"Worried my husband won't get full function in his hand again"

My husband came of a motocross bike and went to a&e in Craigavon as his thumb was fully dislocated. He went up early (3pm) but was not seen until after 10pm. Although we could complain about the waiting times the issue was the treatment that he had. Long story short. His thumb was reset into place just over half an inch longer than his other thumb. This was reset again and he was placed into a boxer cast. He was told he did not have broken fingers (he did) he was told he needed a splint for his cast (he did not get this as there was none). The nurse said they had never done a cast like the one my husband needed and they cast him wrong.

His hand was not put in a neutral position but placed inwards along with a bend in the wrist. We are quite lucky that not only me as his wife being a nurse who has worked with casts previously but we have a number of family and friends who are also nurses quite senior. My husband wanted to trust that a&e that night. He had done the right thing to start his dislocated and broken thumb in its healing process. But the cast was incorrect.

He went back two weeks later. The cast was not removed, it was not recast appropriately and he received an xray. He was told his hand was healing great and his fingers were in fact broken. Lucky for him I had been splinting his fingers myself at home. I also showed him how to re-splint his fingers himself when I was not there to clean and change it.

He went back a further two weeks later. Again his cast was not removed or re-cast. It was x-rayed again and again he was told it was fine and it wasn't. They put a layer of fibreglass over the top of the cast and in my view completely neglected skin viability where the cast should have been removed, area cleansed, re-xrayed properly and recast in the appropriate position. Instead he was told the following week he would get the cast off and it would be fine.

When the cast was finally removed and xrayed they said it was a lot worse than the original xray and break. (I was not surprised). The thumb appears to be fused in one position, he has no movement in his thumb. He is in pain. And he was not provided with so much as a hand support or splint but told it was fine and he was sent out the door.... His thumb is nearly still half an inch longer than his other thumb. He was on the phone to at least 3/4 people Friday to be made to feel like he was over exaggerating the issues in his hand.

As a nurse myself I can confirm he is not over exaggerating. He further attended a&e on Sunday to be sent home and that they couldn't do anything for him, but if he wants it re xrayed to come back to a&e in 5 days but they'd not be able to do much for him. He has already lost 6 weeks of being able to do his job. He has gone back to a physical job where he needs dexterity and movement of his hand, and has found the use of his hand has completely limited what he can do. He cannot lift weights, he cannot squeeze a bottle of gel. He cannot use a fork or knife properly. He cannot move or do simple tasks with his hand, and it is his dominant right hand.

This is something that could have been prevented. We strongly believe his hand should have been cast by a nurse practitioner, a doctor or Nurse who knows how the cast should have been done. Not someone who openly said they didn't know how to do a cast like this. I've never done a cast like this before. Had the cast been done right maybe we wouldn't be in this position. And maybe he wouldn't be suffering the way he is.

The worry is that he will never get full function in his hand again. It is his job and future at stake. His broken fingers are the only broken bones healed properly and that was strapped and splinted by me, his wife, not the hospital.. And the excuse of it was too busy is a joke. Emergencies come in, yes, but it doesn't paint a very good picture when there's 3 or 4 in the waiting room post triage and a group of nurses at the nurses station. Absolutely appalled at the service and appalled that the treatment my husband received is hindering his work and career.