The parents of Daniel Klosi, 4, pleaded with medics to give him blood tests as they were concerned he was seriously ill, but the child was repeatedly sent away from hospital
Heartbroken parents have been awarded a compensation payout after their four-year-old son died of sepsis following doctors telling them to “give him Calpol”.
The parents of Daniel Klosi pleaded with medics to give him blood tests as they were concerned he was seriously ill, but the child was repeatedly sent away from hospital.
Distraught mum and dad Lindita Alushi, 44, and Kastriot Klosi, 51, took Daniel to The Royal Free Hospital in Camden, north London, four times during the week before his death.
Two of these trips to hospital saw them sent home with instructions to give him Calpol and Ibuprofen. Daniel was only admitted to a children’s emergency department after his parents visited hospital twice in one day, on April 1, 2023, after waiting for four hours in A&E, an inquest heard.
By that time though the tot was visibly deteriorating – and died only a few hours later in the early hours of the following morning. His grief-stricken parents, who live in Kentish Town in London, instructed medical negligence lawyers Irwin Mitchell to look into their son’s death.
Investigators found that during Daniel’s third hospital visit, staff did not read his medical records or obtain a full history from his parents. An inquest also heard that medics did not order blood tests or administer life-saving intravenous antibiotics.
Daniel, who had autism, attended hospital with “atypical” features of sepsis, Coroner Mary Hassell said. She criticised medical staff, adding they needed to “pay even more attention than usual” to parents and their concerns regarding their child’s health.
The inquest heard that while Daniel had shown some signs of sepsis in children – such as a high temperature and vomiting – he did not appear to be lethargic. Tragically, if intravenous antibiotics had been given to Daniel during his third visit, he would have survived, the coroner added.
Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust has now issued an apology and agreed to pay the family an undisclosed out-of-court settlement.
Peter Landstrom, group chief executive, said he was “very sorry that it was necessary” that Daniel’s family had to raise concerns about his care during a “distressing time”.
In the letter to Daniel’s parents on January 2 this year, he wrote: “I am aware that there has been an inquest and the Trust takes the coroner’s conclusions very seriously.
“The Trust is truly sorry that the events in the lead up to Daniel’s death occurred and on behalf of the Trust, and all the staff involved, I would like to apologise unreservedly for the devastating outcome.”
Lindita, a pharmacy assistant and qualified doctor in her native Albania, said: “Each time we took Daniel to hospital it was because we thought his condition was getting worse. We asked for tests such as blood tests and X-rays but it felt like our concerns weren’t fully listened to.
“We were getting more concerned about Daniel as it looked to us like his condition was deteriorating. When he was admitted to hospital everything seemed to move so quickly and in just a few hours Daniel had died.
“I’ll never be able to find the words to describe the anger, hurt and pain we continue to wake with each day following Daniel’s death. What happened to Daniel, and especially the care issues he faced, will live with us forever.”
Paying tribute to her son, Lindita added: “Daniel was such a sweet and adorable little boy. We felt so blessed that he was our son. He brought so much happiness and sunshine to our lives. He didn’t deserve to die like he did because the hospital staff wouldn’t listen to our concerns.
“That he could have been saved is the most difficult thing to come to terms with. Medical staff should never make assumptions about a child’s condition such as I believe they did in Daniel’s case. That he was taken to hospital four times in a week indicated something was seriously wrong and we were right to be extremely concerned about his condition.
“All parents know their children the best, and that’s especially the case with parents of children with conditions such as autism.We take some comfort from finally having an apology from the Trust but remain hurt at the length of time it has taken. If by continuing to speak out we can save others, maybe Daniel’s death won’t have been totally in vain.”
A Royal Free London spokesperson said: “We are deeply sorry that Daniel died while under our care and would like to share our heartfelt condolences with his family and loved ones. Following a thorough investigation, we identified a number of areas for improvement, and measures were taken to immediately address these.
“This included improving training and awareness for all of our staff, particularly in relation to children who repeatedly visit our emergency departments; how we care for children with learning disabilities; and the importance of listening to parents and carers when they raise concerns.
“We will continue to do all we can to raise awareness of the signs and symptoms of sepsis among all of our staff.”
