5 year-old who died from sepsis after being discharged from Rotherham Hospital was 'failed by NHS'
A new review has been released today into the death of Yusuf Nazir
Last updated 31st Jul 2025
A damning new report has found doctors failed to listen to the family of a 5 year-old boy from South Yorkshire who died after being sent home from Rotherham hospital.
Yusuf Mahmud Nazir died in November 2022, eight days after he was sent home with antibiotics.
A report into Yusuf's case in 2023, found his care was appropriate and "an admission was not clinically required", but this was rejected by his family.
Yusuf's uncle Zaheer Ahmed has always said they were told "there are no beds and not enough doctors" in A&E, and that Yusuf should have been admitted and given intravenous antibiotics in Rotherham.
A new report published on Thursday by NHS England said in its conclusions:
"Our primary finding is that the parental concerns, particularly the mother's instinct that her child was unwell, were repeatedly not addressed across services.
"A reliance on clinical metrics over caregiver insight caused distress for the family.
"This led to a lack of shared decision-making and there was limited evidence of collaborative discussions with Yusuf's family around clinical decisions, leading to a sense of exclusion and reduced trust in care plans."
Yusuf, who had asthma, was taken to the GP on November 15. He was prescribed antibiotics by an advanced nurse practitioner.
Later that evening, his parents took him to Rotherham Hospital urgent & emergency care centre where he was seen in the early hours of the morning after a six-hour wait.
Yusuf was discharged with a diagnosis of severe tonsillitis and an extended prescription of 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 2023 report said there was only one doctor in the paediatric UECC on November 15 and, after midnight, that medic was responsible for covering adults and children.
It added that the doctor who saw Yusuf is an experienced UECC doctor who would not have needed to refer to a paediatrician to admit him.
Professor Aidan Fowler, National Director of Patient Safety in England, said:
“Our thoughts and sincere condolences remain with the family of Yusuf Nazir who have suffered an unbearable loss.
“We accept the report’s recommendations and acknowledge the issues this independent investigation has uncovered, particularly the failure to listen to and act on the concerns of Yusuf’s family by multiple NHS services, which is unacceptable.
“We are working to ensure families are actively involved in care decisions with most acute hospital sites across the country now starting to use Martha’s rule enabling loved ones to ask quickly for a different clinical opinion if they have concerns, while we are committed to creating a single patient record so that all staff across the NHS can access the same clinical information regarding a patient.
“We will also work with the local trusts to ensure they implement the recommendations from the report.”
Dr Jeff Perring, executive medical director at Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust, said:
"We recognise the profound loss felt by Yusuf's family and those who loved him.
"We will be reviewing the recommendations of the report and taking those forward through education, guidance, policy and training to deliver the best care for our children, young people and families."
Dr Jo Beahan, medical director at The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust, said:
"Our deepest sympathies remain with Yusuf's family following such a sad loss of a loved family member.
"Since November 2022, we have taken steps to address the concern relating to Yusuf's care which includes listening to the concerns of parents and carers. Our thoughts continue to be with Yusuf's family."
More to follow...