by Kathryn Boast
9 November 2010
A one year old boy was sent a ‘threatening’ letter after an NHS trust allegedly disapproved of him wasting their resources.
Despite the fact that the boy, Morgan Bell, was vomiting and experiencing seizures as his temperature rocketed to 104F, Hull NHS Trust sent a letter to the boy personally, accusing him of not being mindful ‘of HNS resources’ after his worried parents took him to A&E.
His stunned father Philip told the Daily Express, “If Morgan falls ill again with a high temperature, am I supposed to keep him home so I don’t waste NHS resources? I felt it was a threatening letter.”
The NHS letter advised Mr Bell and his partner Emily Lloyd that they should have taken their son to the minor injury unit, even though that department does not usually deal with children aged two years old and below.
Yesterday the Trust admitted that a system error had led to the letter being addressed to Morgan personally, and admitted this method of contact was ‘not appropriate.’