"Mum breaking her ankle"

My mum was playing at the park with her granddaughter - we were visiting family in Fife. Mum fell and landed badly and had to be taken to the A&E at the Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy.

We waited for an hour and a half to be triaged then another two and a half to be seen. Following x-ray we were advised that mum had broken her tibia and she might have broken a second bone in her ankle. She was advised to take paracetamol and ibuprofen, and contact her local care provider on the Monday when we got home. She was given crutches and advised she could take the moon boot they fitted off when she was sleeping or showering.

When we left A&E mum couldn't use the crutches, three paramedics came running when she did try because she absolutely couldn't manage. I got her in the car and struggled to get her back into the house.

When we got back to Lanarkshire, we called NHS 24 who advised us to call our GP, who advised that we should have received a discharge letter and because we hadn't we had to take mum to Monklands. When we got to Monklands we were seen quickly, Monklands were able to access Fife's x-rays and advised that the fracture clinic would phone to arrange an appointment. They confirmed that mum had broken two bones.

The fracture clinic called to arrange an appointment. They advised that mum should not take the boot off for at least 6 weeks! The crutches we were given were wrong and mum should have been discharged with pain killers. The Victoria should have explained the risk of DVT and that surgery may be required should the bones move. The clinic arranged to fit mum with new crutches and an appointment for this and for the consultant were made.

How can Fife have gotten it so wrong? Thankfully my mum has trusted her instincts and kept the boot on. She couldn't use the crutches and thankfully she had access to a wheelchair and other painkillers which helped her. The problem is other patients may not be so fortunate. The bad advice we were were given on the Saturday could have had serious implications for mum and for the services in Lanarkshire.

She has a serious break and not having it supported could have resulted in very poor outcomes for someone who is a carer with other health issues herself. I understand that the member of staff didn't mean to cause distress, however they have. It would be very sad if this was because we weren't from the area. I can't thank the staff at Monklands enough.

It remains to be seen if mum will need surgery, hopefully the bad advice has not set her back. I hope the medics from these teams can get together to ensure this does not happen to other patients.