Inquest Reveals Failures in Care Leading to Young Man's Death from Sepsis in London

Consultant paediatrician Deborah Burns recounts emotional turmoil as legal inquiry examines treatment errors at Homerton Hospital.

An inquest into the death of William Hewes, a 22-year-old history and politics student, has shed light on critical failures in medical care at Homerton Hospital in east London, where his mother, Dr. Deborah Burns, has worked for over 20 years as a consultant paediatrician.

Hewes succumbed to meningococcal septicaemia on January 21, 2023.

During the inquiry held at Bow coroner’s court, Dr. Burns expressed profound grief and disappointment regarding the treatment her son received, stating that she had felt a ‘betrayal’ by medical colleagues who did not heed her warnings about the inadequacies observed in her son's care.

In an emotional statement, she described the pain of losing her son and reiterated her concerns about the treatment errors encountered during his hospital stay.

The court learned that Hewes was brought to the hospital's Accident & Emergency department shortly after midnight, where Burns implored staff to administer critical antibiotics promptly.

However, evidence presented indicated that antibiotics were not administered until 1:25 AM due to a miscommunication between doctors and nursing staff.

Dr. Burns reported that she raised concerns about the lack of treatment at least eight times leading up to the eventual administration of antibiotics.

Dr. Burns described her escalating desperation at her son's bedside, noting complications with the intravenous delivery of medications.

She recalled attempting to intervene directly in the care provided, highlighting areas of concern where she had to assist doctors unfamiliar with administering specific treatments like intravenous morphine.

Furthermore, she criticized delays in transferring her son from the emergency resuscitation area to intensive care, stating that he was left unattended for an excessive period, contributing to his deteriorating condition.

She mentioned that the intensive care unit did not improve his care until it was too late, leading her to call his father, suspecting that he would not see William alive again.

Dr. Ron Daniels, an intensive care consultant and founder of the UK Sepsis Trust, testified that timely administration of antibiotics and earlier intensive care treatment could have significantly increased Hewes’s chances of survival.

Dr. Daniels estimated that 50% to 75% of patients in similar conditions could survive if treated promptly, indicating that Hewes's care did not align with established medical guidelines.

Another professional involved, Dr. Mathuratha Sivasubramaniam, who was the duty intensive care registrar, explained that she initially declined to admit Hewes to intensive care, as he appeared to show signs of improvement at that moment.

The reliability of Dr. Sivasubramaniam's statement was called into question, as the court was informed she had left the UK and could not be cross-examined.

Consultant Petr Dlouhy expressed that his earlier involvement could have prompted a quicker decision for intensive care admission, but he stated he could not confirm whether it would have ultimately saved Hewes's life.

The inquest is ongoing, with the coroner, Mary Hassell, continuing to gather evidence regarding the circumstances surrounding William Hewes’s death and the associated care failures.