A desperately sick child was only diagnosed with a silent killer disease after it was too late to save him.
The parents of four-year-old Ronaldo Iosif became worried when he developed a high temperature and took him to Alder Hey Childrens' Hospital A&E department, where he was initially assessed pending a full medical examination.
However, because his temperature was not considered to be at an emergency level, he was placed in the lowest "green" priority. This meant he could face a wait of up to four hours in the busy A&E department before being seen by a doctor.
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Instead, following a discussion with medical staff, his parents took him back home. But overnight, the fever worsened, and they returned to Alder Hey the next morning.
It was only then that the seriousness of his condition was realised and Ronaldo was rushed to a resuscitation unit. Despite frantic efforts to save him, the child was tragically pronounced dead a short time later.
A post-mortem examination revealed he had died of sepsis following a meningococcal infection. The inquest into Ronaldo's death began today (Monday) at Gerard Majella Courthouse in Kirkdale, after a jury was sworn in to hear the case.
Ronaldo's dad, David, said at the time of the tragedy in June 2019, he had only just become a dad again after his wife had given birth to their sixth child. Speaking through a Romanian interpreter, Mr Iosif, of Bligh Street, Wavertree, told the jury that Ronaldo was "the loveliest boy in the house" and was just about to start school.
He said: "On the evening when he started with fever, my wife had given birth the day before. I took the car, and my brother and wife, and went to the hospital. He was still playing and was just the normal boy, except for his temperature.
"When we arrived, we were told the A&E department was very busy and it could be three to four hours before we saw a doctor. We were told that as his temperature was 38.2 it was not an emergency."
Mr Iosif said that eventually he was told to book an appointment for Ronaldo with his GP, and he left the hospital without seeing a doctor. The next morning, he saw that Ronaldo's fever had worsened and he took him back to Alder Hey, where he was immediately rushed to intensive care.
A temporary halt was called to the proceedings after an emotional Mr Iosif described how a doctor told him that his son had died. He said despite the language barrier, he could understand what was going on, and told doctors: "Do whatever it takes, just save him."
Giving evidence for the Alder Hey NHS Foundation Trust, Dr Charlotte Durand, a consultant at the paediatric emergency department, said the hospital typically saw hundreds of children every day who were presenting with a fever.
She told the jury: "It can be very challenging to pick up the serious cases because of the speed with which sepsis causes serious harm in children. In the early stages, it may not appear and the child may be well.
"The role of the initial examination at A&E is not to treat, but to triage. If the child was alert and playing, that's as far as the assessment would have gone and it would not have triggered a sepsis alert."
(Proceeding)
