By Liz Fowler

THE FAMILIES of a Laurencekirk joiner and an Aberdeen schoolgirl reacted with anger yesterday after damning comments from a sheriff on how NHS 24 failed their loved ones before they died.

Mrs Linda Thorpe, the mother of Steven Wiseman (30) said she was stunned at what she regarded as a defiant reaction from NHS 24 to Sheriff James Tierney’s findings.

Relatives of Shomi Miah (17) said they were angry the clinical director of NHS 24 would not clarify if the organisation is prepared to be held accountable for her death.

Mr Wiseman, a father-of-two, died of toxic shock and Miss Miah of meningitis.

NHS 24 nurse advisers told each patient they had flu symptoms.

Each was told to take paracetamol and contact their GPs in the morning, when it was too late to save them.

The findings of a joint fatal accident inquiry into the separate cases were published yesterday.

The families had claimed delays by NHS 24 in gaining medical help led to their loved ones’ deaths and pressed for the inquiry, which was held at Aberdeen Sheriff Court.

In his determination, Sheriff James Tierney heavily criticised NHS 24.

He said it was “tragically clear” that both Miss Miah and Mr Wiseman, who died of toxic shock, were failed by the telephone system.

Mrs Thorpe, of Montrose, said she has endured 18 months of misery awaiting an explanation for the failure of the out-of-hours service to get medical help to her son.

At the very least, the family had expected an apology and a tearful Mrs Thorpe was devastated yesterday she still had not had one.

In view of the sheriff’s findings, she found it unbelievable NHS 24 still seemed to admit no wrongdoing.

She did not wish to comment further.

Mr Wiseman’s fiancee and mother of their two daughters, Kerry Robertson, was too upset too comment.

Yesterday Miss Miah’s brother, Khalis (29), welcomed the findings.

However, he said, “They are responsible.

“It has been outlined that there was a fault in their system and that reasonable precautions could and should have been taken that would have saved Shomi.

“Hopefully this report will make sure this does not happen to any other family.

“If my sister had been taken to hospital at 6pm instead of 6am she would still be alive today.”

In October 2004, Shomi Miah was told by an NHS 24 nurse adviser to take paracetamol after complaining of neck stiffness and painful arms and legs.

In two calls to the service in October 2004 her family was told she was suffering from “flu-like symptoms.”

Miss Miah was later taken to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, where she was found to be suffering from the brain disease meningitis.

She died hours later.

Mr Wiseman, from Laurencekirk, had his fiancee contact the service when he was unwell in December 2004.

She made three calls and on one occasion Mr Wiseman was forced to crawl across the floor in agony to speak to medical staff.

He was told he probably had flu and was advised to take painkillers and wait until his doctor’s surgery opened before seeking treatment.

But when a GP arrived at the house Mr Wiseman was gravely ill.

His skin turned yellow, then black and blue, and he was slipping in and out of consciousness.

He stopped breathing and was resuscitated, then was rushed by ambulance to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, where a medical team was unable to save him.

The sheriff’s report said, “The first nurse advisor (NA) was too quick and wrong to diagnose flu in the face of non-standard symptoms, but did recommend contact with his own GP, which was appropriate.

“The second NA continued the wrong diagnosis of flu and failed to identify the reason behind the call, namely the intense and disabling shoulder pain, which was not consistent with flu.

“The third NA correctly identified pain and fever and the new condition of jaundice, but failed to appreciate that the seriously non-standard conditions warranted an emergency hospital admission on the basis of erring on the side of caution.”

In a statement for Mr Wiseman’s family, solicitor Christine McCrossan said, “He was only 30 years old.

“He left behind his fiancee and two young children.

“In the night preceding his death Mr Wiseman’s fiancee called NHS 24 on two occasions seeking urgent medical assistance.

“The family have always been of the view that Mr Wiseman’s life could have been saved had NHS 24 responded appropriately to those calls.”

MS McCrossan said, “The sheriff ... has confirmed that Mr Wiseman’s life might indeed have been saved had the serious nature of his illness been identified by NHS 24 and appropriate medical assistance provided.

“He has gone on to identify serious defects in the system operated by NHS 24, which contributed to Mr Wiseman’s death.

“Taking part in this fatal accident inquiry has been exceptionally difficult for Mr Wiseman’s family.

“They are very pleased that there has now been a thorough independent investigation and hope that the findings will go some way to ensuring that no other family has to go through what they have endured.”

NHS 24 clinical director Dr George Crooks would not be drawn on whether the organisation takes responsibility for the deaths.

He added, “It is very difficult for any healthcare officials, be it a GP or a nurse, to diagnose with 100% certainty what is wrong with any patient.”

Mr Crooks said it was impossible to say if such a situation could happen again, but over the past 18 months NHS 24 has made a number of changes.

They include advanced training to raise awareness of meningitis symptoms, and changes to the way repeat calls are handled.

“Since these tragic deaths, NHS 24’s service, particularly in terms of ability to access the service and the use of outbound calling has improved significantly,” he said.

“We fully recognise that the circumstances of the two deaths will have caused great distress to the families involved.

“The most constructive outcome is that the NHS can learn from these events and continue to improve services for patients in the future.”