Family of Yusuf Mahmud Nazir, 5, who died after he was sent home from hospital not satisfied with investigation
The grieving family of a five-year-old boy who died after being sent home from a hospital have said they are not satisfied with an investigation which will look into how he was treated.
Hospital bosses in South Yorkshire have said the inquiry will be led by independent investigators outside of the region but the family wants it to be “completely external” from the NHS.
Zaheer Ahmed, the uncle of Yusuf Mahmud Nazir, told Sky News he wants a “full independent investigation out of the NHS”.
Mr Ahmed said the health service “want to do an external investigation by someone from the NHS outside of the district”. He added: “We are still in the talks and we are requesting that it is completely external.”
Mr Ahmed previously told Sky News that Yusuf would still be alive if the family had been listened to.
He said he “begged and begged” for his nephew to be admitted to Rotherham General Hospital due to a throat infection but was told “there are no beds and not enough doctors”.
After the boy was examined there on Monday 14 November, he was sent home, even though the doctor treating his nephew said “it was the worst case of tonsillitis he had ever seen”, according to Mr Ahmed.
At home, his condition deteriorated and he was later taken by ambulance to Sheffield Children’s Hospital but it was too late to save the young boy’s life.
The infection had spread to his lungs and caused multiple organ failure resulting in several cardiac arrests, and he died of pneumonia on Monday 21 November.
Hospital boss apologises
The chief executive of the Rotherham hospital, Dr Richard Jenkins, has now met Mr Ahmed and has apologised to him and the family.
Mr Ahmed said: “To me, it’s an acknowledgment that ‘we (the NHS) know we’ve made a mistake… and we’re working on it very hard to rectify that mistake’.
“But that mistake should not have happened. It’s cost the life of Yusuf.”
Mr Ahmed said more was needed.
“We want action to be done, the apology aside, we want answers, why has it cost Yusuf’s life, who’s responsible for it, what’s going to get done, what’s been done?”
Mr Ahmed said he had been told by NHS officials that since Yusuf’s death, the hospital has brought in another paediatric doctor to work in the A&E department and has cut waiting times for children there.
He said that on the evening when Yusuf was examined, there were 93 children in A&E and only one doctor to see them.
‘We want the truth’
Mr Ahmed said: “We want the hospital to reveal the truth to everybody. We want answers, for them to make changes and put stuff in place, so no other family suffers, no other child suffers, no other human suffers.”
Dr Jenkins said in a letter to the family’s MP Sarah Champion that he has spoken to Yusuf’s uncle to “directly express my condolences and to apologise to the family”.
Dr Jenkins wrote: “We have all been devastated to hear the family’s account of their experience of care and the ultimate death of Yusuf in Sheffield.
“It is vital that a thorough and independently conducted investigation takes place as soon as possible so the family can have answers to their concerns and we can identify where changes need to be made.
“Clearly assessment of clinical care and decisions requires the right expertise, so I am liaising with regional NHS England colleagues to identify appropriate independent investigators from outside South Yorkshire.”
In the letter, Dr Jenkins also explained the investigation “will involve the family in this so we can be sure that all their concerns will be fully addressed”.
Yusuf first complained of a sore throat on 13 November. His parents took him to their GP, who prescribed antibiotics.
The next day, when their son’s health did not improve, they drove him to the emergency department of Rotherham General Hospital.
Dr Jenkins said the investigation aims to cover the “whole pathway of Yusuf’s care, including both attendances with his GP, the Rotherham hospital attendance at the urgent and emergency care centre and subsequent contact from the family, the Yorkshire Ambulance Service and Sheffield Children’s Hospital”.
A man believed to be the victim after human remains were found in a Salford nature reserve has been named as Stuart Everett.
Police said DNA samples had been sent for urgent analysis to formally confirm the victim’s identity.
Mr Everett, 67, lived in the local area.
A major investigation started after a torso wrapped in plastic was found at Kersal Dale Wetlands on 4 April.
More remains were discovered at the weekend in the Greater Manchester area – at Blackleach Reservoir and Colliery Wood, and on Monday in an alleyway in Eccles.
Police said they were confident they all belong to the same person.
Michal Jaroslaw Polchowski, 68, and Marcin Majerkiewicz, 42, from Eccles, were yesterday charged with murder.
They are due to appear at Manchester Crown Court this morning.
A torso was found at Kersal Dale on 4 April. Pics: PA
The discovery of the torso four weeks ago – consisting of the bottom of the back, buttocks and thigh – prompted a large search for other remains to try to identify the victim.
Detective Superintendent Lewis Hughes said Mr Everett’s family was being supported by specially-trained officers.
“On behalf of Stuart’s loved ones, I ask the public and the press to please respect their wishes for peace and privacy while they process this most devastating news,” he said.
