Doctor tells London inquest of ‘feelings of betrayal’ after son’s sepsis death

William Hewes died aged 22 at Homerton hospital in east London in January 2023. His mother said she had to ask eight times for antibiotics for him. Photograph: PA

A consultant paediatrician has been unable to work at the hospital that failed to save her son from a sepsis infection, after “feelings of betrayal” towards her medical colleagues who ignored her warnings about errors in his treatment.

William Hewes, 22, a history and politics student, died on 21 January 2023 of meningococcal septicaemia at Homerton hospital in east London, where his mother, Dr Deborah Burns, had worked for more than 20 years.