The death of a teenager 'let down' by health professionals has prompted a coroner to call for action to address a national shortage of blood doctors. Katie Wilkins, 14, died from a catastrophic bleed on the brain at Alder Hey Children's Hospital in Liverpool five days after being diagnosed with leukaemia in July 2020.
An inquest into her death found failures in her treatment by two hospitals amounted to neglect and contributed to her death. The court heard doctors at Warrington Hospital could have diagnosed Katie - who dreamt of becoming a paramedic - with leukaemia earlier.
And she had suffered a catastrophic bleed on the brain but was under the care of an oncologist, not a haematologist. Coroner Katie Ainge heard bosses were unable to hire the right staff due to national recruitment problems.
She has now written to Health Secretary Sajid Javid in a bid to highlight the shortcomings and help prevent similar deaths in the future. Katie’s heartbroken parents, Jeanette Whitfield and Jonathan Wilkins, of Warrington, Cheshire, said they were were "incredibly angry" at the hospitals' failings.
They said in a statement: “It has been incredibly difficult to come to terms with Katie’s death over the past two years. The evidence that we have listened to in court from the specialist consultants stating that the care of our daughter should have been under the care of a haematologist, and that our beloved daughter would be here today if she had received that care is devastating.
"As parents we are incredibly angry and will continue to raise this issue so that future families will not have to go through what we have.”
The inquest heard Katie was diagnosed with acute promyelocytic leukaemia (APML) on July 26, 2020, but medics could have identified the rare form of blood cancer earlier. She had attended Warrington Hospital on June 30, 2020, with pain and was diagnosed with an abscess.
She returned multiple times throughout July 2020 with ongoing - and worsening - symptoms including pain, bruising and then fever. The coroner heard how medical staff failed to take basic blood tests which would have diagnosed the disease as early as her first attendance at the end of June.
Katie eventually collapsed at home on July 26 and was taken back to Warrington Hospital. It was only then that blood tests were finally taken which revealed her diagnosis.
She was then taken to Alder Hey and given prescriptions as part of her care plan. But communication failures between the haematology and oncology teams meant she did not receive the treatment.
When she complained of a headache on her second day at Alder Hey Hospital, on July 29, 2020, it was not recognised as a symptom of a haemorrhage. Shortly afterwards, Katie collapsed and was found to have suffered a bleed on the brain.
Urgent surgery failed to help and she was put on life support. She died two days later on July 31.
The inquest heard APML patients at Alder Hey are managed between both haematology and oncology teams. However, expert witness Dr Cathy Farrelly said it was almost unheard of for an oncologist to manage patients with the condition.
In a prevention of future deaths report, Ms Ainge expressed concern that oncology consultants continue to lead the care of APML patients at Alder Hey and highlighted the recruitment issues. Mr Javid must respond before July 21.
Solicitor Julie Struthers, who represents the family, said: "It is worrying that nearly two years after Katie died, there is still an ongoing concern that children with APML may not receive care from the correct speciality of doctor. I am pleased that the coroner has recognised this, and that it will be addressed at a national level to ensure that this tragedy will not happen to another child and their family.”
Speaking after Katie's death, her mum Jeanette Whitfield said: “Katie was so full of mischievous fun, you could hear her laughter from a mile away. She was also kind and had such a beautiful heart, I couldn’t have been prouder of her and my heart will never be whole again.’’
Katie's older sister Harriet said: “She was not only my little sister, but my best friend. ‘She had a big heart, and never failed to make me laugh. ‘She was caring, supportive and most of all the best sister I could have ever hoped for.’’
