I'm furious doctors accused me of abusing my disabled son and called police – it delayed them finding out the real cause | The Sun

A MUM is furious after doctors implied she was abusing her disabled son instead of doing tests that would have revealed his actual issue. 

Kelly Gadd, 32, was banned from leaving the hospital when she wanted to and then had police at her house on the same day to check in on son Jayden, 15. 


She also said she felt like she was being interrogated in a police interview when nurses started asking her all sorts of questions about their background and home life before alerting social services about the family. 

But medics at Birmingham Children's Hospital failed to carry out essential blood tests that would have shown Jayden had a vitamin D deficiency which caused his arm to fracture.

The family returned to a community centre a week after their hospital visit, and got the test results back earlier this month.

Tearful Kelly told The Sun: "I'm absolutely furious. The way we were made to feel as parents was horrendous. We were made to feel like sh*t. 

READ MORE ON HEALTH

Does your child have tummy pain? The red, amber & green symptoms to watch

7 in 10 NHS hospitals are failing to meet cancer waiting targets

"I told them I have done nothing but care for him for 15 years. I've looked out for my son with no help from social services, the council or nobody. It was really a sh*t show.

"I told them everything they asked for. I agreed with safeguarding my child. I had nothing to hide. There's nothing there.

"It was absolutely disgusting. The way they treated us was horrendous."

She took Jayden, who suffers with an undiagnosed syndrome that means he cannot walk or talk, to the doctors when he had problems with his arm mobility. Physiotherapists then suggested she take him to the children's hospital earlier this month. 

Most read in The Sun

PENNY FOR YOUR THOUGHTS

Mordaunt storms out of No10 after being snubbed in Rishi's Cabinet

ENDER MICK

EastEnders' Mick jumps off cliff as Danny Dyer films final scenes after quitting

ROAD RAGE

Moment gang of yobs hunt van driver in terrifying motorway chase

TEAM RISHI

Cabinet shake-up sees Michael Gove back as Levelling Up Sec after major cull

A nurse at the hospital told Kelly, who went with husband Scott, 32, and daughter Ruby, 11, that Jayden had a break in his arm and had to begin safeguarding procedures because the injury was unexplained. 

Chef Kelly said she understood that the processes had to be followed but claimed they were kept in the dark over what was going on throughout the whole day. 

It also later turned out that Jayden’s arm was fractured, not broken, and another doctor said all he needed was a sling. 

Chef Kelly said: "The doctor who started all of this came to us and asked us about our background and everything like that. I said 'I'm concerned that Jayden's arm is hurting'. 

"She decided to take it into her own hands and escalate it, but she didn't know the circumstances.

'MADE TO FEEL HORRENDOUS'

"I felt like I was in a police interview and being interrogated about what I had done. I told them everything that had happened with my son since birth."

Kelly cried as she recalled a doctor telling her: "If you leave then security guards will stop you."

They were kept in the hospital for nine hours before they were allowed to go home. 

And she claimed they were never kept updated with what was going on.

Kelly said: "We literally just had to sit there. We kept asking the nurses what was going on and they said we have to wait for the doctor to come along.

"They knew something but didn't tell us. We wanted to know what was going on. Jayden was getting frustrated and tired.

"If they did the blood tests that would have explained the injury."

Two hours after they eventually left, the police showed up on their door.

I felt like I was in a police interview and being interrogated about what I had done.

Officers explained to Scott that they were there over concerns for Jayden, who was sleeping at the time. She said they left after just ten minutes having established there was nothing to be worried about. 

The hospital since sent a letter of apology to the family saying: "Although the doctors and nurses have a responsibility to ensure that the children and young people are kept safe (our 'Safeguarding' processes), the patient and their family/carers should always be treated with respect and dignity.

"Moreover, it is unquestionably the responsibility of those caring for the young person in hospital to keep both them and their families fully informed of what is going on during their attendance – especially if the stay is a long one.

"It is clear to me that neither Jayden nor you and your husband received the level of care and courtesy that should have, or that we would expect to give to our patients and their families, and I am very sorry for this."

When Jayden was first born he had an undeveloped windpipe, which meant he had to be tube fed for the first three years of his life. 

He was also starved of oxygen when Kelly was in labour with him. But his condition has never been able to be officially diagnosed.

Daljit Athwal, Chief Nursing and Midwifery Officer, said: “We would like to once again offer our sincere apologies to the family for the distress and upset caused.

Read More on The Sun

Joey Essex breaks silence after kissing Maura Higgins & leaving bash together

I have big boobs – my genius hack will stop your button-downs from gaping

“Whilst we do have an important duty to ensure all safeguarding processes are fully followed, after a thorough review following a complaint from the family, it was found that communication between our staff and the patient and family fell short of the standards expected.

“The Trust has written to the family to apologise and offer assurances that we are working with those involved and providing them with extra training.”


Source: Read Full Article