Durham hospital apology to family of nine-year-old hit by car

Rebecca Hodgson, 37, says her son Jack should have had an X-ray and received antibiotics as soon as he arrived in A&E at the University Hospital of North Durham.

Jack, from Esh near Durham, was put through a series of painful exercises by doctors before they recognised his injury was more serious than they had thought.

His mother says that doctors didn't believe that her son was in as much pain as he was telling them.

Only after hours of crying and bleeding was he eventually taken for an X-ray - where it was revealed he had a compound fracture of the leg.

Rebecca was still unhappy that he was then sent home without any pain medication for a night of misery.

The next morning Jack's parents, from Esh in County Durham, called 111 and he was taken to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle for more treatment.

Speaking of his treatment in Durham, Rebecca said: "They told Jack to wiggle his toes and straighten out his foot. 

"He was shaking with the pain and freezing cold. They kept telling him it was okay.

"He was crying and saying it really hurt. The doctor said it needed stitches.

"He had five stitches and a bandage but it didn't stop the bleeding.

"That was when the A&E doctor said that he was ready to go home. She got him off the bed and he was still crying with pain and that's when he was finally taken for an X-ray.

"When they came back after the X-ray they told us he had broken his leg and he had a compound fracture.

"It was only then that they gave him some pain medication. They said that he had done a great job masking that he had a broken leg.

"They then put a back support on his leg to keep the bone in place.

"We couldn't believe they had tried to make him walk with a broken leg.

"A doctor told us it was fine to go home after six hours in hospital."

The family had been given no pain medication for Jack to take to help him sleep that night.

Rebecca added: "He had been in agony overnight and he was still bleeding through his pot.

"I told them (111) what had happened. A woman said that an ambulance would be on the way.

"Paramedics said that someone had looked at the X-ray and said he had to go to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle for a wash out and antibiotics.

"They put antibiotics in him straight away. They said the most important thing with a compound fracture is antibiotics, it's to deal with the inflammation.

"The Newcastle doctors couldn't believe he hadn't had an X-ray immediately after being hit by a car."

Rebecca described how the family felt let down by the care that Jack had received.

"You get told something by a doctor and you just assume they must be right.

"I feel guilty that we didn't do more to get him better care," she said.

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A spokesperson for County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust said:  "At County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust, the health and well-being of our patients is always our top priority.

"We take all feedback seriously and are committed to providing the highest quality of care to all those who need our services.

"We are sorry that if on this occasion the Hodgson family felt we did not meet these standards and would encourage them to contact our Patient Experience Team on cdda-tr.patientexperiencecddft@nhs.net or 0800 783 5774 so that we can discuss Jack's care in more detail."