This is Care Opinion [siteRegion]. Did you want Care Opinion [usersRegionBasedOnIP]?
Care Opinion

We felt that his age wasn’t taken into account

Posted By AJWB

"We felt that his age wasn’t taken into account"

About: Berwick Infirmary / Minor injuries unit Borders General Hospital / Paediatrics (Ward 15)

(as a parent/guardian),

Took our two year old son to Berwick Infirmary as he was breathing very rapidly and was lethargic. We had previously been told when we was unwell to take him there out of hours as there was a GP until 12pm. On this occasion there wasn’t but we were happy to be seen to by a nurse. Despite us repeatedly saying his breathing was too quick we were told it was ‘just a cough’ and ‘probably viral’. We felt that his age wasn’t taken into account and no attempts were made to soothe him and the nurse seemed annoyed that he was so distressed. His chest was barely listened to and we were told it was clear. We were sent home and didn’t know what to do as we felt he was quite unwell but had been told by a medical professional that he wasn’t.

Long story short we took him straight to the GP in the morning and less than ten hours after leaving Berwick Infirmary our little boy was in a high dependency room at the Borders General Hospital where he spent two nights with round the clock care and medication for a lower respiratory tract infection and signs of sepsis. Very angry that this has happened and wish we had listened to our instincts sooner. Would also like to point out that the BGH were absolutely fantastic and he couldn’t have received better care.  

More about:
Do you have a similar story to tell? Tell your story & make a difference ››

Responses

Response from Karen Williamson, Clinical Nurse Manager / Advanced Paediatric Nurse Practitioner, Child Health, NHS Borders 4 years ago
Karen Williamson
Clinical Nurse Manager / Advanced Paediatric Nurse Practitioner, Child Health,
NHS Borders

Submitted on 17/02/2020 at 15:45
Published on Care Opinion at 16:05

Dear AJWB,

whilst I am unable to comment on the care you received in Berwick, I am very happy that the care your received in NHS Borders was well received and of a high standard. It is never an easy time for you or your family when your child is ill and I hope your son is feeling much better.

Thank you for taking time to feedback about your experiences and I will share your feedback with the whole team.

yours

Karen

  • {{helpful}} {{helpful == 1 ? "person thinks" : "people think"}} this response is helpful
Response from Northumbria Healthcare NHS FT 4 years ago
Northumbria Healthcare NHS FT

Submitted on 18/02/2020 at 17:41
Published on Care Opinion on 19/02/2020 at 10:39

Dear AJWB,

Thank you for taking the time to share this with us. I’m deeply sorry for the experience that you and your son have had with us.

I want to assure you that the details you’ve shared with us are being taken very seriously indeed and will be taken forward as part of our formal complaints process.

After receiving your feedback, we have been in contact with the team responsible for this service, who are looking into your case to make sure we fully understand what went wrong. You’ve raised a number of points from the clinical care to the attitudes of staff and I am keen that we learn and improve from your feedback.

I’d be very grateful if you would privately share your name and child’s name and date of birth with us so that we have a means of contacting you further should this be necessary? My email address is tracy.bruce@northumbria-healthcare.nhs.uk

Our colleagues will be in touch to discuss it further as part of our complaints process, but if there is anything else we can help you with in the meantime, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.

Kind regards,

Tracy Bruce

Head of Patient Experience

Opinions
Next Response j
Previous Response k