Devon parents urge flu vaccines after son’s intensive care battle

The parents of a boy who became so unwell with flu he spent three weeks in intensive care are urging other families to get their children vaccinated against the virus.

Joel, from Torquay in Devon, was five when he was rushed to Bristol Children’s Hospital with a dangerously low heart rate. He later had to have a pacemaker fitted.

His father Brian said it was an “extremely worrying and traumatic” time and he believed if Joel, who has Down’s syndrome, had been vaccinated he would not have needed hospital treatment.

It comes as the latest figures show the number of flu infections in Devon have risen since the start of 2026.

Joel’s parents said he was a happy and lively little boy but started to feel unwell in March last year. They kept him away from school for two days but, by the weekend, Joel was feeling worse.

“He was crying overnight and by the Saturday morning he was not looking well at all,” Brian explained.

“We rang the out of hours GP and the doctor was really concerned with his heart rate – which had become so low.”

Joel was taken to Torbay Hospital where he spent two days and two nights. But despite the paediatric team’s best efforts “they couldn’t get his heart rate up”.

Joel was taken to Bristol Children’s Hospital by ambulance with his father at his side.

“He was continuously on the heart monitor and they saw that he had an infection. They started him on antibiotics.

And because of his condition, with Down’s syndrome, he wouldn’t keep that mask on, so he had to be intubated”, said Brian.

Joel spent three weeks in intensive care fighting the infection. He was later transferred to the cardiac unit and a pacemaker was fitted.

“It’s hard to believe that flu led to all this… but it did,” Brian said.

Joel has Down’s syndrome, among other health conditions but paediatrician Dr Niamh Lynch said flu could be serious for any child.

“Thankfully, hospitalisation is a fairly rare occurrence but unfortunately it does happen every year that children – even children who don’t have underlying medical conditions – can become very unwell with the flu.

I would always advise parents to look out for red flags of illness.

And we’re the experts on our own child. We know them better than anybody else, because we’re with them all the time”, she said.

The latest figures show there were 92 people in hospital with flu across Devon’s hospital trusts on 4 January, a rise of 18% on the previous week.

In Torbay, where Joel and his family live, the numbers show a steady climb.

Nine people were in Torbay hospital with the flu on 21 December that rose to 16 by 28 December and 19 by 4 January.

Joel has now fully recovered from his infection, although he must continue to wear a pacemaker to ensure a regular heartbeat.

Brian said he believed if Joel had received his flu vaccine on time – his admission to hospital could have been avoided.

“It wouldn’t have taken him to such extremes if he had the right vaccine at the right time.

I would advise parents to make the best use of the offer that is available on the NHS,” said Brian.

The children’s flu vaccine is offered to children aged two to three, school-aged children (Reception to Year 11) and children with certain long-term health conditions.

Dr Alasdair Wood from the UK Health Security Agency said the south west had one of the best vaccination rates in the country, but there were still some groups for whom take up was low.

“Pregnant women and people with a long-term health condition we’re not getting to,” he said.

“It’s only around half to two-thirds of people from those groups coming forward for the vaccination.

“It’s really important we continue to push the message that flu can be dangerous, and we want to make sure we’re doing everything we can for people to be protected.”