The parents of a student who died from Meningitis B at university have called on the government to ‘step up’ and stop young people needlessly dying amid an escalating outbreak of the disease in Kent.
Sophie Ward, 20, from London, died ‘bleeding from her eyes’ after medics misdiagnosed her with the flu and sent her home, despite her showing ten classic symptoms of the deadly infection.
Her condition deteriorated overnight and by the time she was rushed back to Barnet Hospital’s A&E department the following morning it was too late to save her.
Sophie, a talented artist, who was described as ‘kind and gentle’ by her heartbroken family, died less than 24 hours after she first started showing severe symptoms in July 2023.
Her father, Paul Ward, said he didn’t realise she wasn’t fully protected against meningitis as she had received jabs for the A, C, W and Y strains as a teenager.
This week, at least two young people have died and 29 cases of meningitis have been reported amid an unprecedented outbreak of the disease.
Health officials have described the cluster of infections as ‘very unusual’, adding they are trying to work out if meningitis has become more transmissible.
Mr Ward, whose daughter Sophie was studying at Wimbledon College of Art, told the Daily Mail: ‘Young people and their parents don’t realise they aren’t protected against meningitis B.
Sophie Ward (pictured), an arts student from London, was misdiagnosed with the flu at Barnet Hospital despite presenting with 1 1 symptoms of meningitis
Sophie (pictured with her father Paul) was told that her severe headache was likely caused by a viral infection and that she would be safer at home
‘The government has allowed that state of affairs to persist. They so far haven’t done anything to inform people that they aren’t protected against meningitis.
‘The government needs to step up – even if they don’t make meningitis B what’s called a scheduled vaccine, they could do something in between.
‘I have suggested perhaps students could even receive it and pay the fee as part of their student finance, for example – there’d be ways to do this.’
Just days before the meningitis outbreak in Kent took hold, Mr Ward appeared on ITV News calling for all young people to be offered a meningitis jab.
He said: ‘Sophie should be alive, and if she had had the vaccine for menB she would be alive.
‘This devastation – it doesn’t have to happen.’
The menB jab was introduced on the NHS for babies in 2015, meaning the majority of young people born before then are not protected against it unless they have had the jab privately.
The vaccination also does not provide lifelong immunity, meaning teenagers would most likely need a booster by the time they reach university age.
Mr Ward hopes that attitudes towards meningitis are changing and that deaths will stop being seen as rare, isolated cases.
He says, however, there should be more concern over the dangers of the deadly infection.
‘I know the students in Kent appear to very concerned about Meningitis but I don’t think students in other campuses are as concerned,’ Mr Ward said.
‘It appears to be quite a localised reaction. I know that infections are extremely rare but that’s the whole point about meningitis.
‘It rarely happens but when it does it is extremely dangerous.
An inquest into Sophie’s death was held at Barnet Coroner’s Court in north London last year
Juliette Kenny, 18, died on Saturday surrounded by her family after she contracted meningitis
‘You could die and that’s why it is worth having protection. This is not just a Kent thing.’
An inquest into Sophie’s death was held in February last year at Barnet Coroners’ Court in north London.
The hearing was told the 20-year-old Wimbledon College of Art student was discharged by medics who told her mother Alice she had a viral infection and ‘would be safer at home’.
‘At reception Alice said “I’m concerned about meningitis”,’ Mr Ward said.
‘At triage she said ‘I’m concerned about meningitis”. Then, later to the doctor, she said, “I’m concerned about meningitis”.
‘The doctor said it might be flu, you know. He didn’t know what it was.’
Medics said the blood, urine and CT scan they carried out all came back clear – but a lumbar puncture, the main test to check for meningitis, was not done.
A jury at the inquest ruled on the balance of probabilities the decision to discharge Sophie and not to administer antibiotics ‘more than minimally’ contributed to her death.
The coroner also sent his condolences to Sophie’s family, saying there was nothing more they could have done for her.
Mr Ward previously raised concerns about his daughter’s treatment at Barnet Hospital.
The 59-year-old, who has raised £20,000 for the charity Meningitis Now, said: ‘The doctor said it might have been a viral infection.
‘He didn’t know what it was, and on that basis he discharged Sophie, and that was an unsafe and defective thing to do.
‘It was a serious mistake and my view, my observation of what happened is this serious mistake didn’t just spontaneously generate.
‘It happened because his approach to Sophie was careless.’
Mr Ward explained that Sophie started feeling unwell on the afternoon of Sunday, July 30, 2023.
He said she was suffering from achy shoulders, neck and head and an overwhelming tiredness and aversion to light.
‘She said “things are aching, my head is killing me”. Alice, who is Sophie’s mum, then called 111,’ Mr Ward said.
‘They described Sophie’s symptoms and it was a pretty clear indication or certainly a suspicion of meningitis.
‘It wasn’t normal, if someone’s got flu, they feel unwell. It wasn’t like that.
‘Sophie had flu maybe a few times in her life she wouldn’t go anywhere near a hospital, or, indeed, for that matter, 111. But this was different.’
The hearing was told that Sophie was only triaged after being at the hospital for two hours rather than the target of 15 minutes.
The nurse said they could not remember if they asked a doctor to check on Sophie due to her symptoms of meningitis.
She told the hearing said that getting a second opinion is ‘often their practice to do so’, but was not sure if it was done in this instance.
A spokesperson for Barnet Hospital previously said: ‘We would like to share our deepest condolences with Sophie’s family and to apologise to them that Sophie died while under our care.
‘We take the findings of the jury in this inquest extremely seriously and will carefully review the evidence that has been heard along with the record of inquest.
‘Steps have been taken to improve sepsis and meningitis awareness among our medical staff, including holding a staff learning event to hear from both Sophie’s family and the Meningitis Research Foundation.
‘We also continue to remind emergency department staff that senior doctors are available for advice and to emphasise the importance of listening to the concerns of patients and families.’
The Daily Mail has contacted the Department of Health and Social Care for comment.
