A SCHOOLBOY dying of meningitis tearfully begged doctors to help him, a tribunal has heard.

Ten-year-old William Cressey died in March 2005, after being discharged from Darlington Memorial Hospital when doctors thought he was suffering from a migraine.

The youngster, from Croft, near Darlington, was sent home with Calpol, but suffered a fit and died.

His mother, Cheryl, repeatedly alerted medical staff to her son’s deteriorating condition, but was dismissed as a "neurotic mum".

Christopher Kirby, one of the nurses in charge of looking after William, is appearing before a Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) fitness to practice panel, accused of failing to carry out proper observations on the youngster.

It is also claimed he walked away when a colleague asked him for help with William.

William had been admitted to the hospital on February 28, 2005, but by 9am the following day the decision made by the doctors to send him home.

Mrs Cressey told the hearing, at the Old Bailey, in London: “William's eyes were seriously protruding and he was having difficulty in closing his lids over his eyes.

“I told a nurse that his eyes were really causing him suffering and she went to senior male nurse, Christopher Kirby.”

Mrs Cressey said the nurse explained the situation to Mr Kirby.

She said: “His reply was 'well you know what to do about that, don't you?', she replied 'no', and he said 'just don't touch it', and then he walked away.”

Breaking down in tears, she added: “William heard this and said: ‘That was not very kind, was it mum?’

“Tears rolled down his face.”

Mrs Cressey said William had been in agonising pain and at one point when asked by a nurse to rate it on a scale of one to ten, said 20.

She said her son lay on the bed writhing in agony and vomiting but that doctors refused to accept that he had meningitis because he did not have a rash.

Hours before the schoolboy passed away he had begged doctors to save him, saying: “Please help me. Why won't you help me? If you don't help me, I am going to die. Please help me, I don't want to die.”

He had seen five doctors in three days who were unable to diagnose and treat him.

William suffered a fatal fit and died on March 1.

Mr Kirby, who is attending the hearing, which is scheduled to finish on Friday, admits the record keeping and observation errors, but denies walking away from a colleague and telling her not to touch William's eye.

Derek Zeitlin, for the NMC, told the panel that there was no suggestion that Kirby's actions had caused William's death.

The hearing continues.