The parents of a 15-year-old girl who died of meningitis told an inquest in Nottingham on Wednesday they believe doctors and ambulance staff missed two opportunities to diagnose and treat their daughter.
Coroner Elizabeth Didcock heard that Zara Cheesman, of Mapperley Park, became unwell on the evening of December 19 and vomited through the night before collapsing and striking her head at about 1 a.m. Her mother called NHS 111 after Zara reported neck and shoulder pain and was advised to take her to accident and emergency.
At hospital a trainee nurse practitioner suggested meningitis was a possibility but considered a stomach bug more likely, the inquest was told. Paediatric emergency medicine registrar Dr. Derek Huffadine said he also considered meningitis but decided not to perform blood tests before discharging Zara, describing her illness as "short" and saying the predominant feature was vomiting that appeared to be improving. "She was very eloquent... she looked well but tired," Dr. Huffadine said. "I honestly did not think Zara had meningitis. I'm more careful about giving general guidance if you don't think your child is well or something has changed, come back."
Zara's parents said in a statement read to the court that they were frustrated blood tests were not conducted and that antibiotics should have been given as soon as meningitis was suspected. "We are devastated and upset that meningitis was ruled out without the correct tests," they said. They told the inquest they were told in the past antibiotics would have been given at the first thought of meningitis and added, "Our trust was completely misplaced."
East Midlands Ambulance Service technicians attended the family home the following day after Zara woke confused, the inquest heard. The parents said the technicians did not adequately examine her or heed their concerns and that one technician discouraged them from returning to hospital. Zara's father, Mark Cheesman, asked if meningitis was possible and was told it was not, the coroner was told. The teenager was taken to hospital again by paramedics the next morning after she fell off a sofa and became "limp." She died at Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham on December 23 at 2:25 p.m.
In their statement the parents said there were "red flags" of confusion and delirium and that Zara should have been conveyed immediately to A&E. They added: "We were let down by NHS staff from two different trusts who should be experts. The two chances to save her had been missed. Zara died of meningitis which is easily treatable."
The inquest also heard a pen portrait of Zara read by her mother describing the teenager as an A* student who wanted to study law and become a human rights lawyer. Her mother told the court Zara was "incredibly kind, empathetic, intelligent, funny, often stubborn and highly opinionated, having always cared deeply for those close to her. We have no doubt she would have achieved her hopes and dreams and purpose."
The inquest, expected to last three days, continues. No determination has yet been recorded and the hearing will consider clinical decisions made by staff at both the hospital trust and the ambulance service, as well as whether local procedures and assessments met relevant standards.