Sepsis death of autistic Norfolk boy is 'watershed moment'

A boy with autism died of sepsis after hospital staff failed to spot it in time, a coroner has said.

Mattheus Viera, 11, was admitted to the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in King's Lynn in Norfolk on 11 April 2022 for a urinary tract infection.

The hearing was told he did not like to be touched and medical staff described him as "uncooperative".

Area coroner Yvonne Blake said Mattheus "would have survived" if started on a sepsis pathway "in a timely manner".

Mattheus, of Gaywood in Norfolk, who had communication difficulties, sat in his pram looking at his tablet computer while in the hospital, the hearing was told.

Ms Blake said: "He wasn't writhing about - he was sitting quietly playing and people might have been reassured by that."

She said he could communicate in single words and the "seriousness of his condition wasn't apparent to the staff who saw him".

Mattheus died on 12 April when his condition worsened while he was being prepared for transfer to a paediatric intensive care unit in Cambridge, the inquest heard.

Recording a narrative conclusion, Ms Blake said: "Mattheus died from sepsis which was not recognised in a timely fashion, and appropriate treatment was not instigated.

"His death was contributed to by neglect."

In a statement read by the coroner, his father Vitor Vieira said: "He didn't like being touched by strangers and the presence of lots of strangers made him stressed and upset."

"Mattheus was our life and incredibly loved and our world has fallen apart without him in it."

A serious incident investigation by the hospital recorded several "red flags" for sepsis had been present, including Mattheus's breathing rate, heart rate, low levels of oxygen in his blood and ashen appearance.

The coroner said that if he had been started on a sepsis pathway "in a timely manner, Mattheus would have survived".

She continued: "It's made difficult by children with Mattheus's kind of condition where he can't tell people how he feels.

"He doesn't like people touching him so you get the difficulties, but you can't just not take readings on people because it's difficult."

Lucy Mellor, a specialist medical negligence solicitor at JMW, representing Mattheus's parents, said: "The disturbing lack of treatment for Mattheus leaves no doubt in my mind that a finding of neglect was the only reasonable outcome from today's hearing.

"What happened to Mattheus is shocking to all, but particularly for families with autistic children, and this has to be a watershed moment to ensure this can never happen again."

Mr Vieira said that Mattheus "deserved the same standard of care as any other little boy but was denied this due to being autistic".

"We want him to now have a voice, and for other autistic patients to be seen and to not needlessly lose their lives," he added.

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