A PARAMEDIC has denied mimicking the "grunting" of a meningitis-stricken six-year-old boy.

An inquest heard how little Oliver Hall was killed by the disease shortly after paramedic Graham Scott "rolled his eyes" at his "over-anxious" mum.

The lad passed away at the James Paget University Hospital in Norfolk on October 24, 2017.

Mum Georgie Hall, 38, claimed paramedic Graham Scott dismissed her concerns and mimicked the "grunting" noise Oliver was making.

He also allegedly joked that Oliver was going to "milk it" after the lad tripped over a step.

But he claimed he would have rushed him to hospital had he heard the noise.

He said: "If there had been grunting that I had heard and recognised, that is a very serious thing in a child and I would have taken him straight to hospital.

"But I don’t recollect any grunting at all. It would have changed my philosophy completely if I did. Grunting is a severe sign of illness.

"I absolutely regret my decision to take him to the GPs. I wish I had taken him to the hospital straight away.

"Given my time again, I wish we would have loaded him in the ambulance and gone (to hospital)."

Georgie wept: "I said I was worried about meningitis and they assured me he was well enough to return home.

"They rejected meningitis out of hand. I was told everything was fine. I was made to feel I had to trust the medical professionals."

Symptoms of meningitis

Meningitis can affect anyone but it's most common in babies, teens and young adults.

It's often mistaken for being flu and in some cases, people can seem hungover.

But the longer you leave it, the more at risk you become of things like blood poisoning – which can be fatal.

You can get the Meningitis B vaccine at Boots for £220.

Symptoms of meningitis develop suddenly and can include:

• a high temperature (fever) of 38Cor above
• being sick
• a headache
• a rash that does not fade when a glass is rolled over it (but this will not always develop)
• a stiff neck
• a dislike of bright lights
• drowsiness or unresponsiveness
• fits (seizures)

You need to seek medical help ASAP.

Even when people do survive meningitis, it can leave them with life-long issues such as hearing or vision loss, epilepsy, amputations and memory problems.

Husband Bryan added: "We both suspected meningitis and Georgie was raising this as a potential diagnosis.

"We were made to feel we were over-sensitive parents who did not know what we were talking about."

Professor Nigel Klein, a professor of infectious disease at the Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, said that he believed Oliver could have survived if he had been treated sooner.

He said that even if he had been treated as late as 3pm on October 23, he would still have lived, although he might have been left with scarring or loss of fingers or toes.

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