A young girl struck down with Strep A was initially misdiagnosed in a text from a GP, her mum has said.
Five-year-old Farrah from Co Down, Northern Ireland, fell ill in September last year and developed a very visible rash, which a doctor is said to have wrongly believed to be caused by antibiotics.
She was diagnosed with Strep A three months later, in December, and admitted to hospital after suffering from pneumonia.
Her mum, Laura Rooney, has now called for an end to the practice of diagnosing children via messages and pictures exchanged between GPs and a parent over the phone.
She told Belfast Live: "I definitely don't feel it should be a service used still to diagnose children.
"Unfortunately, Farrah was wrongly diagnosed in a text message and was told that her rash was due to antibiotics and to continue them.
"I can't help but wonder if Farrah had been diagnosed at the time her rash came out face to face, she would have been put on the correct antibiotics which could have sped up her recovery.
"But unfortunately by the time her rash had developed and it was wrongly diagnosed, it just spiralled downhill to the point where had to be admitted to hospital."
Laura said that she understood why phone consultations were introduced during the Covid pandemic, and that it may still be convenient for some adult patients, but believes that children should still be seen face to face.
She continued: "I would like to call for the abolishment of diagnosing children through text messages, although I can see how it would be helpful for vulnerable people who can't maybe attend a group surgery," she said.
"It just needs completely restructured to the point where more face to face appointments need to happen, but it's not completely all the GPs fault all the time."
The mum expressed wider concerns about the way the health system was coping in general in Northern Ireland, referring to the damaging impact caused by the lack of local government.
She referred to the country's stalled transplant legislation as one example in particular.
Laura said: "I felt relieved at the time when I knew Farrah was going to make an improvement, but my heart goes out to every child in Northern Ireland now, who's either waiting on an operation that's been cancelled because of the lack of Assembly.
"Or else who hasn't got the medication they needed because it couldn't be passed in the Assembly.
"The only way forward for our children here to improve and also for laws to be put in place for transplants to happen to enrich children's lives, is if the Assembly reforms.
"Unfortunately that's not happening at the moment, and I wonder do the Assembly feel for the 180 families that this is going to affect as a direct result of the Assembly not reforming (those waiting on transplants)."
She referred to the changes recommended as far back as 2016 in the Bengoa report, carried out by Portuguese Professor Rafael Bengoa, which proposed drastic changes to the NI health service.
Laura said: "There's a desperate need for a restructure and reconfiguration as put forward by the panel for the Bengoa Report, so I'd be asking now that it's reviewed and as soon as the Assembly reforms again, that it's addressed."
Her daughter Farrah is now on the road to recovery and has just one more consultant appointment left.
Laura said: "Now that Farrah's recovered, I've gained enough strength and momentum now to make sure that no other child has to go through this as well.
"And also to help the parents of sick children at the moment by putting more pressure on the Assembly to form to make the decisions, because nothing can be done unless they do.
"There's no blame to be put on the NHS here at all, it's the pressure that they're under."
A spokesperson for Northern Ireland's Department of Health said: "GP practices have been under significant pressure since before the pandemic and have been working hard to see patients as needed.
"The adoption of telephone and virtual triage has provided a highly effective way to offer care to patients and has allowed a greater number of patients to be seen than would otherwise have been the case.
"It is anticipated that demand for GP services will remain high, and by continuing to offer digital solutions, practices are able to ensure patients are seen appropriately as quickly as possible.
"The Department of Health will continue to work in partnership with GPs to continuously review how services are provided, to ensure that that everyone in Northern Ireland can access high quality, safe services."
