Doctor feels 'betrayed' after son's death at hospital where she worked

A doctor whose seriously ill son died of sepsis after she rushed him to the east London hospital where she worked, says she feels "betrayed" by the way her family were treated.

William Hewes, 22, died within 24 hours of being admitted to Homerton University Hospital after his meningitis developed into sepsis in January 2023.

Dr Deborah Burns said she had repeatedly queried the speed of his treatment and has since been unable to "go back and work for an organisation that doesn't acknowledge its errors and learn from them."

Mr Hewes became unwell at about 13:30 GMT on 20 January and said he felt cold and had a headache.

His condition deteriorated during the afternoon and he got up after going to bed that night to tell his mother he felt very unwell and had bruising on his belly.

His mother, who suspected meningococcal sepsis, telephoned Homerton University Hospital emergency department to warn them she and her son were on their way.

While at the hospital Dr Burns, a paediatrics specialist at the same hospital, said she had asked staff on eight separate occasions if they had given him antibiotics.

She said: "I wasn't clock-watching but I knew they were not given straight away. I thought the nurse was prioritising other things, medication to treat his symptoms. It wasn't medication that was going to change the outcome of what he had."

Giving evidence during the inquest, the medical staff who treated Mr Hewes said they did not recall Dr Burns asking for antibiotics eight times.

Senior London Inner North coroner, Mary Hassell, said she accepted Dr Burns' evidence on this point, although she believed hospital staff were not being deliberately untruthful but had not heard an instruction from the registrar to administer antibiotics and fluids, as well as medication for his symptoms.

She added that Mr Hewes did not receive the antibiotics and fluids "with the urgency that he should have."

Even so, while delivering a narrative verdict, she said William Hewes was already very unwell when he reached the hospital and it was not clear if would have survived had he been treated quicker.

Following her son's death, Dr Burns was told that Homerton University Hospital was going to investigate what happened but months later she learned they had decided against an inquiry, as "there were no delays, there weren't any concerns about his treatment." 

Dr Burns, who has been diagnosed with complex grief, told the BBC she "couldn't understand why no investigation had been done and also why I hadn't been informed of the outcome."

She added that she had been unable to return to work as she had planned, due to the way she says the hospital has treated her family since her son's death. 

She said: "I am now much more aware of the deeply ingrained, defensive culture within the NHS. I trusted them, I felt betrayed. It has been totally unnecessary. If it can happen to me, then I really worry for the general population.

"I haven't been able to walk away from this in the last two years," she explained. "And it's all deeply meshed with the loss of my very much adored youngest son."

The coroner said she would issue a Prevention of Future Deaths report (PFD) to Homerton University Hospital, calling on it to detail the changes it had made since Mr Hewes' death.

A spokesperson for Homerton Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust said Dr Burns had "told us that our policies and processes for this situation are inadequate and detached and we are determined to learn from her experience.

"This work will ensure a more personal response for staff members or members of their family who are patients here."

The trust added an action plan had been drawn up after Mr Hewes' death, with changes introduced including making sure an intensive care doctor attends the bedside of a patient with suspected sepsis and delivering further training on recognising sepsis symptoms.