A mum was left in shock after her daughter who is at high risk of sepsis was rushed to hospital for vital treatment but had to wait hours.
Danielle Hedley was with her daughter Ruby Hemsley when she was taken to A&E by ambulance on Wednesday night (December 7).
The 14-year-old who has Williams Syndrome had a high temperature and because she relies on a TPN line that feeds her and gives her nutrient straight into her veins, she is at high risk of sepsis which can be fatal.
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Danielle states that they have been in and out of hospital over the years due to infections and sepsis, and Ruby is supposed to get treatment of antibiotics and blood transfusion, within an hour of her arrival.
However, Leeds Children's Hospital emergency department was so busy she had to “fight” for her daughter to be seen and have a bed allocated to her.
The mum from Middleton said: “She was at Martin House for respite and on Wednesday, they noticed she wasn’t well. Her temperature spiked up and they took her to hospital by ambulance. She should have started treatment but it was that busy.
“With line infection, you have to save the line or get the line taken out surgically and get a new one put in. Every time you lose a line it could cause damage to a vein. It’s a lifeline that she can’t live without.”
The family also struggled to get the youngster a bed as they were told that there weren’t any beds available but after hours of waiting, she was finally allocated one.
Ruby, was confirmed to have sepsis and is now receiving treatment, Leeds Teaching NHS Hospitals Trust has also confirmed.
Following their experience on Wednesday Danielle is calling for change within the NHS from the government and is now worried about what could happen if it gets worse.
“I’ve never ever ever seen anything like that,” Danielle said. “We’ve been in and out of hospital all her life. There were even people sitting on the floor waiting to be seen in, it was just mental.”
She continued: “It’s crazy but a lot of people, half of the people don’t need to be there but they can’t get an appointment with their GP. Things like getting an appointment are like trying to get to the Queen. Everything seems impossible.
“I’ve never seen A&E like that before. Even when you phone an ambulance she was in the hospital five weeks ago, she was in over Halloween with a line infection. When I phoned the ambulance they were like ‘is the patient breathing’ I had to call three times to get an ambulance. When someone is septic I can’t drive her, I can drive, but she starts hallucinating it’s not safe to drive her.
“I can’t see a way out of it unless things change but who has the power to change it? The government is the people who can change things but their children would never have to sit in A&E like that. I’ve no choice. Without the NHS, Ruby wouldn’t be here, she’s had open heart surgery three times, and bowel surgery and she is TPN dependent, they (the NHS) have kept her alive.
“I owe Ruby’s life to Leeds Children's Hospital but right now I can see something bad is going to happen to a child if things get worse.”
A statement has been released by the Clinical Director of Leeds Children’s Hospital Colin Holton who stated that there have been long waits across emergency departments but additional beds have been opened up to ease pressures.
The trust also added there were more than double the average patient numbers in Children’s Emergency Department on some days this week.
Mr Holton said: “We are sorry to hear about Ruby’s delay in our Emergency Department as she waited for a bed to become available on an appropriate ward. We always aim to see patients as quickly as possible and where necessary admit them to hospital.
“There are long waits across all of our Emergency departments, including Children's, where there are additional challenges at this time due to concerns around Strep A. We have opened up additional ward beds to try and ease the pressures across the Children’s Hospital.
“Our staff in Leeds are working extremely hard to provide the very best care for all our patients and we’re really glad that Ruby is now receiving the treatment she needs from our staff.
“Our clinical team will continue to work with Ruby and her family to understand their concerns and make any necessary improvements to ensure we always deliver outstanding care.”
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