Heartbreaking final words of ‘loving’ boy, 10, who died following asthma attack after ‘neglect by doctors’

A MUM has revealed her heartbreaking final words of her young son before he died after suffering an asthma attack.

William Gray, 10, passed away at Southend University Hospital in 2021, following neglect by medical staff.

PAWilliam Gray was a loving and bright boy[/caption]

His death was a “consequence of failures by healthcare professionals”, area coroner Sonia Hayes concluded.

William’s mother, Christine Hui, said the verdict gave the family “some closure”.

“This is the final stage in saying goodbye to our son, brother, grandson, great-grandson, nephew and friend,” she explained.

She described her “loving boy” as having a “heart of gold” and said he dreamed of being a doctor.

“He saw the care he was given, and he wanted to do that for others,” the mum said.

William suffered from asthma from the age of two, but his asthma was generally well-controlled, the inquest into his death was told.

The inquest, which took place between October 23 and November 3 at Essex coroner’s court, heard that William was admitted to hospital in 20202 after suffering a near-fatal asthma attack.

He was subsequently discharged four hours later.

Nine days later, during a home visit, an asthma nurse changed William’s inhaler, and he was prescribed steroids, the court heard.

William’s asthma began to worsen in the spring of 2021, and although his mother spoke to his GP, he was not referred for further treatment, and his medication was not changed.

On May 29 2021, William told his mum he was not feeling very well, so Christine gave him ten puffs of his inhaler.

William started to feel worse, so she rang 999 and was told an ambulance would not be sent to their home in Southend.

Christine said her son’s last words to her were, “how long will the ambulance be?”

He collapsed on the sofa shortly after the paramedics arrived, and that question was William’s last words.

The boy died at Southend University Hospital at about 02:00 BST on May 29 2021.

Coroner Sonia Hayes said William’s death was “tragic and avoidable”.

She criticised the care William received when he was admitted to the hospital following the attack in October 2020 and said he shouldn’t have been discharged after just four hours.

The coroner concluded that his death could been prevented, leading to her issuing a prevention of future deaths report.

She said: “William’s death was contributed to by neglect.

“William’s death was avoidable.

“There were multiple failures to escalate and treat William’s very poorly controlled asthma by healthcare professionals that would and should have saved William’s life.”

Diane Sarkar, the chief nursing and quality officer for Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust, said: “The death of any child is especially tragic, and our heartfelt condolences go out to William’s family.

“We’d like to assure them that we are committed to learning from this terrible loss and that since he died in 2021 we have brought in numerous changes to improve patient care as a direct result of learning from William’s case.”

In a statement, Christine said: “William was a funny, caring little boy who liked to make jokes and had a heart of gold.

“We believed that William’s asthma was controlled, but now we know that wasn’t the case.”

She added: “Parents know their children best and should trust their instincts. If you feel something isn’t right, question it.

“There is nothing that can take away the grief our family feels, but it is our hope that another family will hear our story and it could prevent a further tragedy.”