said the blood, urine and CT scan they carried out all came back clear - but a lumbar puncture, the main test to check for meningitis, was not done. An inquest jury at Barnet Coroners' Court has now ruled that on the balance of probabilities the decision to discharge Sophie and not to administer antibiotics 'more than minimally' contributed to her death.The coroner also sent his condolences to Sophie's family, saying there was nothing more they could have done for her. Speaking to MailOnline, Mr Ward raised concerns about his daughter's treatment at Barnet Hospital. The 58-year-old, who has raised £20,000 for the charity Meningitis Now, said: 'The doctor said it might have been a viral infection. 'He didn't know what it was, and on that basis he discharged Sophie, and that was an unsafe and defective thing to do.'It was a serious mistake and my view, my observation of what happened is this serious mistake didn't just spontaneously generate. 'It happened because his approach to Sophie was careless.' An inquest into Sophie's death is being held at Barnet Coroner's Court in north London this week Sophie became severely ill overnight and by the time she was rushed back to A&E, it was too late to save herRead More Beautiful' student died 'bleeding from her eyes' after complaining about headache, inquest told Mr Ward explained that Sophie started feeling unwell on the afternoon of Sunday, July 30, 2023. He said she was suffering from achy shoulders, neck and head and an overwhelming tiredness and aversion to light.'She said 'things are aching, my head is killing me'. Alice, who is Sophie's mum, then called 111,' Mr Ward said. 'They described Sophie's symptoms and it was a pretty clear indication or certainly a suspicion of meningitis.'It wasn't normal, if someone's got flu, they feel unwell. It wasn't like that.'Sophie had flu maybe a few times in her life she wouldn't go anywhere near a hospital, or, indeed, for that matter, 111. But this was different.'Mr Ward, 58, said Sophie, who was a first year student at Wimbledon College of Art, spent around six hours at the hospital before she was sent home with a suspected viral infection.He continued: 'She came home. We made her comfortable. We thought meningitis had been excluded and ruled out.'By the morning she had deteriorated further and we called the ambulance.'But it was too late to save her life. They tried in the ambulance, they tried in the emergency department and they tried in the ICU.'Paying tribute to Sophie, Mr Ward said: 'If you met her you would have been by her creativity, you'd be struck by her gentleness.'She had so many other amazing qualities as well. She was funny. If you were Sophie's parent you would be a very happy parent. She was such a happy and fulfilled person.' Pictured: Barnet Hospital where Sophie died from meningitis septicemia on July 31, 2023 Read More 'I was betrayed': Doctor mother tells how she pleaded with fellow medics to save her healthy son On Monday, the inquest in North London heard evidence from the nurse that triaged Sophie on July 30.The hearing was told that Sophie was only triaged after being at the hospital for two hours rather than the target of 15 minutes.The nurse said they could not remember if they asked a doctor to check on Sophie due to her symptoms of meningitis, MyLondon reported.She told the hearing said that getting a second opinion is 'often their practice to do so', but was not sure if it was done in this instance.Speaking of his fundraiser, Mr Ward told MailOnline: 'When your daughter dies, people react differently.'On the one hand no good could come from Sophie's death or you just try and do something so I did some fundraising to support meningitis charities.'There was kind of a deliberate decision to split our fundraising efforts between the two main meningitis foundations.'There's been a lot of progress in the UK on reducing meningitis deaths and harm in the last 20 years. But there's more needed.'For example, meningitis now have a vision to reduce meningitis deaths to 0 in the UK. And I think that is achievable.'The fundraising, the research, the vaccines the awareness - it all makes a sort of small contribution to that.'A spokesperson for Barnet Hospital said: 'We would like to share our deepest condolences with Sophie's family and to apologise to them that Sophie died while under our care.'We take the findings of the jury in this inquest extremely seriously and will carefully review the evidence that has been heard along with the record of inquest.'Steps have been taken to improve sepsis and meningitis awareness among our medical staff, including holding a staff learning event to hear from both Sophie's family and the Meningitis Research Foundation.'We also continue to remind emergency department staff that senior doctors are available for advice and to emphasise the importance of listening to the concerns of patients and families.'
