Man with diabetes died after GPs ‘failed to spot deteriorating health’

A 27-year-old man died from complications linked to diabetes after GPs failed to properly investigate his rapidly deteriorating health.

Lugano Mwakosya died on 3 October 2020 from diabetic ketoacidosis, a build-up of toxic acids in the blood arising from low insulin levels, two days before he could see a GP in person.

His mother, Petronella Mwasandube, believes his death could have been avoided if doctors at Strensham Road Surgery, in Birmingham, had given “adequate consideration” to Lugano’s diabetic history and offered face-to-face appointments following phone consultations on 31 July and 16 and 30 September.

An independent review commissioned by NHS England found two doctors who spoke to Lugano did not take into account his diabetes or “enquire in detail and substantiate the actual cause of the patient’s symptoms”.

The review raised concern over the “quality and brevity” of the phone assessments and said the surgery should have offered Lugano an in-person appointment sooner.

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Source: The Independent, 7 August 2022