10 months ago
A “promising” 16-year-old schoolgirl has tragically died after a GP said her headaches were caused by a cold.
On March 28 of this year, Isabel Kate Connolly-Wellock complained of a headache while visiting her general practitioner at Waterfoot Medical Practice. Her GP noted that she had a raised heart rate of 139 bpm, but other observations were normal, and it was suspected that she had a cold.
Just three days later, Isabel collapsed in A&E and died hours later. The day after her GP appointment, the teenager from Rawtenstall, Lancashire, said her headache had eased but her neck was painful and her eye was drooping.
Isabelle went to see another GP at 9:40am on March 30th, where the doctor also told her that her symptoms were normal. However, within five hours her condition seriously deteriorated and her mother Geraldine was told to take her to the emergency room.
Five minutes after arriving at Royal Blackburn Hospital, Isabel collapsed in the waiting room. Doctors there noticed her condition rapidly deteriorating and rushed her to the intensive care unit. Isabelle was initially given antibiotics to treat central nervous system infections such as meningitis, but by 9pm her organs had begun to fail.
Isabel was intubated, but her condition continued to deteriorate and, despite the best efforts of experts, she was pronounced dead at 12:20 a.m. on March 31.
An inquest held at Accrington Town Hall today, November 8, heard that Isabel's family had concerns about the results of two GP consultations she had received in the days before her death. Became. However, coroner Kate Bisset agreed that Isabel showed no signs of sepsis.
If not treated quickly, meningitis can lead to life-threatening sepsis or blood poisoning. A few weeks before her death, parents at Haslingden High School received a letter informing them that their student had been diagnosed with meningitis.
Isabel Kate Connolly-Wellock complained of a headache while visiting her general practitioner
However, this was confirmed to be a different type than the one Isabelle suffered from. Dr. Intensive care consultant Richard Benson said Isabel's case was "very unusual" because her condition deteriorated so quickly.
"I don't think I've ever seen anyone deteriorate so quickly," he added. Geraldine had been told to take her daughter to the emergency room herself rather than wait for her ambulance.
However, Dr. Dr Benson added: "Even if the antibiotics had started at 4:05pm, immediately after Isabel's arrival, instead of at 4:40pm, it would not have made a difference."