In Newport (Wales), a general practitioner refused to examine Ellie-May, 5, because of a delay of 4 minutes. An hour later, she died of a severe asthma attack.
A five-year-old girl died of an asthma attack after her GP refused to see her. The reason for the refusal: Shanice and her daughter, Ellie-May, were four minutes late for an emergency appointment, says the Daily Mail.
The drama happened on the Newport side in Wales. Last January, Shanice, the mother, is very worried about her daughter’s state of health. As she knows that her little one has severe asthma, she goes to the pediatrician who knows Ellie-May. As they are late, the practitioner asks him to come back the next day, on time.
The practitioner suspended for 6 months
Without protesting, Shanice complies. Except that barely an hour after returning home, little Ellie-May is the victim of another asthma attack. She can’t breathe at all and suffocates in her bed. The emergency services tried to resuscitate her in vain, the child finally died on January 26, 2015.
Following what remains a professional error, Dr Joanne Rowe, 53 years old today, was deprived of salary and suspended from her duties for six months by the General Medical Council (GMC): “She did not even not questioned the child about his health, ”he explains. By promising not to do the same blunder again, the pediatrician ended up finding a new job in Cardiff.
2,000 deaths per year in France
As a reminder, asthma is a common disease that affects more than 4 million people in France, according to Inserm. Its first manifestations most often occur during childhood. Asthma can be serious when it is not managed properly or when it is out of the control of treatment.
Severe asthma is directly associated with approximately 600,000 hospital days per year, and 2,000 deaths. In addition, the disease significantly impairs the quality of life. It causes insomnia, decreased activity and absenteeism at school or at work.
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