Girl sent home from hospital with tonsillitis dies days later of Strep A

A coroner has ruled that Riya Hirani’s life could have been saved (Image: Handout) A nine-year-old girl who died of Strep A during a deadly outbreak of the infection could have been saved, a coroner has ruled. Riya Hirani’s parents had pleaded with medics for a course of antibiotics as news of a deadly outbreak had hit the headlines. But Riya was discharged from Northwick Park Hospital, in Harrow, London, in December 2022 with advice to use over-the-counter painkillers. She’d been taken to the North West London hospital by her parents on advice from NHS 111 after concerns about a three-day fever, red throat and difficulty with getting her words out. But the Senior House Officer (SHO) who assessed her decided she was “not very sick” and discharged her with a diagnosis of viral tonsillitis. Northwick Park Hospital, in Harrow, London where Riya was seen (Image: Google Maps) The next evening Riya’s mum Geeta panicked at the sight of white pus in the back of her daughter’s throat and decided to return to the hospital. As they were leaving, Riya’s dad Mukesh thought she was choking and patted her on the back. She collapsed and went into cardiac arrest, suffering severe brain damage that ended her life in Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) five days later. Ms Hirani told St Pancras Coroner’s Court: “We were literally leaving and she stood up and said she could not breathe. ‘It was so quick. ‘I do not understand how it could happen so quick.’ Only after Riya’s death were doctors at GOSH able to confirm she had been infected with Group A Streptococcus, a bacterial infection that can be fatal in its most invasive form. Her death came after an outbreak in early December 2022, with around 30 children thought to have died from the infection between September 19 and December 30, according to UKHSA data. It meant staff at hospitals across the UK, including Northwick Park, were on alert to cases of the infection among children. During the inquest, senior consultants from Northwick Park Hospital and GOSH both questioned on Riya’s care. Mrs Hirani repeatedly called the doctor’s professional judgement into question – including on the heart rate readings which they were given before Riya was discharged. The doctor explained the normal range for a child that age was between 70 and 120 BPM and that his notes said she was sent home with a reading of 119 BPM. After being confronted with a claim her final heartrate was in fact 125 BPM, the doctor suggested “it’s just five beats per minute”. Mrs Hinari said: “I know as a mother she was really sick as for nine years she had never been that sick. “I remember saying this could be Strep A, I can’t find a rash though. ‘I left it for you medical professionals to find out.”  Giving a narrative conclusion earlier today (Thursday, September 14) Coroner Hassell said: “I’m satisfied from all the evidence at the point [Riya] was brought into hospital she was showing signs and symptoms of a bacterial infection and should have been treated as such. “She should have been admitted and treated with antibiotics. ‘I’m not certain what the outcome would have been, but I am satisfied on the balance of probabilities, if Riya had been appropriately treated she would have survived.”