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A FIVE-YEAR-OLD girl suffering from swine flu died after doctors took two weeks to diagnose her illness, according to her family.
Nida Qureshi, from Slough, was seen by three GPs and a hospital doctor who told her parents she may have had tonsillitis.
By the time doctors discovered she had the H1N1 virus, Nida was on a life support machine. She died eight days later on 11 November at St Mary's hospital in Paddington.
The girl's uncle said her parents Zubair, 28, and Raheela, 30, who is pregnant with their second child, believe Nida may have lived if swine flu had been diagnosed earlier.
Jawaid Qureshi, said: "Her mum, a child carer, and dad are very angry. Nobody picked it up - it's just devastating. We asked lots of questions and got no answers." Mr Qureshi said Nida, who he described as a "bright girl who loved school" did not have any underlying health problems but this has not been confirmed.
Nida also had a lung infection as well as swine flu.
Reader views (3)
I was once in a doctors surgery when there was almost a riot as a replacement doctor turned up and he was accused of not diagnosing a cancer case early enough to save a patient...He seemed completley oblivious to all the fuss and just called for the first patient.
How do doctors actually feel when it turns out that their decisions/indecisions have led to the needless death of a patient. Or is it just regarded as one of the hazards of the job..?
- Mark H, London England
This is ridiculous. Where did these doctors do their training?
- Graham Rodhouse, Helmond, Netherlands
Unfortunately this does not surprise me. In my experience basic and initial examminations are not carried out as a matter of course by GPs. It took until we saw the fourth GP before all the initial signs where checked on my child e.g. throat, ears, chest, stomach and temperature. How a diagnosis on a child can be made with out this I do not know.
- James, London
