Boy, 10, with asthma died due to ‘neglect by healthcare professionals’

A 10-year-old boy with severe asthma died as a result of multiple failings by healthcare professionals amounting to neglect, a coroner has concluded.

William Gray, from Southend, died on 29 May 2021 from a cardiac arrest caused by respiratory arrest, resulting from acute and severe asthma that was “chronically very under controlled”. His death has led to calls to improve asthma treatment for children nationwide.

The court heard that William’s death was a “tragedy foretold” having previously suffered a nearly fatal asthma attack on 27 October, 2020, which he survived.

The coroner said that William’s death was avoidable, his symptoms were treatable, and he should not have needed to use 16 reliever inhalers over 17 months, but instead his condition should have been treated with preventer medications and should have been controlled.

Julie Struthers, a solicitor at Leigh Day who represented the family, said, “In an inquest involving concerns with medical treatment it is rare for a coroner to find neglect, and even rarer for a coroner to find Article 2, a person’s right to life, to be engaged. This reflects the real tragedy of what happened to William, the substantial number of failures by multiple healthcare professionals in his care, and the importance of improving asthma treatment for children nationwide.”

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Source: inews, 22 November 2023