A ‘kind and gentle’ 20-year-old died ‘bleeding from her eyes’ after she was told she did not have meningitis and was sent home from hospital, an inquest has been told.
Sophie Ward, a student from London, was misdiagnosed with the flu at Barnet Hospital despite presenting with eleven separate symptoms of meningitis, her family has said.
She was told that her severe headache and body aches were likely caused by a viral infection and that she would be safer at home.
However, Sophie became severely ill overnight and by the time she was rushed back to A&E, it was too late to save her. She died of meningitis septicemia less than 24 hours later.
An inquest into Sophie’s death is being held at Barnet Coroner’s Court in north London this week. It is set to determine whether or not her death was avoidable.
Speaking to MailOnline yesterday, Sophie’s heartbroken father Paul Ward, paid tribute to his ‘happy and fulfilled’ daughter.
He said: ‘If you met her you would have been by her creativity, you’d be struck by her gentleness.
‘She had so many other amazing qualities as well. She was funny. If you were Sophie’s parent you would be a very happy parent. She was such a happy and fulfilled person.’
Mr Ward, who has raised £20,000 for the charity Meningitis Now, explained Sophie started feeling unwell on the afternoon of Sunday, July 30, 2023.
Sophie Ward (pictured), an arts student from London, was misdiagnosed with the flu at Barnet Hospital despite presenting with 1 1 symptoms of meningitis, her family has said
Sophie (pictured with her father Paul) was told that her severe headache was likely caused by a viral infection and that she would be safer at home
An inquest into Sophie’s death is being held at Barnet Coroner’s Court in north London this week
He said she was suffering from achy shoulders, neck and head and an overwhelming tiredness and aversion to light.
‘She said ‘things are aching, my head is killing me’. Alice, who is Sophie’s mum, then called 111,’ Mr Ward explained.
‘They described Sophie’s symptoms and it was a pretty clear indication or certainly a suspicion of meningitis.
‘It wasn’t normal, if someone’s got flu, they feel unwell. It wasn’t like that.
‘Sophie had flu maybe a few times in her life she wouldn’t go anywhere near a hospital, or, indeed, for that matter, 111. But this was different.’
Mr Ward, 58, said Sophie, who was a first year student at Wimbledon College of Art, spent around six hours at the hospital before she was sent home with a suspected viral infection.
He continued: ‘She came home. We made her comfortable. We thought meningitis had been excluded and ruled out.
‘By the morning she had deteriorated further and we called the ambulance.
Sophie became severely ill overnight and by the time she was rushed back to A&E, it was too late to save her
Pictured: Barnet Hospital where Sophie died from meningitis septicemia on July 31, 2023
Mr Ward, who has raised £20,000 for Meningitis Now, explained Sophie started feeling unwell on the afternoon of Sunday, July 30, 2023
‘But it was too late to save her life. They tried in the ambulance, they tried in the emergency department and they tried in the ICU.’
On Monday, the inquest in North London heard evidence from the nurse that triaged Sophie on July 30.
The hearing was told that Sophie was only triaged after being at the hospital for two hours rather than the target of 15 minutes.
The nurse said they could not remember if they asked a doctor to check on Sophie due to her symptoms of meningitis, MyLondon reported.
She told the hearing said that getting a second opinion is ‘often their practice to do so’, but was not sure if it was done in this instance.
Speaking of his fundraiser, Mr Ward told MailOnline: ‘When your daughter dies, people react differently.
‘On the one hand no good could come from Sophie’s death or you just try and do something so I did some fundraising to support meningitis charities.
‘There was kind of a deliberate decision to split our fundraising efforts between the two main meningitis foundations.
‘There’s been a lot of progress in the UK on reducing meningitis deaths and harm in the last 20 years. But there’s more needed.
‘For example, meningitis now have a vision to reduce meningitis deaths to 0 in the UK. And I think that is achievable.
‘The fundraising, the research, the vaccines the awareness – it all makes a sort of small contribution to that.’
You can donate to Mr Ward’s fundraiser for Meningitis Now HERE.
MailOnline has contacted Barnet Hospital for comment.
The inquest into Sophie’s death continues.