A mum whose son was left "screaming in pain" after suffering a blockage in his bowel said she was "humiliated" by a doctor for not breastfeeding her child. Despite spending three "traumatising" weeks in hospital, Seimone Burgoyne said she and her boy Rossa were still left searching for answers about his health.
The parent has raised a number of concerns about the care her child received - and claims one doctor asked her questions which were not appropriate. Speaking to Belfast Live, Seimone said: "After Rossa had been admitted we had been speaking with a number of doctors and nurses about what needed to be done to help him.
"At one point, a doctor entered the room and immediately started to ask me questions about whether or not I had breast fed Rossa, and when I told him that I hadn't, he started to say that was the reason that he was now suffering with this painful bowel problem. I was appalled by the way I was spoken to and it felt like I was being shamed and humiliated for how I raised my children when I have done nothing wrong.
"Since Rossa was born he has had a restrictive diet that I have taken strict care with, but this seemed to be ignored and I was instead being criticised about whether or not I breastfed my children. I was very upset about the entire incident and had to request that this doctor never come near our family again."
Seimone believes doctors should have done more to treat her son, who was later allowed home after undergoing two operations. The youngster was readmitted to hospital just days later after further issues with his bowel.
The angry parent added: “The entire time we were in hospital with Rossa he was in extreme pain. We must have seen about 15 doctors who were all telling us different things and there seemed to be no joined up thinking at all about a treatment plan.
"We were constantly being told that treatment could be difficult over weekends and bank holidays and I felt like we were constantly being put off. The entire time Rossa's condition was continuing to deteriorate and he was on such strong drugs that he lost a kilo due to dehydration because he had stopped eating or drinking at this point.
"Near the end of his time there we were told to attend a multi-disciplinary meeting about his care, but when we arrived we were told that it had already finished and were given no indication about what was going on. I eventually was told that he had a foreign body in his bowel which was causing the blockage and he was taken for an operation to deal with it, but this didn't work.
“He then had another procedure which seemed to clear the problem, but when I asked the doctor if I could be told what had caused the blockage, I was told there was nothing there. This meant that I was left without any answers as to what had caused these problems for Rossa, and if he had swallowed something I would not know what it was because doctors wouldn't tell me.
"If it wasn't for the support of my family and the amazing nurses on the ward I don't know how we would have coped throughout it all and Rossa has never been the same since because the experience was so traumatic for him." The Belfast Trust has said that it is sorry if any remarks made by any member of staff caused offence.
A spokesperson said: "Belfast Trust would like to reassure Simone Burgoyne that the wellbeing and health of her son Rossa is of paramount importance to us. We apologise if any remarks made by any member of staff caused offence and whilst we cannot go into the details of an individual's care, we will continue to liaise with Rossa's family directly."
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