A GRIEVING dad is urging health secretary Jeremy Hunt to put training in place for hospital teams to spot the disease that killed his “beautiful” daughter.

Paul Gentry, 54, from Stratton, lost his daughter in May last year to meningitis. She was just 16.

Isabel, or Izzy as she was known, was deep in revision for her AS-level exams when she was rushed to Bristol Royal Infirmary.

She was discharged after four hours in A&E – but was so unwell she had to return within hours. This time, a consultant diagnosed meningitis and told Izzy’s mother she was “very seriously ill”. Izzy died two days later.

Paul, a private ambulance driver, said his daughter was “loving, caring, funny and an amazing friend”.

He said: “Not a moment passes without thinking about her. I do not think that the pain will ever go away, but eventually we will find a way to cope with it.

“You always think that your children are going to outlive you.

“When they’re taken away from you, it’s devastating.”

Paul wants to raise the profile of the disease that claimed his daughter’s life and publicise the free vaccination the is available to tackle the virulent meningococcal B strain of meningitis.

The MenB vaccine is available to babies born after September 2015. But Paul wants the vaccination extended to be available to all youngsters aged 14 to 24.

He also believes that better identification of the strain of meningitis that killed Izzy could help save the lives of others.

“We’re trying to get a national training programme for medical staff,” he said.

On November 1, he will get the chance to take his campaign to Westminster where he will tell his story to Jeremy Hunt.

It follows a call by Izzy’s Bristol East MP Kerry McCarthy, made at Prime Minister’s Questions in the House of Commons on Wednesday that the government hears from the parents whose children’s lives had been claimed by meningitis.

Paul said: “It has been debated before in parliament, but obviously with Brexit it was put on the back burner.

“For it to actually progress to where it is now is really positive. It was pure luck.

“I’m not expecting any miracles or overnight changes, but I think there is a glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel.

“The government has sat up and is prepared to listen.”

Dr Tom Nutt, CEO of leading charity Meningitis Now, said: “We are really encouraged that the secretary of state for health has agreed to meet the families and that their call to extend the MenB vaccine will be listened to.

“We’re working with some of the families involved with this campaign, and support the need to ensure that all at-risk groups are protected.

“At the same time, and in the absence of a vaccine being made available for all age groups, we encourage everyone to familiarise themselves with the signs and symptoms of meningitis.”