Teen told she had a ‘boring virus’ by medics before she died of meningitis
A teenager with ‘so much to give to the world’ died after doctors allegedly took her meningitis for a ‘boring’ virus.
Mia Ginever, 19, died at Frimley Park Hospital in Camberley, Surrey, on March 9, 2022, after an alleged misdiagnosis.
The student was taken to hospital with a severe headache and red spots on her skin that did not fade.
The young woman begged her mother Mel Ginever not to ‘let me die.’
She later developed a stiff neck, a telltale sign of meningitis, and became delirious.
Mother Mel could only watch on as doctors and nurses rushed around her ‘beautiful and vibrant’ daughter.
But it allegedly took five hours until medics finally assessed Mia.
After eight hours of arriving at the hospital, Mia was finally ordered blood tests that revealed she had meningitis B, and she was given antibiotics.
It came after a previous registrar had allegedly refused to carry out blood tests or give her antibiotics, instead giving her fluids and pain relief at first, MailOnline reports.
Tragically, it came too late for Mia and she was placed in an induced coma.
She died two days later in intensive care.
Just a week before her death, the teen was busy making travel plans and applying for internships in the summer to fulfill her dream of becoming an interior designer.
Mia’s headache, sore throat and aches got worse during the week, so she went to the Frimley hospital A&E, where she was allegedly told she had a ‘boring’ virus and she could go home.
When her pain got worse and red spots on her body would not fade, she went back to the hospital with her mum.
Mel told The Times: ‘Mia’s whole future has been taken away through no fault of her own. She had so much to give to the world and was just ready to embrace her life.
‘We trusted the doctors to make the right decisions. If I had any inclination she was going to die, I would have been screaming.’
Mia’s father Phil described the state of care for his daughter as ‘so poor’ and that the pain from her death will never go away.
‘After she died they let us take her handprints and hair, like a newborn. But then she was all alone. I should’ve stayed and waited,’ he added.
Hospital admits Mia was not assessed properly
After Mia’s death, Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust launched an internal investigation.
Frimley Park Hospital has reportedly admitted that doctors did not assess the 19-year-old properly for meningitis and sepsis.
It also found that the hospital failed to follow NHS protocol of giving antibiotics within an hour of arriving at the hospital for the second time.
The serious incident review found Mia had already developed meningococcal sepsis by the time she arrived at the hospital for the second time.
It found ‘conscious bias’ of the first diagnosis of a viral infection had influenced decisions made by doctors.
An inquest into her death opened at Surrey coroner’s court today, with a conclusion expected on Friday.
Heartbroken Mel wrote on her LinkedIn after Mia’s death: ‘The medical team at the hospital advised it was one of the severe and fast-acting cases they have ever experienced.’
What is meningitis?
Meningitis is inflammation in the membrane that surrounds the brain and the spinal cord.
There are two main types of meningitis infection – bacterial and viral.
Who is at risk?
It can affect anyone, but is most common in babies, young children, teenagers and young adults.
Meningitis can be very serious if not treated quickly, the NHS warns.
Why is it so dangerous?
It can cause life-threatening sepsis and result in permanent damage to the brain nerves.
While bacterial meningitis is rarer, it is more serious than viral meningitis.
Symptoms of meningitis
Symptoms develop suddenly.
They include:
- a high temperature (fever)
- being sick
- a headache
- a rash that does not fade when a glass is rolled over it (but a rash will not always develop)
- a stiff neck
- a dislike of bright lights
- drowsiness or unresponsiveness
- seizures (fits)
How does meningitis spread?
An infection can spread through sneezing, coughing and kissing.
You can catch it from someone with the viruses or bacteria in their nose or throat but are not ill themselves, but this is thought to be less common.
What protects against infection?
Vaccinations can offer some protection and there are several different kinds given to different age groups.
They include MenB vaccine, 6-in-1 vaccine, pneumococcal vaccine, Hib/MenC vaccine, MMR vaccine and MenACWY vaccine, which is offered to teenagers, sixth formers and freshers at university.
Treatment
Suspected meningitis will need to be tested in hospital to find out if the infection is viral or bacterial.
Bacterial infection needs to be treated in hospital for at least a week, the NHS says.
Outlook
While viral meningitis usually gets better on its own, around one in every ten cases of bacterial meningitis is fatal.
Most people with bacterial meningitis who are treated quickly will also make a full recovery, although some are left with serious long-term problems such as hearing or vision loss and problems with memory and concentration.
You should call 999 for an ambulance or go to the A&E immediately if you think you or someone you look after could have meningitis or sepsis.
(Source: NHS)
Mel described her daughter as ‘quick-witted and the life and soul, but she was also a ‘home bird’ and still lived at home.’
‘We desperately miss her beautiful smile and infectious laugh every day.’
Months before her death, the teen had told her parents she wanted to be an organ donor.
Now her organs have helped to save the lives of four people, with mum Mel describing them as ‘lucky…to have a part of our precious girl giving them second hope.’
Since her tragic death, her family has raised more than £46,000 for Meningitis Research Foundation.
Mel and Phil are now campaigning for the meningitis B vaccine to be offered more widely as some age groups may have missed the jab as babies or children.
Deborah Nadel, legal director at Fieldfishers, who represents the family at the inquest and in an ongoing negligence case, told Metro.co.uk in a statement: ‘I deal with too many of these tragic cases where sepsis and meningitis is diagnosed late, with devastating effect.
‘At the beginning of last year, a judge approved settlement for another client, a young child who was also wrongly sent home from Frimley Park hospital with undiagnosed meningitis. She had to have her arms and her legs amputated as a result.
‘The hospital again admitted liability and yet similar delays occurred in Mia’s treatment, and she died.
‘The only small comfort for Mia’s parents is to believe that things will change at the hospital to protect other families from going through what they have. I sincerely hope this happens.’
Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust said it won’t be able to comment until the inquest concludes.
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