London hospital failed to treat doctor's son with sepsis sufficiently urgently - coroner

A hospital failed to treat the son of one of its consultants with antibiotics and fluids with the required urgency hours before he died of sepsis, a coroner has ruled.

- Matthew Weaver

It is unclear whether mistakes and delays in the treatment of William Hewes, 22, on 21 January contributed to his death, the coroner, Mary Hassell, said.

The death of Hewes raised similar issues to the death of 13-year-old Martha Mills in 2021, Hassell said.

Hewes, who was studying politics and history at Leeds University, died of meningococcal septicaemia at Homerton hospital in east London, where his mother, Dr Deborah Burns, was a consultant paediatrician.

Burns told the inquest she had been unable to work at the hospital since her son's death because of a sense of "betrayal" towards colleagues who ignored her warnings about his treatment.

Hewes, a "fit and healthy" 6ft 6in Arsenal fan who loved to cook and sing, began feeling ill while trying to write a university essay on 20 January. When his condition worsened his mother took him to Homerton's A&E just after midnight and told colleagues she suspected he had meningococcal sepsis.