'Dad, dad, it's not working': Desperate cry of asthma boy as equipment failure left paramedic in tears



Experienced first aider Dwayne Cuming, 39, attempted to revive Harry

Boy began gasping for breath whilst watching TV at Lancashire home

Father had to clear son's airways after paramedic broke down in tears



A father relived the harrowing moment he had to step in and treat his dying son – after a female paramedic broke down in tears when she couldn’t get her equipment to work.

Dwayne Cuming desperately attempted to revive ten-year-old asthma sufferer Harry, who began gasping for breath as he watched TV with his three-year-old brother, an inquest heard yesterday.

Both his inhaler and a more powerful nebuliser failed to stop the attack, leaving the boy in tears as he sobbed: ‘Dad, dad it’s not working’ before collapsing on the floor.

Traumatic: Dwayne Cuming (right), 39, attempted desperately to revive his ten-year-old son Harry (left) after the boy began gasping for breath whilst watching TV at home in Croston, Lancashire

Brothers: The tragedy occurred when Dwayne Cuming, Harry (right) and his other son Lewis (left), now three, had been watching TV after enjoying hot dogs bought from the supermarket Although ambulance staff quickly arrived at the scene, one of the paramedics found she could not insert an endotracheal tube meant to clear his airways. Mr Cuming, 39, a mechanical engineer, said: ‘The paramedic couldn’t get the tube in. She couldn’t understand why, she was shaking and she started to cry.’ RELATED ARTICLES Previous

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Mother accused of starving her four-year-old son to death... Share this article Share At this point Harry’s lips started to turn blue – forcing his terrified father to take charge and clear his son’s airways himself. 'Devastated': Harry's mother Vicky Cuming at the inquest into his death at Preston Coroner's Court Improvising with a vacuum cleaner he inserted the nozzle down his airway in a last-ditch attempt to try and save his son.

He told the hearing: ‘I suggested using a vacuum cleaner to clear his airways. Harry was occasionally gasping for breaths.

‘I managed to clear the airways by putting my hand down his throat and I carefully controlled the vacuum nozzle.’

The paramedics were still having trouble assembling their equipment, so Mr Cuming picked his son up and carried him to the ambulance waiting outside.

He said: ‘I remember the paramedics trying to do something with the intervention tube.

‘I carried Harry to the ambulance, but they struggled to find a vein and were having difficulties assembling the suction pump.’

He added: ‘I went in to the ambulance, but none of the ambulance crew took over and they let me carry on.’

The paramedics eventually stepped in and rushed Harry to hospital, but he was pronounced dead 50 minutes later after suffering both cardiac and respiratory arrest.

The inquest also heard that days before Harry’s death he had been admitted to hospital after having a serious asthma attack – but doctors had decided to discharge him without making any changes to his prescription.

In the lead-up to his death he had been taken in for treatment in October and December 2010, as well as January, February, March and July 2011.

On October 15 2011 he was sent to Preston Royal Hospital in Fulwood, Lancashire, after he started struggling to breathe.

But Mr Cuming said the family had been ‘fobbed off’ by doctors who sent him home following a two-day stay without making any changes to his medication.



Pronounced dead: The Accident and Emergency department at the Royal Preston Hospital where Harry died He insisted that hospital staff had ignored changes in his son’s condition, adding: ‘The treatment Harry received clearly wasn’t working. ‘We asked for treatment reviews several times over the years but we were told that he was on the maximum dosage and couldn’t try anything else. ‘Harry was discharged four days before his death. He had more tightness in his chest and was becoming wheezy. UK'S MOST COMMON LONG-TERM MEDICAL CONDITION IN CHILDREN Some 1.1million children in the UK suffer from asthma and it is the country’s most common long-term medical condition in youngsters. There are more than 1,100 deaths related to the condition every year. In 2009, 12 deaths occurred in children aged under 14. On average, three people every day die as a result of the condition. In 2008/9, the latest figures available, there were over 79,794 emergency hospital admissions for asthma in the UK in 2008-09. Of these, 30,740 were children aged 14 years or under. A child is admitted to hospital every 17 minutes as a result of the condition. Asthma affects the small tubes that carry air in and out of the lungs. Anything that irritates sufferers’ airways causes the muscles around the walls of the airways tighten so they become narrower. This sees the lining of the airways becomes inflamed and start to swell. Sticky mucus or phlegm can also builds up on occasions, which makes the airways even more narrow. This can cause the airways to become irritated, making it harder to breathe. ‘We started to notice significant physical changes six months before his death. He gained a lot of weight and was growing quickly. ‘He had a constant heavy wheeze in the last months of his life.

'He was in an almost state of wheeziness and was laboured in breathing.’ Dr Dhia Mahmood, a consultant paediatrician who treated Harry between 2004 and 2008, saw him when he was admitted to casualty in October 2011. He said: ‘He was admitted with shortness of breath and wheezing, he was using his inhaler but it wasn’t responding. ‘He received two nebulisers and another dilator to improve the wheezing.

'He responded well and the decision was made to keep him in for two nights.’ He added: ‘Harry told me at the time that he had not been taking his inhaler regularly. I told him that it was important as a preventative treatment. ‘We were cautious in discharging him. We don’t discharge children and not see them again.

'He would have been seen by another doctor in one month.’ The hearing was told how Harry, from Croston in Lancashire, had been born six weeks premature and was diagnosed with asthma when he was just six months old. His family had quickly learnt to recognise when he was having a bad attack, and doctors had prescribed him medication including inhalers, antibiotics and steroids. His father said: ‘He was taken to A & E his entire life and had suffered life-threatening attacks maybe four or five times, where he would desperately gasp for breath.’ Their lawyer Leena Savjani said the inquest, which saw the coroner record a verdict of death by natural causes, had helped the family come forward with questions about their son’s medical treatment. She said: ‘The family were devastated by Harry’s death as they had helped to carefully manage his asthma for many years. ‘They have concerns about the events leading up to his death and need answers to come to terms with the tragic loss of their son.’ According to figures, 1.1million young people in the UK have asthma – the most common long-term illness in British children. There are currently more than 1,100 deaths related to the condition every year. The inquest continues.





