2023-05-27 16:54:00
On Friday May 19, Nadia arrived in the emergency room of a Brussels hospital around 2:40 p.m. following the fall of her ten-month-old son Yahcob. After the first treatment, the mother and her son were asked to wait for two hours in the hallway waiting for the diagnosis which finally revealed a head trauma, while the little one was actually suffering from a fractured femur.
”While I was at home, I slipped with the little one in my arms and we fell. I called an ambulance because he was having trouble moving his legs. We were taken to the hospital where a doctor examined my son. He estimated that he did not present a fracture but a head trauma”, explains Nadia. “He was reassuring regarding his state of health while inviting us to wait until 9:30 p.m. to see if my son showed symptoms such as nausea or vomiting.”
At this time, Nadia is unaware that her son is in fact suffering from a fractured femur. “We had to wait for two hours in the corridor where there were many passages, doors slamming, incessant comings and goings. My son was tired but he kept jumping. Rooms were freeing up but instead of putting those who were waiting in the hallway, they put new patients”, she continues.
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Nadia then asked if it was possible for her to monitor her son’s state of health at home rather than in the emergency room and according to her, she would have received the agreement of the doctor who gave her several pieces of advice to follow. “We leave the emergency room around 5 p.m. and during the night, he begins to cry a lot. He mightn’t move his leg anymore. I took him to another emergency department where they directly did an X-ray which showed that he had his femur fractured in two.”, continues Nadia, who filed a complaint with the College of Physicians for negligence on the part of the first emergency service.
“In young children who are not yet walking, trauma to the lower limbs is sometimes difficult to diagnose in the hours following the accident”
Contacted by Nadia, the pediatric emergency supervisor of the hospital in question believes that she should have shown more patience by staying at least until 9:30 p.m. at the hospital. “Our department is committed to always trying to improve the care provided to our little patients. In young children who are not yet walking, trauma to the lower limbs is sometimes difficult to diagnose in the hours following the accident. It is for this reason, and with a view to associated neurological monitoring given the mechanism of the fall with landing on the head, that prolonged monitoring in the emergency department has been proposed.he explains.
”Probably this period of monitoring would have revealed that Yahcob was moving his leg less well and felt pain, which would have led to an x-ray and the diagnosis of a fracture. You chose to refuse this monitoring in the emergency room and returned home with printed monitoring instructions. I therefore do not think that one can speak of discrimination and reproach the care team for having refused to provide more in-depth care or for having wanted to end quickly since it was you who wanted to end the treatment. in charge of Yahcob in the emergency department”, he concludes.
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