Frustration as review of girl’s death drags on

THE parents of a teenage girl who died from a blood clot just hours after being sent home by an out- of-hours GP yesterday told of their “frustration” over a probe which has dragged on for three months.

A “multi-agency review” involving the NHS, a private health firm and the police was launched last December following the death of 16-year-old Shannon Deakin, who had originally complained of leg pains.

The teenager was taken by her parents to the out-of-hours centre at Barnsley District General Hospital, run by private medical firm Care UK under contract to the local primary care trust NHS Barnsley.

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According to the company, the doctor involved has not worked at the centre since, but Shannon’s mother Susan, 43, said she and husband Bryan, 58, had struggled to get information from the authorities.

Mrs Deakin, a shop worker, said: “We have asked questions about what is happening with the investigation, but nobody is telling us anything. We just feel that our hands are tied and there is nothing we can do.

“It is so frustrating. We will never get closure, because Shannon was our only daughter and nothing will bring her back, but until this is over, the inquest can’t take place and we can’t even get a death certificate.

“We have asked about what happened to the doctor involved but we have been told nothing. Our lives have been destroyed by what happened, but we don’t seem to be a priority for the people doing the investigation.”

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Mr Deakin said his daughter had been suffering with pains in her leg and stomach, but the GP said she had an infection and prescribed antibiotics before sending her away.

A spokesman for Care UK, which has its headquarters in Colchester, Essex, said the review was still under way, and that the police were involved along with doctors and management from NHS Barnsley.

The spokesman added: “The review is not yet complete and the doctor involved is still not working for us. As far as I am aware we are still working with the police and health trust to investigate the death.”

Shannon, of Croft Road, Hoyland, Barnsley, collapsed in front of her parents on the evening of Saturday, December 4. They said she had seen the out-of-hours GP just 12 hours before.

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Mr and Mrs Deakin described how the doctor had looked at their daughter’s painful leg, which was “red and hot” and told her she needed antibiotics and anti-inflammatory drugs and then said she should go home.

The GP apparently recommended that Shannon then go back to her own family doctor if the pain and redness had not subsided, but before she could do that she collapsed and died from a pulmonary embolism.

Mr and Mrs Deakin said they were considering taking legal action when the investigation is concluded because they believe the doctor should have done more to help her.

The teenager, who had been studying at Dearne Valley College near her home, had wanted to train as a midwife, and had spent some time shadowing nurses at Rotherham Hospital, which her parents said she loved.

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Mr and Mrs Deakin described how their lives had been “ripped to pieces” by the tragedy and added that she “loved babies and kids and wanted to be a midwife since she was five”.

Hundreds of mourners attended her funeral just before Christmas and her favourite boy band JLS also sent a tribute to the teenager, who had been bought tickets by her father to attend their Sheffield show.

An NHS Barnsley spokesman said: “Working closely with our local health partners, including Barnsley’s out-of-hours service provider, which is based at the hospital, we are in the process of concluding findings from a full review undertaken into the circumstances leading to this tragic event.”

An inquest into Shannon’s death was opened in Sheffield in December and adjourned to a date to be fixed.

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