NHS rolls out child emergency early warning system after death of boy, 2, who spent hours in corridor

NHS rolls out child emergency early warning system after death of boy, 2, who spent hours in corridor Finlay Roberts was just two years old when he died after medics failed to spot he was suffering from a twisted bowel following hours spent waiting in a hospital corridor A&E departments are introducing new measures after a two-year-old tragically died after spending hours in a hospital corridor. The new early warning system is being rolled out in hospital emergency departments across England to help NHS staff identify sick children whose condition is dangerously worsening. The new initiative is intended to save lives ahead of winter, when pressure on the NHS is at its highest. The National Paediatric Early Warning System (PEWS) will see the concerns of staff, parents, carers or children themselves trigger an immediate escalation of care. Medics will check and grade vital signs including blood pressure, heart rate and oxygen levels to give each child an overall score. A higher score means they need more urgent attention. It comes after two-year-old Finlay Roberts died in 2024 after waiting hours in a hospital corridor with a tummy ache after medics failed to identify he was suffering from a twisted bowel. The toddler spent nine hours in A&E, which his family say was mainly spent in the corridor. He was sent home in the early hours of the next day and just hours later his mother found him not breathing next to her. A coroner raised concerns about a lack of basic observations carried out by busy staff. Health Secretary Yvette Cooper apologised to Finlay’s parents on behalf of the NHS. She said: “No child should be treated in a corridor. No patient should be treated in a corridor.” The MP later pledged to stop ‘corridor care’ for sick children and urged NHS England’s chief executive to draw up new standards for children’s care in A&E. Finlay's dad David Roberts said: “Being on the chair for hours and hours in the corridor, it’s not exactly what killed him, but it’s just perfectly emblematic of a broken system, not breaking - fundamentally broken. If kids who are in that degree of need, if they’re just sitting on their parent in the corridor... this is a broken system.” Corridor care became widespread in the NHS after the Covid-19 pandemic and sees patients treated in non-clinical spaces such as corridors, offices and walk-in cupboards. It became increasingly common in 2024 after a decade of rising A&E and 999 waits. The Mirror previously revealed the practice was quietly rolled out across the NHS in England in 2022 to get ambulances queuing outside A&Es back on the road quicker. In September, a review revealed overcrowded A&Es may be causing more than 1,000 deaths a week. The study of more than 19,000 adult patients found that for every 10% increase in emergency department occupancy, the chance of dying in the following 28 days rose by 1%. A similar early warning system for acutely ill adults, including those with sepsis, is already used in emergency and general NHS hospital wards. More than 90 hospitals across England have also been using the alert system on children’s wards, with different age-appropriate assessments for babies through to teenagers. The NHS have said Martha’s Rule will be expanded to all hospital emergency departments in England. It gives patients, families and carers the right to request a rapid review if they believe a patient’s condition is getting worse and their concerns are not being acted on. The policy is named after Martha Mills, who died aged 13 at King’s College Hospital in Southeast London in 2021 after developing sepsis following a bike accident. Her parents, Merope Mills and Paul Laity, said their concerns about their daughter’s deteriorating condition were repeatedly dismissed. A coroner ruled that the family’s concerns were not listened to and Martha would probably have survived had she been moved to intensive care earlier. Her bereaved parents have spent the years since her death campaigning for changes to ensure patients and their loved ones are listened to when they fear someone’s condition is deteriorating. Martha’s Rule will allow patients, loved ones and staff at A&E units across England to call a dedicated phone number and trigger an urgent review if a patient’s health is deteriorating and they feel their concerns are not being listened to.