NHS 24 Faces £200,000 Death Claim

The NHS 24 helpline is to be sued for £200,000 by the family of an Aberdeen schoolgirl who died of meningitis.

Shomi Miah, who was 17, died in October 2004 after a nurse at the helpline told her family to give her painkillers because she probably had flu.

BBC Scotland has learned papers are due to be lodged in court on Thursday. Shomi’s family said any money would be used to set up a surgery in Bangladesh.

NHS 24 said the service had greatly improved since Shomi’s death.

But her parents said she would have survived if NHS 24 had acted in time.

The Miah family first called NHS 24 in the early evening on the day Shomi became ill.

They said they were told by the service to give her paracetamol and that Shomi was not taken to hospital until the following morning – where she died later that day.

Shomi’s brother Khalils Miah said: “We’re trying to fulfil her dreams in any way possible.

“She wanted to be a doctor and help poor people and she wanted to have a surgery of her own in Bangladesh.

“So we’ve bought land, we’ve set up a memorial fund for her as well, so we’re working on that side to try to fulfil her dreams.”

Following a fatal accident inquiry, a sheriff said the system had failed Shomi Miah and Steven Wiseman from Laurencekirk.

His family are suing NHS 24 for £750,000.

The father-of-two died in December 2004 at the age of 30 after complaining of flu-like symptoms.

He had also been told by NHS 24 nurse advisers to take paracetamol, but later died from meningitis.