School staff ‘failed’ boy who died after allergic reaction, parents say

The Parents of a teenager, Nasar Ahmed who died after suffering an allergic reaction to his school dinner have accused staff of failing their duty of care.

He was in an exclusion room with other pupils at Bow School in east London when he became unwell on November 10 last year. 

His inquest heard that the 14-year-old, who had a history of severe asthma and food allergies, suffered a reaction to milk in his tandoori chicken lunch and went into anaphylactic shock.

But staff at the school failed to administer his EpiPen, which may have saved his life, the court was told. He died four days later in the Royal London Hospital.

Coroner Mary Hassell on Friday returned a narrative conclusion, saying: “The staff saw Nasar’s EpiPen and considered using it, but did not.

“If the EpiPen had been used promptly and Nasar had been administered adrenaline, there is a possibility but not a probability that this would have changed the outcome.”

Speaking outside the hearing at Poplar Coroner’s Court, Nasar’s mother Ferdousi Zaman told reporters: “If he has anaphylaxis I give him his EpiPen. They are first-aiders, they are more knowledgeable than me.

“They have failed their duty of care.”
Ms Hassell said she would be writing five Prevention of Future Death (PFD) reports, including to the school, his GP, Barts Health NHS Trust and the London Ambulance Service, whose paramedic told staff over the phone not to give Nasar adrenaline before they arrived.

Outlining her PFD to the ambulance service, she said: “The paramedic said don’t give the EpiPen because there were no classic symptoms of anaphylaxis. The reality of giving a dose of adrenaline is that it is unlikely to do any significant harm, whereas the potential good of giving an EpiPen is lifesaving.”

The coroner is also sending a PFD report to the Chief Medical Officer for England, asking whether EpiPens should be widely provided alongside defibrillators in public places.

In a statement, Bow School’s executive headteacher, Cath Smith, said: “We are all deeply saddened about this tragic incident and continue to offer our heartfelt sympathies to Nasar’s family. We will now consider the advice from the coroner very carefully to see what further action we should take.”

The inquest heard that a school cook told headteacher Daniel Lye that Nasar had eaten a tandoori chicken lunch containing milk at 12.20pm, about two hours before he collapsed. Nasar died from a brain injury brought on by the allergic reaction.

Staff who fought to save him had access to an inhaler and EpiPen from Nasar’s personal medical box for five minutes before paramedics arrived, but were unsure whether to use them.

Giving evidence at the inquest last week, Dr Chinedu Nwokoro, a consultant and clinical academic in paediatric respiratory medicine at Barts Health NHS Trust, called for a change to advice over the use of adrenaline injectors such as EpiPens.

He said: “If (a patient) has got respiratory compromise, give it; if (they) lose consciousness, give it; if there is any doubt, give it. It’s not wrong.”