Christine HuiBy Jim Reed, Harriet Agerholm & Alison BenjaminBBC NewsCoroners in England and Wales sent 109 warnings to health bodies and the government in 2023 highlighting long NHS waits, staff shortages or a lack of NHS resources, the BBC has found.The number of cases identified that were linked to NHS pressures was the highest in the past six years.Prevention of future death reports (PFDs) are sent when a coroner thinks action is needed to protect lives.The government says it “responds to, and learns from, every report”.Coroners are specialist judges in charge of inquests, which investigate the circumstances of deaths that appear to have an unknown, violent or unnatural cause.The BBC combed through hundreds of PFD reports written after inquests to find cases linked to long NHS waits or pressure on the health service.The 109 identified in 2023 compared with 58 in 2019, and 49 in 2018, before the pandemic. The BBC also found 62 cases in 2022, 45 cases in 2021, and 37 in 2020, when it was more likely Covid may have affected the number of inquests held and reports written.’Firefighting’William Gray was fond of maths and wanted to be a doctor when he grew up. He died after a life-threatening asthma attack, aged 10. In October 2020, he was struggling to breathe in the middle of the night. His mother gave him CPR and he was rushed to Southend Hospital by ambulance, only to be discharged four hours later.In the months that followed, his family tried and failed to get the specialist help they needed.Some changes were made to William’s inhaler but, after a consultant appointment, he was “lost to follow-up” at the hospital, his inquest heard. His GP did not prescribe continuing preventative medication to control his condition.At the time of his admission, there was a single nurse working in the children’s asthma and allergy service in south-east Essex, increasing to two nurses in November 2020.Staff had a caseload of 2,000 children and demand was growing, with referrals up 75% between 2018 and 2023.”Nurses were being asked to provide the impossible,” coroner Sonia Hayes said at William’s inquest. Staff were “firefighting” and the service was “ludicrous”.Family photoOn 29 May 2021, William had another severe asthma attack. This time doctors could not save him and he died in hospital.”It’s been horrendous for us, having to try to adjust to life without him,” said his mother Christine Hui.”I just don’t want any other family to go through what we’ve been through.”After William’s inquest in December 2023, the coroner wrote a strongly worded PFD report to Health Secretary Victoria Atkins and the NHS bodies responsible for his care. The children’s asthma service “remains under-resourced”, William’s death was “avoidable”, and better treatment “would and should” have saved his life, the coroner added.In response, Essex Partnership University NHS Trust said it had recruited three more asthma nurses through a pilot scheme, although it had requested funding for eight.”Since this tragic incident, our specialist community asthma services have been remodelled to enhance the care we provide,” a spokeswoman added.Mid and South Essex NHS Trust, which runs Southend Hospital, also said it had introduced “numerous changes” to improve patient care. Prevention of future deathsAbout 35,000 inquests take place in England and Wales each year. In a fraction of those – about 450 – the coroner writes a PFD, or Regulation 28, report.The BBC analysed 2,600 PFDs – and supporting documentation – sent between 2018 and 2023.The proportion of the total number of PFD reports that referenced an NHS resource issue rose to one in five in 2023, from one in nine in the two years before Covid. Of the 540 reports written last year, 109 were found that highlighted a long wait for NHS treatment, a shortage of medical staff or a lack of NHS resources such as beds or scanners. Of these, 26 involved mental illness or suicide, and 31 involved ambulances and emergency services.Karen ParksThat included …
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[mwai_chat context=”Let’s have a discussion about this article:nnChristine HuiBy Jim Reed, Harriet Agerholm & Alison BenjaminBBC NewsCoroners in England and Wales sent 109 warnings to health bodies and the government in 2023 highlighting long NHS waits, staff shortages or a lack of NHS resources, the BBC has found.The number of cases identified that were linked to NHS pressures was the highest in the past six years.Prevention of future death reports (PFDs) are sent when a coroner thinks action is needed to protect lives.The government says it “responds to, and learns from, every report”.Coroners are specialist judges in charge of inquests, which investigate the circumstances of deaths that appear to have an unknown, violent or unnatural cause.The BBC combed through hundreds of PFD reports written after inquests to find cases linked to long NHS waits or pressure on the health service.The 109 identified in 2023 compared with 58 in 2019, and 49 in 2018, before the pandemic. The BBC also found 62 cases in 2022, 45 cases in 2021, and 37 in 2020, when it was more likely Covid may have affected the number of inquests held and reports written.’Firefighting’William Gray was fond of maths and wanted to be a doctor when he grew up. He died after a life-threatening asthma attack, aged 10. In October 2020, he was struggling to breathe in the middle of the night. His mother gave him CPR and he was rushed to Southend Hospital by ambulance, only to be discharged four hours later.In the months that followed, his family tried and failed to get the specialist help they needed.Some changes were made to William’s inhaler but, after a consultant appointment, he was “lost to follow-up” at the hospital, his inquest heard. His GP did not prescribe continuing preventative medication to control his condition.At the time of his admission, there was a single nurse working in the children’s asthma and allergy service in south-east Essex, increasing to two nurses in November 2020.Staff had a caseload of 2,000 children and demand was growing, with referrals up 75% between 2018 and 2023.”Nurses were being asked to provide the impossible,” coroner Sonia Hayes said at William’s inquest. Staff were “firefighting” and the service was “ludicrous”.Family photoOn 29 May 2021, William had another severe asthma attack. This time doctors could not save him and he died in hospital.”It’s been horrendous for us, having to try to adjust to life without him,” said his mother Christine Hui.”I just don’t want any other family to go through what we’ve been through.”After William’s inquest in December 2023, the coroner wrote a strongly worded PFD report to Health Secretary Victoria Atkins and the NHS bodies responsible for his care. The children’s asthma service “remains under-resourced”, William’s death was “avoidable”, and better treatment “would and should” have saved his life, the coroner added.In response, Essex Partnership University NHS Trust said it had recruited three more asthma nurses through a pilot scheme, although it had requested funding for eight.”Since this tragic incident, our specialist community asthma services have been remodelled to enhance the care we provide,” a spokeswoman added.Mid and South Essex NHS Trust, which runs Southend Hospital, also said it had introduced “numerous changes” to improve patient care. Prevention of future deathsAbout 35,000 inquests take place in England and Wales each year. In a fraction of those – about 450 – the coroner writes a PFD, or Regulation 28, report.The BBC analysed 2,600 PFDs – and supporting documentation – sent between 2018 and 2023.The proportion of the total number of PFD reports that referenced an NHS resource issue rose to one in five in 2023, from one in nine in the two years before Covid. Of the 540 reports written last year, 109 were found that highlighted a long wait for NHS treatment, a shortage of medical staff or a lack of NHS resources such as beds or scanners. Of these, 26 involved mental illness or suicide, and 31 involved ambulances and emergency services.Karen ParksThat included …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]
