Family calls for 'Yusuf's Law' after boy's death

The family of a five-year-old boy who died after he was sent home from A&E is hoping for changes to ensure that parents' concerns are properly listened to in the future.

Yusuf Mahmud Nazir died at Sheffield Children's Hospital on 23 November 2022, eight days after he was seen at Rotherham Hospital and sent home with antibiotics.

On Wednesday, his family met Health Secretary Wes Streeting after a report published in July made a range of recommendations for the NHS.

Speaking outside the Department for Health and Social Care, Yusuf's uncle, Zaheer Ahmed, said potential policy changes could come in the form of "Yusuf's Law", adding: "We want to make sure that parents' voices are heard."

On 15 November 2022, Yusuf, who had asthma, was taken to a GP with a sore throat and feeling unwell, and was prescribed antibiotics by an advanced nurse practitioner.

Later that evening, his parents took him to Rotherham Hospital's urgent and emergency care centre, where he was seen after a six-hour wait.

He was discharged with a diagnosis of severe tonsillitis and an extended prescription of antibiotics.

Two days later Yusuf was given further antibiotics by his GP for a possible chest infection, but his concerned family ended up calling an ambulance.

He was admitted to the intensive care unit at Sheffield Children's Hospital on 21 November but died two days later.

A lawyer for the family previously told a pre-inquest review hearing that they believed "a number of significant systems failures" in Sheffield and Rotherham went beyond "individual nurses and doctors doing the wrong thing," and could have played a role in Yusuf's death.

The report into his care, published in July, said in its conclusions: "Our primary finding is that the parental concerns, particularly the mother's instinct that her child was unwell, were repeatedly not addressed across services."

Mr Ahmed, who was joined at the meeting by Yusuf's mother, Soniya Ahmed, said the health secretary was considering whether "Yusuf's Law" could be introduced.

"It's looking like Wes Streeting is taking it very, very seriously and the team's taking it very seriously to implement the laws and changes to make things better for everybody," said Mr Ahmed.

"It's important that this is taken very seriously and these concerns are addressed nationally."

A full inquest into Yusuf's death is due to start on 13 April, which the family hopes will provide answers about how he died.

Additional reporting by PA Media.

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