Mia Glynn: 8-year-old died from sepsis after being twice discharged from ‘full’ hospital

An eight-year-old girl died of sepsis hours after being sent home from the GP for a second time – with her parents warned that their local hospital was full.

After her worried parents took her to their GP surgery twice, and despite showing symptoms of group A strep, which can cause fatal infections, Mia Glynn was eventually prescribed antibiotics.

Her parents were also warned that if they insisted on taking her to their local hospital, she would just be left waiting in a corridor.

But Mia died the next day after developing sepsis – which strikes when an infection sparks a violent immune response in the body.

Mia’s parents, Soron, 39, and Katie, 37, first took her to the GP as she had been vomiting, had a severe headache and had been complaining of a sore throat. By the time of the second visit, she had not eaten properly for a further three days, had a raised heart rate and was sleepy.

Her mother and father queried whether she had group A strep. However, a doctor advised them to give Mia fluids and ibuprofen and not to start the antibiotics until Mia went to bed.

The schoolgirl, who continued to feel unwell, woke in the early hours of the next morning. She was disorientated, had rashes on her arms and legs and blue lips, and complained she was hot but was cold to touch. Her parents, of Biddulph, Staffordshire, called an ambulance just after 3am on December 9, 2022.

Paramedics took her to hospital, where she was given intravenous fluids and antibiotics. However, around 15 minutes after arriving at the hospital, she went into suspected septic shock and suffered a cardiac arrest. Doctors tried to resuscitate her, but she died about 20 minutes later – her cause of death was given as sepsis caused by group A strep infection.

The Mail has run its End The Sepsis Scandal campaign since 2016 to raise awareness of the symptoms of the condition, which is known as a ‘silent killer’ among medics. But there are still about 48,000 sepsis-related deaths in the UK each year.

Following Mia’s death, her parents instructed expert medical negligence lawyers to investigate her care. Mrs Glynn said: ‘Our world and hearts broke forever when our beautiful daughter was snatched away from us.

‘Mia had been taken to the doctor twice to be told her symptoms were viral. Around 15 hours later, she died of sepsis.

‘The unbelievable and unbearable pain we feel is unexplainable and unimaginable. Our beautiful, healthy girl was the happiest, brightest, most loving and caring girl who smiled, danced, and brought joy and love to everyone she met.’

Her parents have set up the charitable organisation aiM in their daughter’s memory.

Mr Glynn said: ‘Seeing Mia in her final moments was awful.

‘We feel so blessed that she was our daughter but are completely heartbroken that Mia was taken from us so soon.

‘A lot of people may have heard of sepsis, but it’s only after what happened to Mia that we realise just how dangerous it is.

‘We started researching and reading more about it, and it was clear to us that Mia had red flag symptoms of sepsis, but we weren’t told to take her to hospital.

‘It’s the sad reality that there are families out there, like us, that are suffering from loss due to sepsis – this has to change.

‘We need to educate the public and health professionals to identify the signs of sepsis.’

Victoria Zinzan, the specialist medical negligence lawyer at Irwin Mitchell, representing the couple, said: ‘Mia was a cherished daughter and sister whose death has had a devastating impact on her family.

‘Understandably, her loved ones continue to have several concerns about her death and the circumstances surrounding it. Sadly, we see too many families affected by sepsis – with Mia’s death vividly highlighting the dangers of the condition.

‘Early diagnosis and treatment is key to beating sepsis, therefore it’s vital people know what signs to look out for when it comes to detecting this incredibly dangerous and life-threatening condition.’