Boy, 5, died at school after he ate biscuit and suffered a serious allergic reaction, inquest hears

Daily Mail​

2 days ago

A five-year-old boy collapsed at school and died after suffering a serious allergic reaction upon eating a biscuit, an inquest has been told.
A jury at Peterborough Town Hall heard how Benedict Blythe, in his first year at Barnack Primary School in Stamford in Lincolnshire, died in hospital on December 1 2021 after vomiting at school.
His mother Helen Blythe was among those giving evidence on the opening day of the inquest into the death of her 'kind-souled' son'.
She told how he was 'not just a child with allergies' but 'a whole universe', as she paid tribute to the boy as 'curious, funny, kind and loving - adding: 'The world should have been safer for him.'
The cause of death for Benedict, who was allergic to milk, eggs and some nuts, was recorded as food-induced anaphylaxis.
Elizabeth Gray, the area coroner for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, has addressed a jury considering a verdict in the inquest.
She informed the court how Benedict as kept home from school on November 30, shortly before his death, because he was unwell and had vomited the previous night - but he went to school as normal on December 1.
The coroner said Benedict ate a biscuit during that school day which he had brought from home and was then offered oat milk by a class teacher but declined to drink it.
He then vomited so his parents were called to pick him up, but he vomited a second time and was taken outside for fresh air - at which point he 'collapsed', jurors heard.
An adrenaline auto-injector was administered by a first aid-trained teaching assistant but Benedict was 'not responding' before CPR was attempted.
Emergency services were called but the schoolboy died later that day at Peterborough City Hospital.
Benedict's mother, who gave evidence to the inquest, told the jury that vomiting was 'always' the first symptom of his allergic reactions - though also said that'how it played out after that varied'.
She said the school was given a management plan with 'things we knew as a family and as his parents' about his allergic reactions.
In a witness statement read to the inquest, Mrs Blythe said Benedict was 'well-aware' of his allergic reactions.
She said: 'I believe he had an allergic reaction and this is what caused his death.'
Mrs Blythe added that Benedict 'woke up as normal and in good health' that morning with no temperature or cough.
She described feeling 'terrified' when she learnt that Benedict had become unwell.
A video was shown to the jury of Benedict opening his Advent calendar before school with his younger sister on the day he died.
Mrs Blythe told the inquest the chocolate he ate from the calendar was dairy-free.
She also read a pen portrait to the inquest, saying: 'Quick-minded and kind-souled, Benedict's love of "playing numbers" was one hint to why he joined Mensa when he was four.
'His superpower was his kind heart and it's that kindness that is so missing from our lives.
'The first return to a new school year after his death, children said, "I wish Benedict was here - he'd stop me feeling nervous".
'Aside from the joy Benedict had in his life, he had to develop his own quiet kind of bravery.
'He lived with allergies and chronic asthma, and sometimes that meant missing out - on parties, on snacks other children could eat, on ice creams from the ice cream van - but he never let it define him.
'The day Benedict died, our world broke but what's even more unbearable is the knowledge that we weren't alone.
'Benedict was not just a child with allergies, he was a whole universe - curious, funny, kind and loving - and the world should have been safer for him.'
The Benedict Blythe Foundation was set up in his memory and - along with the Allergy Team and the Independent Schools' Bursars Association - launched the schools allergy code last year.
That is aimed at protecting children with allergies and has set out a series of guidelines on how schools can better keep pupils safe.
The inquest heard that Benedict was 'not necessarily adventurous' with food but had become 'increasingly anxious' about asking whether things contained milk because of previous allergic reactions.
Dr Emilia Wawrzkowicz, a consultant paediatrician, said the initial post-mortem examination report recorded Benedict's cause of death as asthma but she felt 'very strongly' that it was due to anaphylaxis.
She told the court: 'The original post-mortem report had concluded on the balance of probabilities that the cause of death was asthma.
'I wholeheartedly disagreed with this. I was shocked to have seen this.'
She said one of the reasons she believed this was because there was 'never any suggestion of airway compromise'.
The inquest into Benedict's death, which is expected to last two weeks, continues.
The Department for Education spokesperson has previously said: 'We understand the seriousness of severe allergies and we are clear that children with medical conditions should be properly supported to enjoy a full education and be safe at school.
'All schools are required to make arrangements that ensure this is the case.'