Alerted by persistent abdominal pain in their son, Corinne and Laurence Cope decide to consult their doctor. Doctor Amy Burton suspects appendicitis and immediately refers Dylan to Grange Hospital in Cwmbran, Wales, says The Mirror. At the hospital, Dylan is cared for by Samantha Hayden, a pediatric nurse practitioner. A first element sows doubt: if Mrs Hayden is informed of the general practitioner’s opinion, she does not consult her file and does not accept the hypothesis of appendicitis.
However, a crucial symptom should have alerted the practitioner: pressure pain on the right side of Dylan’s body, a common clinical sign of appendicitis. This information, present in the nurse’s notes, was not mentioned during her testimony at the inquest. Additionally, Ms. Hayden justifies her flu diagnosis by explaining that he had sought the advice of a more experienced doctorwithout waiting for his return before sending Dylan home.
“Our son died because we didn’t listen to him”
Came home with a prescription for simple flu medication, Dylan’s condition deteriorated rapidly. Urgently transferred to the University Hospital of Wales in Cardiff, he died a few days later of septicemiaa potentially fatal complication of an untreated infection.
Dylan’s death caused a wave of shock and anger. The legal investigation is still ongoing, but the parents clearly point out the responsibility of the hospital. “Our son died because we didn’t listen to him“, Mr Cope said in poignant testimony read by the coroner. “Instead of seeing him play reindeer in his Christmas play, we watched him die“.
An ongoing investigation and a hospital committed to changing its procedures
The investigation into this matter is still ongoing.. The Cope family is waiting for answers and hopes that light will be shed on the exact circumstances of their son’s death.
For its part, Grange Hospital recognized failings in Dylan’s care. The establishment has already modified its protocols to prevent such a tragedy from happening again. From now on, in addition to the brochure relating to the diagnosis made, patients also leave with information on the symptoms initially reported.