“My officers and detectives, alongside additional resources from across the force, have worked tirelessly over the last three days to secure charges.”
Mr Hughes thanked the public for their help and said police would leave no stone unturned “to find answers for Stuart’s family”.
UK
Hainault attack: Sword-wielding man arrested near station after ‘stabbing’ multiple people and police officers
A critical incident has been declared near a Tube station in northeast London after reports a man wielding a sword attacked members of the public and police officers.
The man, alleged to have been carrying a sword, crashed a vehicle into a house in Thurlow Gardens, before reportedly stabbing a number of people, police said.
The 36-year-old was alleged to have attacked members of the public and two police officers before eventually being arrested.
The Metropolitan Police were alerted to the incident shortly before 7am this morning.
A man wielding a sword has been arrested, police said. Pic:@ell_pht
Fire and rescue crews as well as a number of ambulances were also dispatched to the scene.
The condition of those injured isn’t currently known and officers are not looking for anymore suspects.
Hainault Tube station in Ilford has been closed by police after the incident.
Home Secretary James Cleverly said he was being updated about the incident and extended his thoughts to those affected.
Wes Streeting, the MP for Ilford North, wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter: “A critical incident has been declared in Hainault.
“There are station and road closures in place. The police, ambulance service and fire brigade are responding.”
A man with a sword has been arrested. Pic: @petekingdom/X
@petekingdom/X
Police said the attack did not appear to be terror related.
Deputy Assistant Commissioner Ade Adelekan added: “This must have been a terrifying incident for those concerned.
“I know the wider community will be feeling shock and alarm.
“People will want to know what has happened and will we provide more information as soon as we can.”
The Metropolitan Police previously said: “Police are at an incident in the Hainault area.
“Please follow the instructions of police officers on the ground.
“A man has been arrested.”
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A former police constable who filmed his estranged wife having sex with a colleague in a Screwfix car park has avoided jail.
Gavin Harper, 45, was described as “obsessed” in court and was convicted of stalking his estranged wife, who was also a police officer.
He caught Stephanie Glynn, 40, having sex with her colleague Andrew McLullich, 42, in the car park of a Screwfix, in Birkenhead, Merseyside, after he placed a tracker on her vehicle.
Harper, from Liscard, Wirral, crept up to the vehicle and started filming at the window with his mobile phone.
Prosecutors said this was the culmination of a campaign of “obsessive, intrusive and unwanted behaviour” against Ms Glynn that lasted from December 2020 to February 2021.
The father of two was found guilty by a jury at Liverpool Crown Court last month of aggravated stalking, including secretly bugging Ms Glynn’s car, listening in on her conversations, and tracking her whereabouts.
On Monday, Judge David Potter sentenced Harper to two years in jail, suspended for two years.
The judge said that Harper would have faced immediate imprisonment but for the significant impact this would have had on his elderly parents and youngest son.
The court heard Harper cared for his elderly parents, who would “not be able to cope” without him, and his son would have been forced to give up his university studies if he was jailed.
Harper and Ms Glynn were in a six-year relationship before they married in 2018, having met working at Merseyside Police.
However, Ms Glynn left their family home in December 2020 after she became close with Mr McLullich – an acting inspector and formerly her supervising sergeant.
Speaking in court, Harper claimed he wanted “undeniable proof” of the affair. His intention, he said, was to pass the video to police as evidence of two serving officers having an inappropriate relationship during the COVID lockdown restrictions.
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Judge Potter told Harper: “I am sure you became obsessed to the point of criminality in stalking Stephanie Glynn to provide evidence of her affair to weaponise that against her for having that affair, and you also became determined to destroy the career of Andrew McLullich.
“In that obsession the feelings, embarrassment and pain felt by Stephanie Glynn were collateral damage.
“You were more concerned about your own feelings and a raging sense of injustice.”
The judge said the events in Screwfix car park “do no credit to any of the people involved”.
The court previously heard that Harper and Mr McLullich punched one another in the car park after he began filming them.
Suzanne Payne, defending, said Harper’s behaviour against Ms Glynn was “out of character and borne out of the circumstances at that time”.
She added that Ms Glynn had received a written warning over her conduct in the car park.
Ms Glynn, now divorced, was said to have been left “sickeningly anxious” as a result of Harper’s stalking, and told the jury she now “constantly looked over her shoulders”.
The judge issued Harper with a seven-year restraining order from contacting or approaching Ms Glynn and Mr McLullich.
Harper must also perform 200 hours of unpaid work and complete 20 days of rehabilitation.
The Crown offered no evidence over an allegation that Harper unlawfully wounded Mr McLullich in the Screwfix car park after jurors could not reach a verdict on that charge.
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