‘Faster response could have saved my son from milk allergy death'
Benedict Blythe, a member of the high-IQ society Mensa, was just five when he experienced the fatal anaphylactic episode at Barnack primary school in Stamford, Lincolnshire, in December 2021.
An eight-day inquest at Peterborough town hall concluded on Wednesday that the death of the 'gifted schoolboy', who had milk, egg and nut allergies, was caused by accidentally ingesting cow's milk from his own drinking receptacle, which was stored at his school.
Helen Blythe, his mother, told The Times she believes there were a 'series of failures' that led to his death, including staff missing initial signs of the reaction, which caused his adrenaline autoinjector 'being administered too late'.
'It is heartbreaking … if it had been given even a minute earlier, then he might have lived,' Blythe said through pursed lips. 'Milk was poison to him.'
The inquest found that among the probable causes of Benedict's death were the delayed administration of his EpiPen and opportunities for cross-contamination with lactose-free milk relating to the storage of his bottle at school.
'He was very aware of his allergies, but I think it was only kind of in the month or two before he died that he started to feel anxious,' she added.
Blythe said that she had channelled her 'heartbreak' into campaigning for Benedict's Law, or the School Allergy Safety Bill, which plans to enforce a nationwide allergy policy in every UK school. It sets out training for staff to respond quickly to an emergency and guidelines on stocking spare adrenaline pens.
'Benedict dying was devastating [but] my son is not the first child to die from allergies at school. He [will] not be the last child to die from an allergy in an English school. And that means that we can't sit around waiting for long consultations that may take years to pass. There are children at risk in schools now.
'If in doubt do not delay [treatment] was the message that hadn't reached some of the people that were providing care for [Benedict]. We want the government to respond quickly now.'
Elizabeth Gray, the area coroner for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough, previously told the hearing that Benedict had been kept off school on November 30 after his mother called in to inform them he was sick.
But Blythe said he in fact was 'not unwell' and had been just managing 'a common, life-long night cough', adding that 'he was fit to return to school'. She said Benedict had a flexible schooling schedule because of his advanced learning.
He returned on December 1 and during his morning break was seen eating a gingerbread biscuit brought from home, the inquest heard.
He then returned to the classroom, where he was offered oat milk, which the school claimed he refused. He then fell ill — vomiting and collapsing — and later was pronounced dead at Peterborough City Hospital.
Amy Jones, the head teacher, told the inquest that Benedict's oat milk was labelled and kept in a staff fridge, which also stored lactose-free milk for another child in the class.
Last week, Dr Shuaib Nasser told the hearing that lactose-free milk was 'just as allergenic to a child [who is] allergic to cow's milk'.
• Inspired by loss, law graduate fights for allergy safety reforms
Blythe said: 'I remember having a conversation with his dad and we said, 'He just needs to go to school, make some friends, and they just need to keep him alive'.
'He loved school, he absolutely loved it. On his first week, he cried when he realised he couldn't go to school at the weekend. Ben would wake up at five o'clock in the morning and want to play numbers and do maths and loved worksheets and problems.'
She added: 'The things that we miss much more is his kindness, curiosity and bubbling energy.'
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