Yusuf Nazir: Boy, 5, who died after being sent home from hospital was ‘inhumanely treated’ and ‘gasping for breath’, say witnesses

Published

2 years ago

March 6, 2024

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A five-year-old boy, who died a week after he was sent home from an emergency department, was treated “inhumanely” and was “left gasping for breath”, according to witnesses in the hospital waiting room.

The claims over his alleged mistreatment were made to Sky News by two separate and unrelated women who saw Yusuf Nazir cradled in his mother’s arms at Rotherham Hospital just eight days before he died.

On Tuesday, Yusuf’s family met Health Secretary Victoria Atkins and said she told them she will ask NHS chief Amanda Pritchard to look at the case.

Yusuf’s mother Soniya and uncle Zaheer Ahmed spent over an hour with Ms Atkins sharing their concerns about a 2023 report into his death.

After the meeting, Mr Ahmed said: “We’re very happy with the way the meeting went, we could see progression coming our way and this is all we wanted, we want to get another report issued and get the truth out.”

Yusuf died on 23 November 2022 – eight days after he was seen at Rotherham Hospital and sent home with antibiotics.

A report into Yusuf’s NHS case published last year found his care was appropriate and “an admission was not clinically required” but this has been rejected by his family.

Mr Ahmed insists they were told “there are no beds and not enough doctors” and complained that Yusuf should have been admitted and given intravenous antibiotics in Rotherham to save his life.

‘Is there anyone who can help?’

Two independent and unrelated witnesses have spoken to Sky News to express their concerns about Yusuf’s care.

Both were in the emergency department at the same time as Yusuf and his mother.

One described the situation as “scary” and the other said it was a “truly horrific night”.

Jade Cousins sat opposite Yusuf as he lay cradled in his mother’s arms.

She said he was “gasping for breath” and she was not listened to when she urged medical staff to intervene.

Ms Cousins said: “I said to the nurse, ‘there’s a lady and there’s a little boy who’s really struggling to breathe. He’s gasping. Is there anyone that can come and help?’ and she just basically said, ‘If his mom’s concerned, then she needs to bring him to us herself’.”

“She was only a small lady herself. So picking up a boy who was practically just floppy would have been too much,” Ms Cousins added.

‘Inhumane treatment’ on ‘truly horrific night’

A second witness, who wants to stay anonymous, described Yusuf’s “inhumane treatment” on a “truly horrific” night.

She said: “I was in the waiting room before Yusuf arrived and it was clear as soon as he entered that he was very unwell.

“After waiting a few hours it was very clear that his condition was getting worse, and he was gasping for his breath.”

She added: “Yusuf’s mum spoke to the receptionist to ask for help, to be told that, ‘I can hear he is making a snoring noise’.

“He was not snoring, he was gasping for his breath. Even my child who was nine at the time replied, ‘That isn’t snoring’.”

“The events of the night were truly horrific, my child and I spoke about it to family and friends as it had stuck in our mind so much.

“I couldn’t believe that a child and family could be treated in such an inhumane manner.”

‘Report missed evidence’

Mr Ahmed said the NHS report published in October last year missed out on a range of evidence.

“An honest, fair investigation by a completely independent body. That’s what we’re wanting,” he said.

The report set out how Yusuf, who had asthma, was taken to the GP with a sore throat on 15 November.

Later that evening, his parents took him to Rotherham Hospital Urgent and Emergency Care Centre (UECC) where he was seen after a six-hour wait.

Yusuf was discharged with a diagnosis of severe tonsillitis and an extended prescription of antibiotics, the report said.

Two days later, Yusuf was given further antibiotics by his GP for a possible chest infection, but his family became so concerned they called an ambulance and insisted the paramedics take him to Sheffield Children’s Hospital rather than Rotherham.

Yusuf was admitted to the intensive care unit on 21 November but developed multi-organ failure and suffered several cardiac arrests which he did not survive.

NHS trust: ‘Nothing could have been done differently’

Dr Jo Beahan, medical director at the Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We were all deeply saddened by the tragic circumstances surrounding Yusuf’s death.

“It is something no parent wants to go through, and our sympathies remain with Yusuf’s family.

“Given the concerns raised by Yusuf’s family at the time, an independent investigation was commissioned by the South Yorkshire Integrated Care Board.

“The trust fully cooperated with the investigation and accepted the recommendations made within the report, which was published in October 2023.

“The independent investigation found that, sadly, there was nothing that could have been done differently that would have saved Yusuf’s life.”

Dr Beahan added: “The trust’s urgent and emergency care centre, as with emergency departments across the country, is a very busy environment, especially during the winter months.

“November 2022 was a particularly busy period for the urgent and emergency care centre at the trust. Yusuf was monitored during the period he waited to see a doctor.

