Hospital staff asked if she could come back after being sent home, or if they could talk her through how to remove the cannula herself
Stock image of Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children(Image: Justin Kernoghan/Belfast Live)
A concerned mother has told Belfast Live about an incident where her child was refused to be seen by a surgical team at the Royal Belfast Hospital for sick children and was then sent home with a cannula still in his arm.
The incident happened on Thursday, January 29 when Paige McGurk, 34, from Dungannon, Co Tyrone took her seven-year-old son to the hospital after experiencing issues with his gastrostomy tube.
Her son was born with a blockage in his bowel, which resulted in two different surgeries — both were unsuccessful, and he was given a Gastrostomy tube. The child, who has several complex needs, is now peg-fed 95% of food and medication, which goes through the tube to keep him alive.
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After crying and being in distress when Paige tried to feed him, she took her child to the hospital, which she said is the only facility in Northern Ireland with the knowledge to deal with speciality issues. Paige added that the gastronomy nurse at the hospital is first point of contact with tube or other issues related to his specific needs.
She said: “We went into the hospital and were told they needed imagery such as X-rays so the surgical team could get an idea of what was happening inside his body.
“The medical doctor then took blood, did urine tests and after about six hours we were told everything is clear, we can go home. The surgical team who specialises in this refused to see him.
“I said to the doctor, my child is still here, he is still in pain, I am not happy to take him home when I can’t give him medications or food. We don’t know what is wrong or what is happening.”
“The doctor asked, What do you expect us to do? I said to find out what is wrong with my son.”
Paige and her family live over an hour away from the hospital, she said that they were refused to be seen twice by the surgical team so they reluctantly started driving back. Paige has an older child at home with special needs so she needed to get back to her house.
Half-an-hour after leaving the hospital, Paige said the phone rang, and it was staff from the hospital asking her to come back. It was at this stage that she found out they had left a cannula inserted in her son’s arm, and she said staff were adamant that she return, but she told them she was unable to that evening.
Paige said: “They told me that if we come back, the surgical team would see us. I told them we were over halfway home and it wasn’t possible to return that day. They rung back when I got home and again asked me if we could return so that they could remove the canella.
“I said that is there anything you can do because it is your mistake? They asked if they could talk through the process to remove it. I told them that I don’t have medical training, and my house is not a sterile environment so I wasn’t prepared to do that in case something went wrong.”
The cannula remained in the boy’s arm for 15 hours after they left the hospital until the ambulance service came out the next day at 9am to remove it.
Paige managed to speak to staff at the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children on Friday and she said they told her to take him to her local A&E if she was still having issues getting her son fed. She said that local hospitals can help with general medical care, but are not equipped to handle speciality issues for children with complex needs.
Her son was partially feeding but still hadn’t been properly fed 24 hours after leaving the hospital. Paige managed to get the email to the CEO of Belfast Health and Social Care Trust and sent her a message. Staff then organised for Paige to take her son up to the hospital on Saturday, where the issue with the feeding tube was rectified.
Belfast Live approached the Belfast HSC Trust for comment, including questions about the situation and the cannula left in the child’s arm.
A spokesperson from the trust said: “The Children’s Hospital Emergency Medical Team and Gastrostomy staff reviewed the child’s condition on January 29, and based on the clinical assessment undertaken, it was decided that input from the surgical team was not required. “The Gastroenterology team could not complete another planned assessment that day as the family had gone home. The following day the child was reviewed by a Paediatric Emergency Department Consultant and Paediatric Consultant Surgeon. There were no acute surgical issues identified however a treatment plan for the patient was agreed with Ms McGurk and his medication was increased.“Belfast Trust acknowledges that there was a gap in communication between clinical teams and we apologise for any stress caused to the patient and his family. We have been in contact with Ms McGurk and she and her son are attending another appointment on February 4, at the Programme Treatment Unit.”
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