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Pauline
Cafferkey © Ken McKay/ITV/REX Shutterstock
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Doctors sent home nurse with Ebola FOUR
days before she was put back into isolation unit: Pauline Cafferkey's family
condemn 'absolutely diabolical' treatment and claim doctors 'missed a big
opportunity' and told her she had a virus
Doctors treating British
nurse Pauline Cafferkey 'missed a big opportunity' to spot she had fallen ill
with Ebola for a second time after dismissing her symptoms as a virus, her
family claim. Toni
Cafferkey said it was 'absolutely diabolical' the way her sister, who
originally contracted Ebola while volunteering in Sierra Leone last year, had
been treated since falling ill again with the potentially-fatal disease.
Pauline,
39, was admitted to an isolation unit at the Royal Free Hospital in London on
Thursday night – four days after being sent home by doctors who diagnosed her
with a virus.
The Mail on Sunday report continues:
Her
sister today revealed that Pauline had gone to an out-of-hours GP clinic at
Victoria Hospital in Glasgow on Monday night but the doctor who assessed her
diagnosed a virus and sent her home.
She
said Pauline spent all of Tuesday 'very ill' before taking herself to the Queen
Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow, where she was admitted for tests
before being flown by RAF to the Royal Free on Thursday.
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Nurse
Pauline Cafferkey (pictured circled centre) accepted a Pride of Britain award
in London less than a fortnight ago from Lenny Henry (far left), Suranne Jones
(centre left) and Carol Vorderman and (far right)
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Toni
said the Cafferkey family now feel 'let down' by the treatment, fearing the
early dismissal of her sister's symptoms may have a long-term effect.
She
told the Sunday Mail: 'At that point me and my family believe they missed a big
opportunity to give the right diagnosis and we feel she was let down. Instead
of being taken into hospital, she spent the whole of Tuesday very ill.
'I
think it is absolutely diabolical the way she has been treated. We don't know
if the delays diagnosing Pauline have had an adverse effect on her health, but
we intend to find out. It has not been good enough.
'We
think there have been major failings and we just want her to pull through. This
kind of recurrence seems to be rare but we don't yet know enough about it.'
NHS
Greater Glasgow and Clyde confirmed that Pauline attended the New Victoria
Hospital GP out-of-hours service on Monday.
A
spokesman said: 'Her management and the clinical decisions taken based on the
symptoms she was displaying at the time were entirely appropriate.
'All
appropriate infection control procedures were carried out as part of this
episode
of care.'
Pauline,
from South Lanarkshire, was diagnosed with Ebola in December after returning to
Glasgow from Sierra Leone via London.
She
was critically ill and spent almost a month in an isolation unit at the Royal
Free Hospital before being discharged in late January.
She
then started working part time in mid-March as a nurse based in Blantyre Health
Centre near Glasgow and had been well when she was last at work on October 1.
Ten
days ago she received a Pride of Britain award from Lenny Henry and Carol
Vorderman in London and met Samantha Cameron in Downing Street the following
day.
And
on Monday she met children at Mossneuk Primary School in East Kilbride, South
Lanarkshire, to speak about her charity work in Sierra Leone, where she
contracted Ebola.
However,
it was just hours after attending the primary school that she fell unwell and
visited the out-of-hours GP clinic with Ebola symptoms.
Despite
being dismissed, she took herself to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in
Glasgow on Tuesday night where she was treated in the infectious diseases unit.
On
Thursday, the NHS nurse was wheeled from a jet at RAF Northolt by medics in
hazard suits on a bed surrounded by a protective bubble before being taken to
the Royal Free.
Health
chiefs confirmed that schoolchildren who met with the Ebola-infected nurse the
day before she fell ill again were not in danger of catching the killer
disease.
Council education chief Jim Gilhooly said NHS
staff had visited the school and 'reassured anyone with concerns'.
He
added: 'They said her illness cannot be spread through ordinary social contact
and we have reassured parents and carers of this.'
Downing
Street is also believed to have been told Mrs Cameron will not require testing,
although one expert said she may be asked to fill out a questionnaire about any
symptoms and will be advised to raise concerns if she feels ill.
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Ms
Cafferkey (circled left) was in Downing Street to meet Samantha Cameron
(circled far right) ten days ago
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Ebola,
which has killed more than 11,000 people in West Africa, is spread through
blood and bodily fluids.
The
virus has been shown to persist for weeks or even months in parts of the body.
The
incubation period - the time between infection and the onset of symptoms -
ranges from two days to three weeks.
Pauline
is said to have developed an 'unusual late complication' as a result of the
original Ebola infection and tests have revealed that the virus is still
lingering in her body.
A
statement from the Royal Free Hospital confirmed that she had been transferred
to the hospital on Thursday night 'due to an unusual late complication of her
previous infection by the Ebola virus'.
A
spokesman said: 'The Ebola virus can only be transmitted by direct contact with
the blood or bodily fluids of an infected person while they are symptomatic, so
the risk to the general public remains low and the NHS has well-established and
practised infection control procedures in place.'
Health
officials will monitor her family and friends over the next few days in case
they begin to show symptoms.
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