A 21-year-old was sent home to die by doctors who missed warning signs of sepsis.

Tim Mason developed flu-type symptoms in March and told staff at Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells Hospital he felt like he was dying but was discharged.

Within seven hours the trainee electrical engineer, from Tunbridge Wells, collapsed and later suffered a fatal cardiac arrest.

Now his parents Gavin and Fiona are keen for lessons to be learnt and make sure the same failings are never made again.

An inquest due to be held at Archbishops Palace in Maidstone today is expected to hear Mr Mason’s death could have been prevented and that the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust admitted liability.

Mr Mason, who studied at Sussex Downs College, had begun to feel unwell on March 8 and took time off work and college.

Five days later he felt well enough to attend college but on March 15 he visited a GP who told him to go home and return if the symptoms persisted.

Shortly after midnight the following day Mr Mason began to vomit violently and his mother Fiona dialled 111.

At 3am he arrived at Tonbridge Cottage Hospital and was transferred to Tunbridge Wells Hospital with a raised temperature and heart rate.

At this point he told doctors he was frightened and felt like he was dying.

Shortly after 8am he was discharged with an incorrect diagnosis of Gastroenteritis.

At 3pm he was driven back to the emergency department after collapsing and was admitted to the intensive care unit with multiple organ failure.

Six hours later he suffered a cardiac arrest and was pronounced dead after unsuccessful attempts at CPR.

The hospital trust admitted that “on the balance of probabilities had Tim Mason’s condition been appropriately treated, he would not have died”.

The trust also accepted “had a sepsis screening tool been carried out on Tim Mason’s arrival in triage, it is highly likely that his care would have been flagged to a senior doctor in the A&E department sooner, which may have resulted in a different discharge and management decision.

“In addition, Tim Mason may well have received antibiotics earlier. Earlier antibiotic therapy is known to be associated with lower mortality and better outcomes.”

The Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust launched an internal investigation and its Serious Incident Report found a failure to carry out a sepsis screen despite Mr Mason’s symptoms and that it did not trigger a senior review or referral to the medical team.

There was also a failure of the vaccination call system which meant he was not offered vaccination.