Inquest into death of boy sent home from Rotherham A&E delayed after new tests ordered
Relatives of Yusuf Nazir arrived at Sheffield Coroner’s Court on Monday for the start of a planned five-day inquest into his death.
A family said they are “disappointed” after an inquest into the death of a five-year-old boy eight days after he was sent home from A&E was adjourned after questions were raised over whether he may have had an underlying genetic condition.
Relatives of Yusuf Nazir arrived at Sheffield Coroner’s Court on Monday for the start of a planned five-day inquest into his death.
But, after a morning of discussion about information which had only just come to the court’s attention, assistant South Yorkshire coroner Rebecca Connell adjourned the hearing for further investigations to take place.
Yusuf died at Sheffield Children’s Hospital on November 23 2022, eight days after he was seen at Rotherham Hospital and sent home with antibiotics.
His family believe his death was a result of system failures across two hospitals and other services.
After the hearing began on Monday morning, Ms Connell explained how a previous report into Yusuf’s death had raised the question of whether he may have had an underlying genetic condition which could explain why he reacted how he did to an infection, but it was believed this could not be determined.
The coroner said that within the last week a doctor had raised the possibility of taking a sample from material which may contain his DNA.
The court heard how this might involve sourcing Yusuf’s Guthrie sample, from the so-called heel-prick which is taken from newborns for health screening.
Ms Connell said she would arrange for experts in the field to be consulted over the next steps but warned that it could be months before the inquest is resumed.
She also warned that this process may not take the investigation any further forward.
The coroner told Yusuf’s family: “I’m so sorry we are in this position. I cannot apologise enough.”
Speaking outside court after the hearing was adjourned, Yusuf’s uncle, Zaheer Ahmed said: “It’s really, really disappointing for the family for everybody to leave things to the last minute.
“And being told now about further tests for Yusuf to see if he had any genetic conditions, or any further tests that need to be done.”
He said: “It all should have realistically been done when Yusuf unfortunately passed away.”
But Mr Ahmed thanked the coroner for her diligence and said he understood why the hearing had to be adjourned.
He said: “If it’s going to give us any answers, if it’s going to be closer to the answers that we want on how Yusuf’s died, it is what we want.
“We just want the truth, whatever it takes.”
The family’s barrister, Adam Wagner KC, told reporters: “I just wanted to pay tribute to this amazing family.”
He said: “I know they won’t stop until every stone has been unturned to find the truth behind the reasons why Yusuf died.”
Earlier, Mr Wagner told the coroner: “This is very distressing for the family.”
He said it was “highly regrettable and irregular that this has happened so late in the process”.
The barrister said there was still no answer to the most fundamental question of why Yusuf died.
He said: “Children don’t generally die of tonsilitis.”
Mr Wagner said the family “do have an issue of trust because they have have been led down so many different paths”.
He said: “They have been given hope. They’ve had hope dispelled.”
Yusuf, who had asthma, was taken to a GP with a sore throat and feeling unwell on November 15 2022.
He was prescribed antibiotics by an advanced nurse practitioner.
Later that evening, his parents took him to Rotherham Hospital urgent and emergency care centre where he was seen in the early hours of the morning after a six-hour wait.
He was discharged with a diagnosis of severe tonsillitis and an extended prescription of antibiotics.
Yusuf’s family have always said they were told “there are no beds and not enough doctors” in the emergency department at Rotherham, and that Yusuf should have been admitted and given intravenous antibiotics.
Two days later, Yusuf was given further antibiotics by his GP for a possible chest infection, but his family became so concerned they called an ambulance and insisted the paramedics take him to Sheffield Children’s Hospital rather than Rotherham.
Yusuf was admitted to the intensive care unit on November 21 but developed multi-organ failure and suffered several cardiac arrests, which he did not survive.
The new report published in July 2025 concluded: “Our primary finding is that the parental concerns, particularly the mother’s instinct that her child was unwell, were repeatedly not addressed across services.”
In December, the family met Health Secretary Wes Streeting in London and said he was taking their concerns over Yusuf’s death “very, very seriously”.