Girl, 2, dies after being given alternative medicine by GP due to antibiotic shortage
Ava Hodgkinson's tragic death has led to calls in the UK for the government to consider changing laws on medication
A two-year-old girl died after she was given an alternative medicine to treat her cough - after a national outbreak of Strep A led to a shortage in the antibiotics she needed.
Ava Hodgkinson went to see the GP on December 13 in 2022 after developing a chesty cough. Her parents Adam and Jade were confident she would receive the care she needed, but a nationwide surge in Strep A (Group A Streptococcus) meant pharmacies across the UK were experiencing a shortage of first-line antibiotic phenoxymethylpenicillin.
The GP instead prescribed amoxicillin, which Adam went to pick up at the pharmacy, only to find out the correct dosage was also out of stock. It wasn't until the next morning that a new prescription was available for collection. But just a few hours after taking her first dose, Ava deteriorated, and as mum Jade carried her into A&E at Ormskirk & District General Hospital, the two-year-old went into cardiac arrest and sadly died.
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The tragic case has led the government to "actively consider" changing laws which would allow pharmacists to dispense alternative denominations of medications if that which was originally prescribed isn't available, an inquest heard this week.
Area Coroner Chris Long said he plans to send a Report to Prevent Future Deaths to Health Secretary Wes Streeting for details on when and how the law can be changed. Currently, pharmacists are only allowed to prescribe an alternative denomination if the government has issued a Serious Shortage Protocol relating to medications which are low or out of stock.
Following the inquest, Ava's parents, from Banks near Southport said a heart-breaking statement she was "the most purest of souls". Adam and Jade said: “There are not enough words to express the magnitude of pain and devastation we feel as a family at the loss of our beautiful daughter, Ava Grace," they said. "Ava radiated beauty both inside and out - the most purest of souls; gentle, kind and loving and whose love for nature, wildlife and those around her shone through.
"Comfort is very difficult to come by, but we take some from the light that has been shone on Strep A, its potentially devastating consequences, and the need for urgent treatment to be available when a child needs it. Ava was let down by the shortage of antibiotics and this should never happen again to any other child.”
Ava's parents were supported and represented by specialist medical negligence lawyers throughout the inquest process.
Bryony Doyle, a specialist medical negligence solicitor at JMW, said: “Jade and Adam have showed incredible strength and bravery in the face of unimaginable pain, which they and Ava’s siblings will carry for the rest of their lives.
“The inquest process, whilst harrowing for the family, has helped to piece together what happened to Ava and provided some of the answers they were seeking. I hope Ava’s story will see changes made that can protect other patients and ensure that patients can access antibiotics as soon as possible following prescription.
"We are grateful to the jury for considering Ava’s treatment so carefully, and the coroner’s investigation which will hopefully go some way to preventing other families from suffering as Ava’s has.”
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