Hospital left my son screaming in agony

A MOTHER has claimed her disabled son was treated “worse than an animal” by hospital staff as he was left screaming in agony and suffered 50 seizures.

A MOTHER has claimed her disabled son was treated “worse than an animal”  by hospital staff as he was left screaming in agony and suffered 50 seizures.

Jill Bruce said that eight-year-old Reece, who suffers from a condition called Sturge Weber syndrome resulting in brain abnormalities, was moved four times in 24 hours at Rotherham General Hospital and given only paracetomol to relieve the pain four hours after they arrived seeking help.

And when Reece, who lives with his mum and her new husband Lavinot Hajrizi, was finally discharged, hospital staff gave him someone else’s medicine.

Ms Bruce (43), of Benton Way, Kimberworth, said: “It was 5.50am when we arrived and my son was in that much pain in his head he started screaming uncontrollably, ‘Please God, anyone help me.’

“This lasted for over two hours. No doctor came and he was not given anything for the pain.”

Ms Bruce claimed that later Reece was still uncomfortable with pain and that staff did nothing despite calls for help.

She said: “They said that nothing had been passed on to state that a doctor should be called or for anyone to tend to my son’s cries for help.

“At 10am, Reece started to have a severe seizure, which lasted for more than five minutes.

“I went into the corridor and found a doctor at the desk and I asked for help.

“It was only then when they did something for Reece.

“He suffered over 25 seizures in less than 12 hours. While sedated, he was moved back into another cubicle.

“Later, when he was in seizure, it took 15 minutes to get some medication.

“When I asked why they were taking so long and explaining that my son could get brain damage, the nurse replied that the cupboard to the medicine cabinet was locked.

“Eventually, he had 50 seizures within 48 hours, some lasting as long as 30 minutes per episode, due to the lack of assistance.

“And when we did finally get discharged to go home, they gave me someone else’s medication—the right type of tablets that he should have but with the name of someone called Edith.

“The only good thing was that the tablets and dosage were what he should have had.”

She added: “I am ashamed deeply to call myself a British citizen when our care services are under-staffed and under-managed and can’t cope with our everyday illness and care.

“In fact, in my view of this, animals are treated better.

“It makes me sick what I have experienced at my son’s bedside and the poor staffing and management of what we call our NHS.”

A spokeswoman for the hospital said that it took any complaint seriously and was investigating Ms Bruce’s concerns.

“We have now spoken with Ms Bruce to discuss the issues in more detail,” she said.

“We do understand how upsetting it is when a family member is in distress and we will ensure that a thorough investigation will take place into her son’s care at our hospital.

“We always aim to deliver the best levels of patient care and are committed to learning from any situation where changes can be made that will improve care.”

 

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