A doctor working at an A&E unit the night a Petts Wood boy died after waiting nearly 90 minutes to be assessed will face no further action.

Timothy Jarvis, 18, of Crofton Lane, died of a head injury on October 11, 2011, days after starting his maths degree at Essex University.

He fell down a flight of stairs after downing a bottle of rum in the university's Wivenhoe campus.

He was taken to Colchester General Hospital, but was not assessed for nearly 90 minutes and died two days later.

Colchester Hospital University NHS Foundation Trust referred Imran Tabrizi, one of the doctors working that evening, to the General Medical Council as a result of the death.

Dr Tabrizi worked for the trust between February 2005 and July 2007.

After that he did occasional shifts as a locum and worked for the trust for the last time on October 31, 2011.

The council's Nicholas Lumley said A&E received a pre-alert from ambulance staff saying Timothy was unconscious, which should have resulted in a trauma team being readied.

Edward Pleeth, Dr Tabrizi’s barrister, said the emergency department was very busy and understaffed, adding Dr Tabrizi was unable to leave other patients to fully assess Timothy.

Dr Tabrizi and other staff members saw Timothy laughing with friends, indicating he was not in need of urgent care.

Dr Tabrizi also noted a serious incident report by the trust identified systematic problems with hospital procedures, and did not criticise any individual doctor.

Mr Pleeth said it was an isolated incident, which did not reflect on Dr Tabrizi’s usual high standard of care and was unlikely to be repeated.

The council's investigation committee decided it was not appropriate to give Dr Tabrizi a warning as a result of the death.

A hospital trust spokesman said: "We would like to offer our sympathy and condolences to the family and friends of Timothy .

"As the inquest was told, the trust carried out a thorough internal investigation into his care and developed an action plan to make improvements, which we have already implemented.

"We have improved our rapid assessment and treatment policy and procedures when we receive a pre-alert phone call from the ambulance service and we have publicised them to staff.

"Also, we can quickly increase staff levels in our A&E to cope with spikes in demand."