Boy, 2, who broke leg 'sent home from A&E in severe pain without an X-ray'

A mum claims her son was diagnosed with "tissue damage" and sent home from an A&E department without an X-ray despite having a broken leg.

Stacey Jennings said her son Robert, aged two, was in a lot of pain after injuring himself while playing with his cousin, so she took him to Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital in Grimsby.

The mum claims that, after waiting in the A&E until it was almost empty, staff touched the bottom of his foot, diagnosed his injury as "tissue damage" and told her to give him paracetamol at home to relieve his pain.

Stacey told GrimsbyLive that her son was still in severe pain and suffering at home, and his broken leg wasn't discovered until the next day when his grandmother took him back to the hospital.

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She said: “We went in and they touched the bottom of his foot and said it was tissue damage.

“I followed the advice and gave him a paracetamol, but he was in so much pain that night.

“When he tried to put weight on it, he just screamed.”

When Robert was taken back to the hospital, his grandmother explained what had happened, and he was taken in for an X-ray.

Medical staff determined his tibia bone was broken.

Robert right leg was put in a cast and he now faces a lengthy recovery.

Stacey said: “It’s not a normal break. He broke his tibia bone in a diagonal angle.

“It is going to take three to six months for it to heal.”

She has filed a complaint with Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS), claiming her son went through a night of suffering that could have been avoided if the break was detected during the first hospital visit on Setember 5.

Stacey said: “He has been in a lot of pain – having an X-ray on the Saturday could have saved him from all that pain.

“It wouldn’t have hurt them to check with an X-ray. The doctor didn’t even check the correct place on his leg – no wonder he didn’t flinch.”

Robert has been forced to miss his first week of nursery school because he is unable to get around easily on his own, his mum said.

She added: “It has really restricted him. He can get around by bum shuffling but he wants to be up and walking around.

“He has also been having problems with his pot – he can’t walk with it.

“We’re going back in to see if we can get it sorted out.”

Joanna Loughborough, senior nurse for patient experience at the Northern Lincolnshire and Goole NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We are unable to comment on individual cases due to patient confidentiality.

“However, we can confirm the family has been in touch with our Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) team and we are investigating the issues raised.”