Parents push for inquiry into son's wrong diagnosis

With the help of Mencap, a charity supporting people with learning disabilities, Warren's family are taking his death to the Health Ombudsman.

They hope to open an independent inquiry on how their son with severe learning difficulties was wrongly diagnosed and died from a perforated appendix.

His mother and father repeatedly asked doctors whether Warren had appendicitis or a blocked bowel, but doctors refused to listen.

They were told Warren had a virus. Warren died on September 25, 2004. His severe learning disability left him with very little speech, and the only people who could understand him were his parents.

"If a child without a learning disability had come into the hospital and screamed and shouted and said what was wrong with them, the staff would have helped them.

"Warren couldn't do this as he couldn't talk and stick up for himself. We were the only ones who understood Warren, but they didn't listen. We were treated as if we didn't exist."

Dame Jo Williams, Mencap's chief executive wants an urgent independent inquiry into Warren's death and other similar cases.

"We want the underlying bad practise, which we believe is a result of poorly designed systems, policies and procedures within the NHS, to be identified and acted upon. If action is not taken to eliminate institutional discrimination from our health services, people with a learning disability will continue to die unnecessarily."

The charity believes people with a learning disability have died unnecessarily within NHS care.

According to Mencap, the NHS has very little understanding of the problems involved with people suffering from learning disabilities and pay little attention to carers' advice.

Peter and Wendy Cox are hoping an independent inquiry will stop other families suffering the same fate.

"Warren was my son and my best friend. He was a joy to take anywhere. But now we hardly go out because it's not the same without Warren. He brought a smile to every day. Now we feel lost."