Coronavirus: Parents of children with serious illnesses failing to take them to hospital over Covid-19 fears, leading doctor says

‘We are seeing fewer children than we would expect to see at this time of year,’ paediatrician warns

Young children suffering from serious illnesses are not being brought to hospital as parents fear their offspring could contract coronavirus, a leading doctor has warned.

Dr Sanjay Patel, a consultant in paediatric infectious diseases at Southampton Children’s Hospital, said there had been a drop in the number of severely ill children being brought to its emergency department with conditions such as appendicitis, dehydration and sepsis.

Data from NHS England confirmed that Accident and Emergency (A&E) departments across the board saw a worrying decline in attendances in March. One and a half million people attended A&E departments in England in March this year, compared to over 2.1 million in March 2019.

Some parents may be assuming that all illnesses were being caused by coronavirus, or were reluctant to seek healthcare due to fears of catching the virus, said Dr Patel.

He said: “These are extremely challenging and worrying times for families and I can’t stress how important it is to follow the Government advice about social distancing in order to slow down the speed of Covid-19.

“However, I’m really worried that there is a very real risk that some children with illnesses such as appendicitis, dehydration or even sepsis are not being brought to see healthcare professionals as quickly as they would be normally.

“We are seeing fewer children than we would expect to see at this time of year, particularly through our emergency department, and those we are seeing who do not have Covid-19 are more severe unwell,” he said, adding there was evidence of this in Hampshire and throughout the country.

The worrying trend is echoed across the British public, as doctors warned over the weekend that people with medical emergencies, including heart attacks, are delaying treatment out of fear of becoming infected with coronavirus.

Professor Sir Sam Everington, a GP and chair of Tower Hamlets Clinical Commissioning Group told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme on Saturday that people who do attend hospital to seek urgent treatment “are in a more severe situation”.

To help parents recognise situations in which urgent medical advice is required and detail the other options available to them, Dr Patel has developed national guidance with the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH).

The guidance uses a red, amber and green traffic light system to help parents assess when they should be seeking help.

“We know that the message about Covid-19 is so powerful and parents are putting most children’s illnesses down to this,” said Dr Patel.

“The other issue is that they are just too scared to bring their child to see a healthcare professional because they are worried that they might pick up Covid-19.

“Therefore, it is really important for parents to recognise that Covid-19 is not causing severe infection and illness in most children.”

He added: “If your child is unwell, don’t assume they have Covid-19, please take a look at the resources we’ve developed and if your child has any of the red or amber features, seek help urgently.”

The RCPCH said in a statement: “We want our patients to know that we are here for them. We must reassure each other that our job is to provide care to children and their families, and we will continue to do this throughout the pandemic.”

Urging people to continue seeking medical help for serious conditions, the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges said: “The risk of developing other serious or life-threatening conditions remains unchanged and people must be fully confident that they can and should, seek medical assistance if they are worried about themselves or a relative.

“The NHS not only remains open to see people with urgent and serious problems, it is actively asking that such people seek help.”

Additional reporting by Press Association