A grieving family voiced their anger at Sheffield Children’s Hospital after they claim medical staff laughed at them and refused to put their son on a nebuliser.
Five-year-old Mohammad Ayaan Haroon, known as Ayaan, was rushed to hospital earlier this month, after his father found him struggling to breathe.
The young boy was given X-rays and treated at A&E for a suspected chest infection before he was sent to the ward under observation, but sadly died in intensive care on 13 March.
His father, Haroon Rashid, 41, said the staff were unprofessional and laughed at them. He said: “They failed my son. They didn’t give him the treatment he needed. The medical staff was even laughing in my face; they showed no compassion at all.”
When Ayaan was moved to the ward, Mr Rashid told medical professionals his son needed a suction machine and a nebuliser, but the medical staff ignored him.
He said: “I told them I would do it myself, but they refused and claimed I wasn’t competent to do it. I had been trained by this very hospital to carry out this type of practice at home, but they wouldn’t help me save my son.”
Ayaan had a long history of respiratory illnesses and had been treated at Sheffield Children’s Hospital since he was born.
Mr Rashid said: “I have a lot of experience with this hospital and never had an issue.”
During the week Ayaan was in hospital, Mr Rashid claims he made repeated complaints to staff for unprofessional behaviour, but none of them were taken seriously. He has now filed an official complaint to the hospital for what he labels “medical negligence”.
In a statement expressing his condolences to the family, Dr Jeff Perring, Medical Director at Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, said:” There will be a thorough internal investigation of the care and treatment Ayaan received at the hospital between 5 and 13 March which will cover the concerns raised in Mr Rashid’s complaint.”
The family is now hoping to carry out an external investigation into their son’s death, with the help of Zaheer Ahmed, the uncle of Yusuf Mahmud Nazir, another young boy who died of so-called medical negligence in South Yorkshire.
They will be meeting with the Chief Executive of Sheffield’s Children’s NHS Foundation Trust, Ruth Brown, to discuss the next steps.
