A superfit amateur footballer died from a flesh-eating virus after medics dismissed his symptoms as tonsillitis and sciatica, an inquestheard.

Luke Abrahams, 20, passed away from sepsis and necrotising fasciitis at Northampton General Hospital on January 23, 2023. An inquest heard he had been complaining of a sore throat in the days before and saw his GP who prescribed antibiotics for tonsillitis.

His condition worsened and he became immobile with excruciating leg pain - but then an out-of-hours doctormisdiagnosed him with sciatica on January 20. Just 12 hours later his family rang 999 as Luke was in agonising pain - but ambulance crews decided he did not need to go to hospital despite numerous "red flags".

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Two days later, the railway engineer was rushed to hospital saying he "could not take the pain any longer" - and died the following day. A post mortem examination revealed he had been suffering from septicaemia, Lemierre syndrome – a form of bacterial infection, and necrotising fasciitis – a flesh-eating disease.

His death was initially recorded as natural causes and no inquest was opened. His parents Richard Abrahams and Julie Needham have been campaigning for a formal investigation to be opened and believe a "catalogue of errors" contributed to his death.

The couple, from Northampton, say medics missed a series of opportunities to potentially save their son as in the week he deteriorated, he had contact with multiple GPs, A&E, 111, and paramedics. During the opening day of his inquest yesterday, an ambulance manager acknowledged Luke ought to have been transported to hospital days prior to his death, at the point he was incorrectly diagnosed with sciatica.

Providing testimony, Susan Jevons, Head of Patient Safety at East Midlands Ambulance Service (EMAS), stated: "Luke should have been transferred to hospital on the 20th and he should not have been discharged at home." The inquest was told that Luke had been suffering throughout the week with tonsillitis and was mostly bedridden with acute lower-leg pain.

When his health didn't improve despite taking antibiotics, Luke and his mother rang NHS 111 once more. EMAS paramedics turned up at 4pm that afternoon and discovered Luke in excruciating pain and unable to move.

Ms Jevons explained the crew concentrated on sciatica and didn't adequately consider infection, despite numerous "red flags", including an elevated temperature and blood glucose levels. These warning signs also encompassed a pain rating of nine out of 10, increased heart rate, dark-coloured urine and markedly elevated blood glucose levels.

Luke wasn't diabetic but showed a blood glucose reading of 16, with 17 representing the threshold for automatic referral to A&E, the inquest was told. Ms Jevons continued: "The blood sugar stood out the most for me. There was no reason his blood sugar levels should have been that high."

Ms Jevons indicated a low warning score shouldn't be relied upon solely to assess how unwell a patient is. She remarked: "You should look at your patient – what is your patient telling you?" The court was told that a pain score of nine puts a patient in the "red" category, indicating they require immediate hospital admission.

Yet Luke was classified as "amber" and this assessment went unchallenged. Ms Jevons said: "There wasn't enough evidence to say he just had sciatica."

She explained that the case prompted additional training, including refresher courses on sepsis, Lemierre's syndrome and necrotising fasciitis. In his evidence, the out-of-hours GP who incorrectly diagnosed sciatica during a video consultation stated he hadn't spotted any "red flag" symptoms.

Dr Olalowo Olaitan, who gave evidence via Zoom from Canada, was serving as an out-of-hours GP for DHU Healthcare on behalf of NHS 111 at the time. He explained that a video assessment was conducted because Luke was in too much pain to travel to hospital in person and was having difficulty getting down the stairs at home.

He said the video call enabled him to evaluate Luke's level of consciousness, communication and to check for red flag symptoms such as rashes or skin changes. He stated there were no visible signs of redness, rash or discolouration that would indicate a serious infection like necrotising fasciitis, which ultimately claimed Luke's life. He said: "There was just pain in the back, buttock and leg."

Dr Olaitan explained he offered stronger pain relief and prescribed naproxen, believing Luke was suffering from sciatica. When questioned why the throat infection wasn't investigated further, he responded: "Based on the fact Luke said it was getting better and he was on antibiotics, I didn't explore that further."

He informed the inquest his working diagnosis was sciatica alongside a throat infection and stated he hadn't considered a link between the two at the time. Dr Olaitan also revealed to the court he was unaware Luke had rang NHS 111 multiple times in the days before or that he had visited hospital earlier that week. He continued: "Ideally, I always want to see my patients face to face."

The inquest, being conducted by assistant coroner Sophie Lomas at The Guildhall in Northampton, is anticipated to run for three days.