“The CCTV footage of the period in the waiting room was considered by the investigators in the independent report.

“Yusuf was then seen by a very experienced doctor on the morning of 16 November and was given an increased dose of antibiotics.

“If an admission had been considered necessary at that point, Yusuf would have been admitted to the children’s ward.”

UK

UK officially recognises Palestine as a state

Published

7 hours ago

September 21, 2025

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UK officially recognises Palestine as a state

Sir Keir Starmer has announced the UK has officially recognised Palestine as a state.

“Today, to revive the hope of peace for the Palestinians and Israelis, and a two state solution, the United Kingdom formally recognises the State of Palestine,” the prime minister said on X, alongside a longer video statement.

“In the face of the growing horror in the Middle East, we are acting to keep alive the possibility of peace and a two-state solution.

“That means a safe and secure Israel alongside a viable Palestinian state. At the moment, we have neither.”

Follow latest: Palestine recognised as a state by three countries

Canada and Australia also officially recognised Palestinian statehood on Sunday, ahead of a conference of the UN General Assembly in New York this week.

It is a significant moment in the history of Britain’s involvement in the region, and comes as the death toll from the Israeli war on Gaza continues to rise and conditions for the people trapped become even more desperate.

Sir Keir said in July that the government would recognise Palestine unless Israel met certain conditions, including agreeing to a ceasefire and allowing the UN to restart the supply of aid.

In recognising Palestine as a state, the UK does so based on 1967 borders to be finalised as part of future negotiations. It would be led by a “reformed Palestinian Authority”.

The UK also acknowledges “all legal rights and obligations of statehood” for Palestine.

An updated map on the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office website now has the West Bank and Gaza labelled as ‘Palestine’ rather than the ‘Occupied Palestinian Territories’. This change has been rolled out across the website.

Sir Keir calls on Hamas to release the hostages

The prime minister repeated his calls for the the Israeli hostages – held in captivity since the brutal attacks on Israel on 7 October, 2023 – to be released by Hamas.

“I have met British families of the hostages. I see the torture that they endure each and every day. Pain that strikes deep in people’s hearts across Israel and here in the United Kingdom.

“The hostages must be released immediately and we will keep fighting to bring them home.”

Sir Keir was also clear to emphasise that recognition of Palestine was “not a reward for Hamas”, saying that the terror group “can have no future, no role in government, no role in security” in a future state.

“I have directed work to sanction other Hamas figures in the coming weeks,” he added.

Starmer calls on Israel to end Gaza offensives

Sir Keir also repeated his criticism of Israel, which for nearly two years has waged a brutal war on the densely-populated Gaza Strip.

“The Israeli government’s relentless and increasing bombardment of Gaza, the offensive of recent weeks, the starvation and devastation are utterly intolerable.”

The death toll in Gaza since the IDF launched its offensive following the 7 October attacks has now risen above 65,000 people, according to Hamas-run health authorities.

“This death and destruction horrifies all of us. It must end,” he said.

British people ‘desperately want to see’ peace

Sir Keir also said: “Ordinary people, Israeli and Palestinian, deserve to live in peace. To try to rebuild their lives free from violence and suffering.

“That’s what the British people desperately want to see.”

But he warned that the possibility of a Palestinian state was in danger of vanishing forever.

“With the actions of Hamas, the Israeli government escalating the conflict, and settlement building being accelerated in the West Bank, the hope of a two-state solution is fading, but we cannot let that light go out.

“That is why we are building consensus with leaders in the region and beyond, around our framework for peace.”

Sir Keir said this is a “practical plan” to bring people together behind a “common vision” that moves from a ceasefire in Gaza to negotiations on a two-state solution.

“We will keep driving this forward,” he pledged.

UK

What will the UK’s recognition of Palestine achieve?

Published

10 hours ago

September 21, 2025

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What will the UK's recognition of Palestine achieve?

Today, Sir Keir Starmer will deliver on his pledge to recognise a Palestinian state – after setting out a series of conditions in July which there was little prospect Israel could meet, including agreeing a ceasefire with Hamas.

The prime minister will say it recognises the “inalienable right” of the Palestinian people and what he feels is a moral responsibility to keep a two-state solution alive, amid the devastation of the war and concern about settlement expansion in the West Bank.

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This will be formally put forward by the British government at a conference of the UN General Assembly in New York this week, after a diplomatic push led by Emmanuel Macron. Canada and Australia are also expected to recognise it, although may call for Hamas to disarm.

But Labour has always said it’s a move they would make as part of a peace process, which looks further away than ever.

What does it mean?

The move has been heavily criticised and leaves a number of questions not only about what it will achieve – but about whether it will have the opposite effect on the conflict.

