Dad blames NHS errors for the death of his son

12:05pm Wednesday 7th November 2007

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A STRING of NHS errors led to the death of an 11-year-old boy, according to his devastated father.

Active James Poynton was given mouth-to-mouth resuscitation on two separate occasions before he collapsed and died on Caldy beach last year.

"When doctors told us that our son would be fine we were relieved and reassured."

Jim Poynton

Now his father Jim, who feels his son was "failed by the NHS from the word go," is pleading with parents to beware of vital signs that mean their child could have a potentially fatal heart condition.

At James' inquest last week, cause of death was given as natural causes and doctors admitted they could not detect any problems when the Wirral Grammar School pupil was taken to hospital twice by emergency ambulance.

But company director Jim, said the "icing on the cake" was when paramedics did a time-consuming three-point turn in the road and did not hurry when his young son lay dying on the beach because of health and safety regulations.

"All the warning signs were there" said Jim.

"But before James' death, doctors kept telling me that he had fainted because he was over-excercising.

"I now know that the so-called faints' were heart attacks and should have sent alarm bells ringing."

Pathologists found that James had an extremely rare condition known as arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia (ARVD) that was only diagnosed after his tragic death.

Over 18 months ago, Jim from Oxton had to give his son mouth-to-mouth resuscitation after James collapsed after a charity bike ride.

And a second incident during a school cross country run left a teacher battling to revive the popular Boy Scout who was taken to Arrowe Park Hospital on both occasions.

"James was wired up to an ECG machine which did not detect that there was anything wrong," said Jim.

"When doctors told us that our son would be fine we were relieved and reassured.

"After the second incident, a cardiologist told us that what James had could be life-threatening and said that an MRI scan would give doctors a more detailed insight into his condition, but when we tried to arrange a scan we were told that James' needs had been classed as non-urgent - that very day, he died."

James collapsed and died on Caldy beach in June, 2006, during an evening walk with his dad, mum Ann and sister Claudia, now 15.

Jim added: "I don't want any other family to have to go through the hell of losing a child, it is too late to save James now but I want other people to be educated and treated.

"James was failed by a string of NHS errors from the word go and the icing on the cake was the incompetent paramedics - one even had to refer to a book as she tried to save my son's life.

"Now the three of us are going for regular heart checks and MRI scans in London, something James should have automatically been given.

"I would strongly urge families with children to look out for the vital signs that could indicate they may have a potentially fatal heart condition." In tribute to her "perfect and popular" son, Ann said: "James was so active and loved to cycle, play cricket and rugby - everybody loved him and we miss him so much."

A North West Ambulance Service spokesman offered condolences to the family and said: "We would like to reassure patients that we treat all calls seriously.

"In this incident, an ambulance crew attended to the patient on Caldy Beach. Although it was not permissible for them to run immediately due to the uneven surface and the heavy equipment they were carrying, the crew attended as quickly as possible which did involve a short run."