Inquest to Examine Preventability of Student's Meningitis Death

An inquest will be held with a jury to examine whether the death of an 18-year-old university student from meningitis was preventable. Megan Draper, a first-year student at Bournemouth University, died on October 29, 2025, after contracting the infectious disease.

During her illness, Ms. Draper exhibited symptoms including a headache, stomach pain, and a rash that spread across her body. Despite these symptoms, she was reportedly sent home from Royal Bournemouth Hospital. A pre-inquest review hearing was told that a jury must hear the full inquest because Ms. Draper died of a 'notifiable' disease, a legal requirement.

The scope of the inquest is set to include Ms. Draper's interactions with the NHS 111 service, the triage process at Royal Bournemouth Hospital, her out-of-hours treatment, and her eventual admission to Southmead Hospital in Bristol. The coroner, Brendan Allen, stated that the investigation would specifically look into whether "Megan's death was preventable."

Dorset Healthcare University NHS Foundation Trust, which manages the local NHS 111 service, has been asked to provide a statement regarding Ms. Draper's call and the service's handling procedures. The inquest has been provisionally scheduled to begin on July 19, 2027.

Ms. Draper died just five weeks into her physiotherapy course, having contracted Meningitis B (MenB). Her parents, Lee and Helen Draper, have expressed concerns that their daughter, who received the MenACWY vaccine in school, was not adequately protected. The MenB vaccine was introduced on the NHS for babies in 2015 due to their higher vulnerability to the disease. This vaccine offers protection against the bacteria responsible for approximately 83% of meningitis cases in the UK, but its protection is limited to a few years.

Ms. Draper received vaccinations against meningitis strains A, C, W, and Y at age 14. Her parents stated they were unaware that a separate vaccination for MenB existed, believing the jab they authorized covered all strains. A university checklist advised students to ensure their vaccinations were up to date before attending.

On October 24, 2025, Ms. Draper's parents received a call from their daughter reporting that she felt "lethargic." By the following day, her symptoms had progressed to include a headache, stomach pain, and a spreading rash. Her parents urged her to seek hospital treatment. Despite her condition, she was sent home from Royal Bournemouth Hospital.

Concerned, her parents drove from South Wales to be with their daughter and took her back to the hospital, suspecting meningitis. However, they report that a doctor on two occasions stated it was not meningitis but simply a virus, advising rest and fluids. Ms. Draper's condition rapidly worsened on the drive back to Wales, to the point where she lost the ability to move her legs. Her parents then took her to the nearest A&E at Southmead Hospital in Bristol, where she was placed in a medically induced coma. She passed away four days later, on October 29, 2025, leaving behind her parents and younger brother, James.