Petition · Department of Health and Social Care
Review NHS patient safety safeguards for infants
Open for signatures
31 signatures
What the petition asks
Review patient safety law to improve early recognition & escalation of serious illness in babies & young infants across NHS care. A review could look at establishing clearer, more standardised & consistent safeguards to help reduce avoidable harm. This could be known as "Ophelia's Law'.
Ophelia attended primary and urgent care settings on multiple occasions with ongoing chest and respiratory symptoms. Despite repeated presentations, she was discharged without escalation, observation, or further investigation. She later died in her sleep from pneumonia. This reflects a wider patient safety issue recognised in national reviews of child deaths and serious incidents: repeat presentations, fragmented assessments, and inconsistent escalation can result in missed opportunities.
Timeline
| 10 Apr 2026 | Petition opened for signatures |
Key facts
Signatures
31
Status
Open for signatures
Department
Department of Health and Social Care
Opened
10 Apr 2026
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Source: the official petition page. Last checked 26 Jul 2026.