NHS 111 'failed' Horsham teen who died following delays

Failings by NHS 111 contributed to the death of an autistic teenager, a coroner has ruled.

Hannah Royle, 16, suffered a cardiac arrest as she was driven to hospital by her parents after a 111 algorithm failed to notice she was seriously ill.

A coroner said her death had exposed a risk people were being misled about the capability of the system and its staff.

An NHS spokesperson said it would act on the findings and learnings "where necessary".

Hannah's father Jeff Royle said he regretted dialling 111 and wished he had taken his daughter straight to hospital.

"I feel so dreadful, that I have let her down and she has been let down by the NHS," he said.

On 20 June 2020, Hannah became unwell with vomiting and diarrhoea. Her parents phoned 111 but were not advised to go to hospital.

Three hours later her condition worsened considerably and her parents phoned again.

The call handler took advice from a clinical advisor who opted not to call an ambulance and instead told her parents to make their own way to hospital.

Hannah went into cardiac arrest on the way to East Surrey Hospital. Despite her mother Anne's CPR efforts, it was too late to save Hannah by the time she arrived.

Mr Royle, 56, from Horsham, West Sussex, said: "I have been in agony knowing that she could have been saved. I live it 24 hours a day. It literally is every waking moment."

It was later established Hannah had suffered a gastric volvulus - a rare condition caused by twisted stomach.

Coroner Karen Henderson ruled Hannah died of natural causes, contributed to by neglect.

She said NHS 111 failed to properly triage Hannah's case, leading to an "avoidable delay".

The coroner warned there was a "real risk" that people who phone 111 looking for medical help "are being misled over the role and capability of the 111 service".

Call handlers had been renamed health advisors, which "implies professionalism which is untrue given their underlying skills and unsubstantiated given it is their role to complete an algorithm," she added.

An NHS spokesperson said: "The NHS expresses its condolences to the family and friends of Hannah and is in the process of answering the coroner's report and will respond within the timeframe set by the coroner.

"We will now take away the findings and learnings and where necessary act on them with local or national services."

Follow BBC South East on Facebook, on Twitter, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@bbc.co.uk.