BBC Breakfast friends break down in tears recounting demise of 21-year-old daughter after her lethal signs have been ‘dismissed’ – sobbing ‘she might have survived with the precise remedy’

Two heartbroken parents broke down in tears on Tuesday’s episode of BBC Breakfast as they recounted the tragic death of their 21-year-old daughter from sepsis. 

Steve, 58, a former England cricket star, and his wife Jane said that they lost their daughter Bethan James back in 2020 when medics failed to spot the tell-tale signs of the deadly disease in time.

Introducing the heartbroken couple, host Sally Nugent said: ‘The parents of a young woman from Cardiff who died after sepsis wasn’t spotted early enough are calling for better training to diagnose the condition. 

‘Bethan James was 21 when she died six years ago after life-saving treatment was delayed. 

‘It comes as a BBC investigation finds sepsis awareness training is still not mandatory at most hospitals in Wales, despite being one of the UK’s biggest killers.’ 

As reported by the NHS, sepsis is a life-threatening reaction to an infection that can be characterised by several, often hard-to-spot symptoms including blotchy skin, difficulty breathing, and agitation. 

Recounting their daughter’s death, the couple tearfully explained that by the time Bethan was admitted to hospital after being turned away five times, her vital signs were critical, but she was not immediately admitted to intensive care.

She had several symptoms of sepsis including blotchy skin and difficulty breathing – but none of these were recognised as the condition until it was too late. 

Jane said: ‘They were just quite dismissive of her symptoms. Her heart rate was high, her blood pressure was lower at that time and she should have been in intensive care. [They] should have been following the sepsis protocol.’

‘The worst thing is I know she could have survived had she had the right treatment, and I don’t want any other family to go through this.’ 

A subsequent inquest into Bethan’s untimely death found that had she been given the appropriate treatment earlier, she would have survived. 

In the UK, around 50,000 people die from sepsis every year.  

Reporter Wyre Davies said of the BBC’s investigation into the issue: ‘We discovered that sepsis awareness training is not mandatory for clinical staff at most Welsh hospitals, including the one where Bethan died.

‘Steve and Jane want sepsis awareness training… [They are] unable to reconcile that if they’d live in another part of the country, Bethan would still be here.’ 

Following the revelations from the BBC investigation, social media commentators were quick to weigh in with similar experiences of the illness on social media.

One viewer shared: ‘My wife nearly died from sepsis. If our daughter didn’t call me at work and I didn’t tell her to get off the phone immediately and call 000, she’d be dead. 

‘The doctors said if she had been hospitalised even an hour later, she would have likely not made it.’

Another revealed: ‘My sister died of sepsis. And it was avoidable too. Breaks my heart.’

A third shared: ‘Recently lost my mum to sepsis, had to argue with [the] community ambulance team who said she didn’t have sepsis as she had no fever.

‘After an hour [she was] taken to A&E [and] blood test showed she had sepsis. [She] passed away a few days later, B4 that District Nurses said they have seen worse it’s ok [sic].’  

A spokesperson for Cardiff and Vale University Health Board told the Daily Mail: ‘Our deepest sympathies and heartfelt condolences remain with Bethan’s family and loved ones. We recognise how lengthy and distressing this process has been for them.

‘The coroner’s inquest in June 2025 examined the circumstances of Bethan’s care in 2020. The coroner acknowledged the complexity and severity of her illness and identified areas where delays in recognition and escalation contributed to avoidable delay. However, the coroner recognised that the Health Board had taken steps to address the matters raised and remained committed to ongoing improvement.

‘Sepsis awareness and early recognition are priorities for the organisation. While mandatory training varies by role, we provide a wide range of clinical tools, education and resources to support staff. We are continuously reviewing our sepsis training framework to improve consistency and accessibility, and to strengthen support for teams in recognising and responding to patient deterioration. We have fully implemented NEWS2 across the organisation which supports the early recognition and treatment of deteriorating patients.

‘As an organisation, we welcomed the opportunity for the Chief Executive, Medical Director, and Executive Nurse Director to meet with Mr and Mrs James to discuss their daughter’s care. We take the learning from this tragic case very seriously and continue to strengthen pathways for patients presenting with infection-related symptoms, to improve care outcomes. The emergency and critical care teams continue to work together with the Welsh Ambulance Service to support timely handover and escalation. ‘

Breakfast airs daily on BBC One from 6am and is available to stream on iPlayer.