"Failure to diagnose broken femur"

An ambulance was called to my mother's home mid-July 2017 after she had fallen over at home. My mother who was aged 82 at the time was unable to stand up or walk and was complaining of considerable pain in her right leg. She was taken to Good Hope and admitted to A&E. An x ray was taken the next day and the doctor in charge concluded there were no breaks or fractures. My mother was moved to ward 12 and my sister informed when visiting my mother that a CT scan would be undertaken to try and establish what was causing the pain but finally the doctors decided it was unnecessary.

For the next 2 and a half weeks, nursing staff attempted to get my mother out of bed but she had great difficulty in walking and continued to complain of considerable pain in her right leg.

Finally, a different doctor decided to do the CT scan and discovered that my mother's right femur was broken and that she needed a hip replacement. The hip replacement was performed 2 days later. The operation apparently went well but my mother has since been unable to walk and her mental condition has deteriorated significantly (she has vascular dementia but since her stay at Good Hope no longer knows her age or which country she lives in which was not the case before she fell).

After the operation Good Hope staff informed us that my mother was to be transferred to an enhanced assessment bed for a period of 4 to 6 weeks for more in depth review; we were told that she was on the waiting list and then at the top of the waiting list. We knew we would have to move my mother into a nursing home after the enhanced assessment bed but were expecting to have 4 to 6 weeks to search for a home. Finally towards the end of September Good Hope informed us that there was a shortage of enhanced assessment beds and to find a place in a nursing home immediately, ie. with no notice.

I cannot begin to imagine how painful and distressing my mother's experience must have been during her two and a half month stay at Good Hope, in particular to have nappies changed and be handled by hospital staff and made to walk with a broken femur. More generally the standard of care she received on ward 12 was poor as she was often left with leaking nappies that needed changing and not given assistance in eating although she was unable to sit up due to her broken femur.

I am sincerely shocked and angered at the terrible treatment that my mother received. I made a complaint to Good Hope demanding to know in particular how it is possible that a doctor was unable to identify the broken femur on the x ray taken and why the CT scan was delayed for nearly 3 weeks. Good Hope finally answered admitting only that they "missed an opportunity to do the CT scan at an earlier date". I have responded to Good Hope pointing out to them that they missed daily opportunities to do a CT scan and give her correct treatment in due time. I am still waiting to hear back from Good Hope nearly two and a half months later