Boy, 5, died ‘after being given TEN times too much insulin after sepsis was misdiagnosed’
AN autistic boy died after being given TEN times the standard dose of insulin after bungling doctors misdiagnosed him with diabetes, his grieving parents have claimed.
Little Shay Turner, five, was rushed to hospital in Rotherham, Yorks. in March 2018 – but died four days later after suffering a catastrophic brain injury.
Parents Laura, 28, and Martyn, 29, claim doctors diagnosed him with diabetes instead of the sepsis that hospitalised him.
The couple are now trying to raise £12,000 to pay for solicitors to represent them at Shay’s inquest in October.
Laura said: “So far nobody has told us the truth and we want to know what happened to our son.
“On Good Friday Shay was unwell – he looked tired, he kept saying he couldn’t go to the toilet, he wanted to drink but couldn’t keep any water down and kept being sick.
PARENTS HAD TO TURN OFF LIFE SUPPORT
“I thought he had caught a bug but by the time his dad came home from work Shay looked grey and we decided to go to A&E.
It was obvious Shay was very unwell but it felt like sheer panic at the hospital. ”
“A paediatric consultant came to speak to me around 11pm and said ‘due to the laws of transparency’ they had to tell me about the incorrect dosage.
“I asked him what this meant and he said, ‘I honestly don’t know’.”
MOST READ IN NEWS
A scan later revealed that Shay had suffered a catastrophic brain injury – and his parents made the heartbreaking decision to turn off his life support.
His autopsy report said he died from multiple organ failure from an unknown cause with the possibility of Hirschsprung disease – a condition that is the result of missing nerve cells in the muscles of the colon – leading to a bowel infection and causing sepsis.
The coroner’s report concluded that Shay did not have diabetes.
South Yorkshire Police carried out a ten-month investigation into Shay’s death but Laura said no further action is being taken.
An inquest into his death is due to take place in October.
A spokesperson for Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust, which runs Rotherham General Hospital, said: “Our thoughts and sympathies are very much with Shay’s family and our medical director has recently written to them about the serious incident investigation which we are currently undertaking.
“Given an inquest is scheduled for the autumn, we cannot comment further at this time.”
We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368. You can WhatsApp us on 07810 791 502. We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.