David Lammy as foreign secretary conceded when the pledge was announced that “it will not change the position on the ground” which can only come through negotiations.

After all, 147 of the 193 member states of the United Nations recognise it already. Palestine has permanent observer status at the UN – speaking rights, but not voting rights – where it’s represented by the Palestinian Authority. Any move to full status would have to be agreed by the Security Council where the US has a veto.

Sir Keir has made clear he doesn’t accept Hamas – which he calls a “brutal terrorist organisation” – as a government in Gaza. The borders of such a state, wrangled over for decades during multiple rounds of negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, are also not agreed.

Criticism

Recognition is opposed by the Trump administration, as the US president made clear in London last week. US secretary of state Marco Rubio has said it would “embolden Hamas” and be symbolic only.

In Britain there is cynicism too. Kemi Badenoch, the Conservative leader, has accused the prime minister of a “desperate and insincere attempt to placate his backbenchers”. He heads to the party’s conference in Liverpool next week with a further slump in his approval ratings to -42%, around where Rishi Sunak’s was after his D-Day blunder.

Over a third of Labour MPs wrote to Sir Keir before his pledge in July, calling for recognition of a Palestinian state. It is not clear this symbolic move will placate them, with some already calling for tougher measures including on arms sales to Israel – especially after a UN Commission of Inquiry claimed Israel had committed genocide.

Other Labour MPs oppose the recognition move. The Labour Friends of Israel group has said: “It is important to recognise that Israel is not the only party to this conflict… Hamas could end this conflict tomorrow by releasing the hostages and laying down its arms.”

The move is also opposed by the families of the hostages in Gaza, of which 20 are believed to be alive – for not imposing their release as a condition on Hamas.

Ilay David, the brother of Evyatar David, who recently appeared emaciated in a Hamas video, said: “We want to meet with Starmer but he refuses to meet with us… Giving this recognition is like saying to Hamas: ‘It is OK you can keep starving the hostages, you can keep using them as human shields’. This kind of recognition gives Hamas power to be stubborn in negotiations. That is the last thing we need right now.”

Sir Ephraim Mirvis, the UK’s Chief Rabbi has said the “unconditional” recognition of the state “is not contingent upon a functioning or democratic Palestinian government, nor even upon the most basic commitment to a peaceful future”.

What happens next?

Sir Keir met 89-year-old Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, in London this month and they agreed Hamas should not be involved in the governance of Gaza.

Efforts to set up a transitional government have been discussed between the US and Gulf states. But Mike Huckabee, the US ambassador to Israel, said last week there was nothing “ready for signature”.

The UK government is expected to announce further sanctions on Hamas figures this week. But the Israeli government has already responded with fury to the prospect of recognition and it’s reported that retaliation could include further annexations in the West Bank.

The UK government sees this as an important diplomatic move with allies, when nothing else is moving the dial. But it can only be made once, and even supporters in government acknowledge that on the ground in Gaza it won’t immediately change very much.

UK

British fighter jets defend Polish skies after Russian drone incursion

Published

13 hours ago

September 21, 2025

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British fighter jets defend Polish skies after Russian drone incursion

Two British fighter jets have flown their first defence mission over Poland after a Russian drone incursion into the country’s skies.

The flight was part of NATO‘s operation “Eastern Sentry”, launched to bolster Europe’s eastern flank after Poland shot down Russian drones earlier this month.

A Russian drone was intercepted flying over Romania days later, while three Russian jets entered Estonian airspace without permission for 12 minutes on Friday.

The three incursions into NATO airspace fuelled concerns about the potential expansion of Russia‘s three-year war in Ukraine and have been seen as an attempt by Moscow to test the military alliance’s response.

The incident over Poland prompted its prime minister, Donald Tusk, to warn that his country was the closest to “open conflict” it had been since the Second World War, while the UK announced it would provide Warsaw with extra air cover.

Two RAF Typhoons, supported by an RAF Voyager air-to-air refuelling plane, took off from RAF Coningsby, in Lincolnshire, on Friday night to defend Poland’s skies before returning safely early on Saturday morning.

Defence Secretary John Healey said the mission sends a clear signal that “NATO airspace will be defended”.

“I’m proud of the outstanding British pilots and air crew who took part in this successful operation to defend our allies from reckless Russian aggression.”

He said the mission was “especially poignant” coming as the UK marks the 85th anniversary of the Battle of Britain – when Polish pilots came to the aid of the UK – this weekend.

The head of the RAF, Air Chief Marshal Harv Smyth, said: “This sortie marks the RAF’s first operational mission on Eastern Sentry, reinforcing the UK’s steadfast commitment to NATO and its allies.

“We remain agile, integrated, and ready to project airpower at range.”