Updated
Updated · BBC.com · Jun 9
Doctor Says Rash on 5-Year-Old Jax Jefferys Slipped Her Mind Before Strep A Death
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · Jun 9

Doctor Says Rash on 5-Year-Old Jax Jefferys Slipped Her Mind Before Strep A Death

2 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Jun 9

Summary

  • Dr Refat Parveen told an inquest she forgot to check a red rash reported on five-year-old Jax Jefferys before he was sent home from Queen Alexandra Hospital on 30 November 2022.
  • Nurse Lydia Savin said she had noted a rash on Jax's back, face and neck — a possible sign of serious infection — while Parveen said she was uneasy about his condition and surprised a consultant agreed he could leave.
  • Parveen accepted Jax's symptoms — a four-day cough, red throat and fever — put him at "moderate to high risk" of sepsis under NHS guidance, and the hearing also examined signs of scarlet fever linked to streptococcus A.
  • Jax, from Waterlooville, died the next day after collapsing as his parents drove him back to hospital; his mother has said staff diagnosed flu, called the rash a possible heat rash and said there was nothing they could do.
  • The week-long inquest at Winchester Coroner's Court is continuing into the circumstances of the 2022 death.

Insights

Four years after a boy's death from a missed rash, are UK hospitals any safer from similar fatal errors?
A nurse saw the fatal rash, but the doctor forgot. Can AI stop deadly communication breakdowns in our hospitals?