"The treatment was quick. There ..."

What I liked

The treatment was quick. There was not a great deal of waiting time.

What could be improved

After care support for the clear injury. How to use crutches. A thorough assessment of the X-rays

Anything else?

I attended this hospital with my wife who had badly injured her foot whilst camping. Dartmouth Hospital was visited the evening before and a cast was applied to my wife's leg. They suggested visiting your hospital the following day.

X-rays were taken and doctors declared 'no fractures'. There was not even any advice given about weight bearing or how to use the crutches. Just a 'you're free to go now'. I took my wife to her GP in Stockport they immediately referred her to Stepping Hill hospital and my wife was re x-rayed the following day . X-rays revealed at least two fractures and several dislocations of the small bones in her toes. I believe this is called Lisfrancs and or Tarsometatarsal fractures. Needless to say I am not happy and my wife is livid! The orthopaedic doctor immediately wanted acast putting onto her leg to stop movements and to told her to avoid weight bearing. Crutches were given with a thorough explanation of use, informationcards issued about crutch usage and plaster cast care. My wife was admitted to hospital last night and awaits a scan on her serious injury that was missed by your doctors. She has more than likely done more damage to her foot (my opinion) since she was diagnosed by your medical staff as having no fractures. She has suffered for 8 days since this shambolic and innaccurate assessment and there is a 'strong liklehood' that my wife may need major surgery to repair the foot. We are awaiting this assessment and I promis you I shall keep you informed! This, I feel should never have happened if trained/qualified and experienced staff had assessed the injury thoroughly. My wife is in considerable pain and in a severe emotional state. She is also very angry about the dismissive attitude displayed by the staff at Torbay. There were no aftercare suggestions made about her injury other than take these pain killers.