'My daughter died in my arms after doctors said she had common virus'

 
Marshal Aashtar and daughter Fizzah Malik
Benedict Moore-Bridger24 December 2013

A father has told how his five-year-old daughter died in his arms hours after two doctors assured him that she had a common virus.

Marshal Aashtar took his daughter Fizzah Malik to the family’s GP with a high temperature, a rash and a pain in her side. He said a doctor at the practice, Ilford Medical Centre, diagnosed a viral infection and told her parents to give her ibuprofen and Calpol.

But Mr Aashtar and wife Rubina be-came increasingly concerned and took Fizzah to the urgent care centre at King George Hospital in Ilford. They said a doctor there dismissed their concerns and told them their daughter would be well again within three days.

After they took her home, her condition worsened and she began vomiting. The next day, Mrs Aashtar called the medical centre and was advised to go to the hospital’s A&E department or call back in the morning — but her daughter died the following day.

Fizzah’s father was feeding her milk when he saw her eyes roll back and her head drop. Mr Aashtar, 43, from Redbridge, dialled 999 and received medical advice over the phone.

“I knew what had happened,” he said. “I screamed to my wife and tried to resuscitate her, but I knew she was gone. She was our angel. We had really wanted a daughter and my wife had had a few miscarriages. People tell me she is in heaven, but I just want her back. I just want my daughter.”

It is believed Fizzah had a streptococcal infection, which is sometimes associated with meningitis. The parents are waiting for the results of a post-mortem examination. Mr Aashtar said he was considering legal action and was consulting lawyers. “I can’t believe they just sent us home from hospital. They said everything would be fine and we believed them,” he added. “They let us down.” The driving instructor and his wife, 41, have two sons aged 16 and 14.

Walthamstow coroner’s court said: “The death was reported to the coroner, but a decision has been taken not to hold an inquest. The little girl died at the beginning of December.”

The urgent care centre at King George Hospital is run by the Partnership of East London Co-operatives, a not-for-profit social enterprise formed by a group of local GPs. Chief executive Lesley McCourt said: “We are looking in detail at the circumstances of the case.” Ilford Medical Centre declined to comment.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in