The coroner found that a personal doctor’s appointment may have saved the Leeds student’s life

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The coroner determined that a student who died after being misdiagnosed at a series of remote GP appointments during the pandemic would have likely lived if he had been seen in person.

David Nash, 26, died from brain stem swelling on 4 November 2020 at Leeds General Hospital more than two weeks after reporting symptoms of mastoiditis, a serious bacterial infection of the bone behind the ear.

Nash, a talented musician who hoped to become a lawyer, called his GP for the first time on October 14, 2020 after finding a lump in his neck.

Over the course of two weeks, his symptoms worsened to include pain in his ear and neck, blood in his urine, and fever due to a severe infection.

This infection was not caught in a number of telephone appointments with GPs and advanced practice nurses at Burley Park Medical Clinic in Leeds, who were following NHS guidelines for holding most appointments remotely.

He was advised to take prescribed painkillers and antibiotics during three phone appointments as he was misdiagnosed with an outer ear infection, and later a urinary tract infection.

When his condition did not improve and he developed a fever, he called for the fourth time, but although very ill he was not seen in person.

Assistant Coroner Abigail Coombs told Wakefield Magistrates’ Inquisition on Friday that Nash was treated appropriately on three appointments, on October 14, 23 and 28. But on November 2, when Nash spoke to an advanced nurse practitioner, he was supposed to be scheduled for a face-to-face appointment, which would have resulted in a hospital appointment.

Burleigh Park GP partner Dr Neil Lawton said Nash should have been appointed face-to-face and, if that had been done, he would likely have been sent to hospital.

“I have the impression that he could have been more clear about the extent of his illness,” he told the court.

Recording a narrative judgment, Coombs said: “Had he been directed to seek face-to-face or urgent care by a GP, it is more likely that he would have undergone neurosurgery approximately 10 hours earlier than he actually did, at that time. be successful.”

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