The family of a five-year-old lad who tragically passed away after being discharged from A&E are feeling "getting closer and closer to the truth" following the commencement of an inquest into his death. Yusuf Mahmud Nazir died at Sheffield Children's Hospital on November 23, 2022, a week and a day after he was assessed at Rotherham Hospital and sent home with antibiotics.

In the previous month, subsequent to a second review of Yusuf's treatment by NHS England, his relatives demanded an inquest, citing numerous lingering queries. On Thursday, Sheffield's Senior Coroner Tanyka Rawden opened and adjourned the inquest.

Yusuf's uncle, Zaheer Ahmed, said after the brief hearing: "It's been a very long journey for us and we really appreciate the fact that the coroner has listened to us on our first approach and given us the inquest we want.

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"And it will give us more answers about how Yusuf died, which is what we're wanting. It's been a tough fight to get here, but we're getting closer and closer to the truth."

The coroner has put off the inquest until a case management hearing set for January 30, 2026, although she indicated the full hearing would occur later than this date.

Mr Ahmed said: "We don't mind how long it takes as long as everything gets looked at properly and thoroughly and we get the answers that we need. We don't want it to be rushed. We don't want any opportunities to be missed."

He added: "It was actually Yusuf's birthday yesterday. He would have been eight years old today."

Mr Ahmed has consistently maintained that they were informed "there are no beds and not enough doctors" in the emergency department, and that Yusuf should have been admitted for intravenous antibiotics in Rotherham. On November 15, Yusuf, an asthma sufferer, visited a GP with symptoms of a sore throat and feeling poorly, where an advanced nurse practitioner prescribed him antibiotics.

That same evening, after enduring a six-hour wait, his parents rushed him to the urgent and emergency care centre (UECC) at Rotherham Hospital, where he was eventually seen in the early hours. He left with a diagnosis of severe tonsillitis and an updated antibiotic prescription.

On November 17, Yusuf's GP prescribed additional antibiotics for a suspected chest infection. However, growing increasingly worried, his family summoned an ambulance, insisting that the paramedics take him to Sheffield Children's Hospital instead of Rotherham.

Tragically, after being admitted to intensive care on November 21, Yusuf experienced multi-organ failure and multiple cardiac arrests, which proved fatal. A new report released in July offered several recommendations for the NHS.

The report's conclusion was: "Our primary finding is that the parental concerns, particularly the mother's instinct that her child was unwell, were repeatedly not addressed across services."

At a press conference in Rotherham in July, Yusuf's mother, Soniya Ahmed, said: "For the medical staff there are lessons to be learnt from this tragedy, but for us, our life, Yusuf has been taken away from us in the most horrific way. Every night when I close my eyes I hear Yusuf's helpless voice in my ears saying, 'Mummy, I can't breathe, I can't breathe, I really can't'."

Struggling with emotion, Ms Ahmed added: "We want to know how our son has died and who is responsible, and the only way we will get these answers is with an inquest. The family demand an inquest."

The recent investigation by Peter Carter, ex-chief of the Royal College of Nursing, revealed that Yusuf had 23 separate healthcare interactions across four entities "with no single, co-ordinated record or oversight, contributing to fragmented and disjointed care".

The family expressed their shock particularly at the findings concerning Sheffield Children's Hospital, which included the use of an antiquated cannula technique that resulted in Yusuf being deprived of essential medication.

Last month, Health Secretary Wes Streeting said: "There are no excuses for the tragic failings in the lead-up to Yusuf's death and I know first-hand how hard it has been for his family to live without the answers they deserve."