Mother saves one-year-old daughter from sepsis death by storming into GP surgery and demanding she is seen after waiting ‘EIGHT HOURS’ for call back
- Rachael Pedrick became concerned about daughter Holly at their home in Wales
- She was suffering symptoms including vomiting, diarrhoea and ‘sticky eyes’
- Holly was eventually diagnosed with sepsis and skin infection cellulitis
A one-year-old girl nearly died of sepsis after her mother was left waiting eight hours to speak to a doctor before storming into a GP surgery demanding to be seen.
Rachael Pedrick became concerned about her daughter Holly at their home near Merthyr Tydfil, Wales, on December 23.
Holly had started to suffer with flu-like symptoms, including vomiting and diarrhoea, as well as ‘sticky eyes’.
Rachael Pedrick became concerned about her daughter Holly (pictured together) at their home near Merthyr Tydfil, Wales, on December 23
Ms Pedrick contacted her GP surgery to ask for advice who said that it could not book her an appointment and she would have to wait for a call back.
She said that she was eventually forced to storm into the surgery and demand to see a doctor after being left to wait for ‘eight hours’.
Holly spent the night in Prince Charles Hospital in Merthyr Tydfil before she was rushed in an ambulance to the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff on Christmas Eve.
Holly had started to suffer with flu-like symptoms, including vomiting and diarrhoea, as well as ‘sticky eyes’
The one-year-old was eventually rushed to hospital where she was diagnosed with sepsis and skin infection cellulitis
It was there that the one-year-old was diagnosed with sepsis and skin infection cellulitis.
Doctors were then forced to to cut through her nose to drain an abscess from behind her eye in a two-hour operation.
Ms Pedrick said that Holly was ‘lifeless’ for four days but that she is now back at home and making a full recovery.
She said that the hospital has since been in contact with the family.
Doctors were forced to to cut through her nose to drain an abscess from behind her eye in a two-hour operation which left her ‘lifeless’ for four days
Rachael added: ‘The hospital staff phoned me and said If I hadn’t taken her to the doctor’s then she would be dead. I was frantic.
‘I knew it was serious but not how serious until I had the phone call.
‘If I didn’t take her in she wouldn’t be running around now,’ according to Wales Online.
The mother-of-two has said that she has shared her story to help raise awareness.
A spokeswoman for the surgery said that they cannot comment on individual cases but was keen to reassure patients that the practice of offering appointments is taken very seriously.
WHAT IS SEPSIS?
Sepsis occurs when the body reacts to an infection by attacking its own organs and tissues.
Some 44,000 people die from sepsis every year in the UK. Worldwide, someone dies from the condition every 3.5 seconds.
Sepsis has similar symptoms to flu, gastroenteritis and a chest infection.
These include:
- Slurred speech or confusion
- Extreme shivering or muscle pain
- Passing no urine in a day
- Severe breathlessness
- It feels like you are dying
- Skin mottled or discoloured
Symptoms in children are:
- Fast breathing
- Fits or convulsions
- Mottled, bluish or pale skin
- Rashes that do not fade when pressed
- Lethargy
- Feeling abnormally cold
Under fives may be vomiting repeatedly, not feeding or not urinating for 12 hours.
Anyone can develop sepsis but it is most common in people who have recently had surgery, have a urinary catheter or have stayed in hospital for a long time.
Other at-risk people include those with weak immune systems, chemotherapy patients, pregnant women, the elderly and the very young.
Treatment varies depending on the site of the infection but involves antibiotics, IV fluids and oxygen, if necessary.
Source: UK Sepsis Trust and NHS Choices
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