Fury as no bed for man with broken neck
Thursday, 7 August 2008
QUESTIONS have been raised after a Ballymoney man who broke his neck while doing a good deed for a family member in the town on Tuesday had to wait two days before he was given a bed at the Royal Victoria Hospital.
The brother of the patient said doctors at the Causeway Hospital in Coleraine were 'extremely concerned' about his brother's injuries, so much so that they rushed his x-rays to the Royal in a taxi on Tuesday.
The man was also informed that his brother needed to be in the spinal unit at the Royal as if his fracture moved it would cause significant problems.
The case has been taken up by East Derry assembly member Mr John Dallat.
The patient's brother said: "The Royal Victoria doled out the usual excuses, saying they had no beds and that their surgeons were all busy, in other words, tough luck. It is extremely dangerous for my brother to lie in Coleraine, they are not spinal experts. The consultant faxed through an urgent letter to Belfast on Monday but nothing was done. I believe nothing would have been done if Mr Dallat had not contacted the Health Minister's Office."
The man continued, saying: "This is not acceptable. Here a man has serious injuries, ones which could be life debilitating, he could be left paralysed all because there was no bed available in the Royal. Meantime he is lying strapped to a bed in Coleraine receiving constant pain relief and is nil by mouth. The consequences of something going wrong here are too serious, a broken neck is not something to be messing about with."
He said a doctor at The Causeway hospital told him: "There's nothing we can do but make him as comfortable as possible."
A statement from the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust said: " We are sorry that any patient should have to wait for a bed. The regional trauma unit treats patients from all over Northern Ireland and sometimes we need to prioritise patients according to clinical need.
“At the moment we have more fracture patients than we have beds however we are doing everything possible to alleviate the pressure, and in the meantime will work closely with colleagues in Causeway to ensure that the patient continues to receive the most appropriate care possible."
