Five-year-old boy dies of chickenpox just days after doctors sent him home

A boy of five died from chickenpox after doctors told his parents he was fine, it is claimed.

Fabio Nunes lost his fight for life when the disease sent his body into multiple organ failure.

A fortnight earlier, doctors had sent him home from hospital telling his parents to give him Calpol.

His family believe he would have survived had he been examined more thoroughly.

Fabio fell ill in early February, when his parents spotted the first few red spots of chickenpox.

By February 14, he was so weak he could not move. His mother Anna, 35, took him to East Surrey Hospital, near the family's home, in Redhill.

Mrs Nunes said her son was barely conscious, but doctors prescribed antibiotics and sent him home.

She was told to give him Calpol, the paracetamol syrup for children which eases fevers or pain, she said.

Fabio's father, Ricardo, 35, said: "When my wife got to the front desk, the woman said it was the worst case of chickenpox she'd ever seen. But the doctors said he was fine and okay to come home.

"They didn't even check him over, or test his blood or anything. I strongly believe if they'd just checked him over properly he would be alive today."

Fabio's condition worsened and three days later his parents, who have a son, ten, and a daughter, two, called an ambulance.

He was taken back to hospital and transferred to the specialist Evelina Children's Hospital at Guy's and St Thomas' in London.

Mr Nunes, a chef, said: "By that time he couldn't walk, he couldn't talk and he was covered in spots. I carried him in my arms to the ambulance, he couldn't even move.

"When we got there, the doctor said to me, 'This boy is extremely ill, he has about six hours to live'."

Fabio lost consciousness but survived for two weeks. Mr Nunes added: "Those days were very sad at the hospital. We tried to talk to him but he was dying slowly, he couldn't talk."

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Two days before his death doctors operated to remove about 12in of dead tissue from Fabio's small intestine.

He was being taken for another operation when he died on March 1, with liver and kidney failure.

Mr Nunes said: "I had just given him his last kiss, we were wishing him good luck and praying he'd be okay."

An inquest is expected to be held. A coroner's report into the schoolboy's-death said he had had a catastrophic reaction to chickenpox.

A spokesman for the hospital, which has begun an investigation, said: "Fabio was fully examined by a paediatric doctor and prescribed oral antibiotics.

"His parents were also advised to bring him straight back to the hospital if there was any deterioration in his condition."

Chickenpox is a common childhood disease, but deaths among children are rare.