Actor Jason Watkins has opened up about his daughter’s tragic death from sepsis on a visit to King's College Hospital to raise awareness of the disease on World Sepsis Day.
Two-year-old Maude, who was not treated at King's, became unwell in December 2010 and was initially treated for a heavy cold.
But after a week of being unwell, Maude developed a respiratory infection, characterised by a cough and a raspy voice.
After her condition worsened, Mr Watkins and his wife Clara Francis took her to the GP and then to their local hospital’s Emergency Department.
It was there that Maude was diagnosed with croup, a common condition of the upper airway that mainly affects babies and young children. Symptoms can include a barking cough, hoarse voice and difficulty breathing. Maude was given steroids and sent home.
She went on to develop stridor, an abnormal, high-pitched respiratory sound produced by obstructed air flow through a narrowed airway, leaving her parents "terrified".
Maude was rushed back to A&E on New Year's Eve. She was checked over, given oxygen, more steroids and, because her temperature had dropped, she was sent home again.
The following day, Mr Watkins described having a "strange feeling of dread" and his older daughter said she was unable to wake Maude.
Mr Watkins and his wife then discovered she had died that night in her cot.
The Crown star shared his story with staff at King's College Hospital in a bid to raise awareness of the condition on World Sepsis Day, which took place last Friday.
He said, “Awareness is key. I keep Maude’s memory alive by sharing her story with you.”
Helen Hayes, MP for Dulwich and West Norwood, also spoke at the event.
She said: "Sepsis deaths are preventable tragedies, and those who survive can be left with devastating consequences."
Ms Hayes also referenced her colleague, Conservative MP Craig Mackinlay, who returned to Parliament in May after developing a life-threatening case of sepsis, which led to the amputation of his hands and feet.
"That is why prompt diagnosis and treatment is so important," she added.
Professor Akash Deep, paediatric ontensivist at King’s, who organised the conference, and who lost his own mother to sepsis, said: “Sepsis is a medical emergency. The condition is not easy to diagnose and can present as a range of other conditions. That is why, if a patient is deteriorating, it is vital that we as medical professionals ask ourselves, ‘could this be sepsis?’. And we have to empower our patients and their relatives to ask that question as well."
He added: "Events such as these are crucial if we are to raise awareness of the condition, ensure cases are identified and treated early, and stop needless deaths and disability from sepsis.”
