By News Desk

A coroner has determined that a nine-year-old school girl who tragically experienced a fatal cardiac arrest a day after being initially misdiagnosed during a Strep A outbreak, could have been rescued.

MyLondon reported that Riya Hirani, of Wetheral Drive in Stanmore, was released from Northwick Park Hospital in Harrow on December 22, 2022. She was provided with a simple piece of paper and advised to use over-the-counter painkillers, despite her parents’ fervent requests for a prescription of antibiotics. This occurred amid widespread news coverage of a deadly outbreak.

The girl’s parents brought her to the North West London hospital based on advice from NHS 111 because of their concerns regarding her three-day fever, red throat, and speech difficulties. However, the Senior House Officer (SHO) who evaluated her determined that she was not severely ill and discharged her with a diagnosis of viral tonsillitis.

On the following evening of 23 December, Riya’s mother, Geeta, became alarmed when she noticed white pus in the back of her daughter’s throat and made the decision to return to the hospital.

While they were leaving, her father, Mukesh, believed she was choking and patted her on the back. Tragically, she collapsed and went into cardiac arrest, resulting in severe brain damage that ultimately led to her passing away five days later at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH).

Geeta told St Pancras Coroner’s Court during an inquest into her daughter’s death on Thursday, September 14: “We were literally leaving and she stood up and said she could not breathe. It was so quick. I do not understand how it could happen so quick.”

“She was very active, loved to sing and dance, and do arts and crafts. She was a bright and smart girl,” she added. “She adored Lego. She would spend hours playing with her little sister, making up characters with her Lego. She had a very mature understanding of the world.”

Riya was conceived by IVF after a tough 10-year-long battle her parents had to endure.

The SHO doctor was questioned regarding the incident and his failure to spot Riya’s symptoms. When asked why he did not pay attention when the parents told him about the girl having “difficulty speaking”, he told the court that he was not told that. He said, “I was told her voice had changed, rather than she was not able to speak, as far as I can remember.”

“She was using all her breath to get her words out, that’s what was happening and I explained that,” Geeta contended as she was called to the witness box. “When I examined her she did not have any difficulty breathing,” the doctor responded, according to MyLondon.

A number of other doctors were also questioned, and explained how serious Riya’s condition was after she suffered a cardiac arrest.

Consultant in paediatric intensive care at GOSH Dr Quen Mok recollected how she had been admitted to the specialist children’s hospital in Camden after 11 minutes of no cardiac output and evidence of brain swelling. She said, “Having done 30 years of paediatric care I had never seen a child with influenza be so sick.”

According to MyLondon, giving a narrative conclusion, Coroner Hassell said: “I’m satisfied from all the evidence at the point [Riya] was brought into hospital she was showing signs and symptoms of a bacterial infection and should have been treated as such.

“She should have been admitted and treated with antibiotics. I’m not certain what the outcome would have been, but I am satisfied on the balance of probabilities, if Riya had been appropriately treated she would have survived.”

Coroner Hassell will issue a Prevention of Future Deaths report, aiming to prevent a recurrence of the circumstances that led to Riya’s tragic passing. Additionally, a separate report to Health Secretary Steve Barclay, advocating for the establishment of a rule that enables parents to seek a second medical opinion if they harbour concerns about a misdiagnosis will also be sent.