Man given swine flu verdict on phone had meningitis

Dan Rose, of South Cliff, Scarborough, was only correctly diagnosed with pneumococcal meningitis after his mother, a medical secretary, came round to visit him.

By this stage he was helpless with pain and fever, could not stand light and had to be carried downstairs because he was too weak to walk. He is now recovering in Hull Royal Infirmary, where he faces another six weeks of treatment.

He had been earlier told over the telephone by staff at NHS Direct that he was likely to be suffering from swine flu.

Harriet Penning, of the Meningitis Trust, said yesterday Mr Rose was lucky to be alive.

“We do appreciate meningitis is difficult to diagnose even in front of a GP or hospital casualty department. So doing it over the phone can be incredibly difficult,” she said.

“We would urge people – health professionals and the public – to remember meningitis and not automatically think it’s flu or swine flu and to ask some more questions and make some more checks.”

Mr Rose’s mother, Amanda Morton, 48, of Box Hill, Scarborough, said: “We could have lost him. The consultant said we got there just in time.”

Her son was taken ill on January 8. His girlfriend rang NHS Direct and was told his symptoms showed he may have swine flu.

But after being taken to a local health centre by his mother he was rushed to hospital.

An NHS Direct spokesman said: “We are unable to comment on individual calls due to patient confidentiality. We take feedback extremely seriously and follow up on cases where a patient, or their family, has concerns about the way their call was dealt with.

“We have not been contacted by the family in this case and would urge them to get in touch so that they can contribute to a thorough investigation.

“NHS Direct’s nurse advisers assess callers based on their symptoms. If it is felt that a face-to-face assessment is required the patient will be advised on the most appropriate health care provider and the timescales in which they should seek further help. Patients are also given advice on what to do if their symptoms get worse.”

Yesterday Gill Noble, vice chairman of the Meningitis Trust, warned: “As someone who nearly died because they mistook the symptoms of meningitis for flu, I am urging everyone to remember meningitis when they, or someone they know, feels ill with ‘flu-like’ symptoms, as mistaking these illnesses could cost lives.”

Sue Davie, chief executive of the trust, said: “In 2009, when swine flu erupted into the news, we saw several deaths caused by misdiagnosing meningitis for swine flu, and we are desperate not to see this loss of life repeated.”