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Joshua's 50 mile trek with a broken arm
A FIVE-YEAR-OLD had to be driven 50 miles to be treated for a broken arm after doctors failed to find him a place at seven hospitals.
Joshua Halliday went to Lister Hospital in Stevenage because Wycombe Hospital no longer carries out serious trauma surgery.
Mum Sharon, 44, a children's community nurse who has worked at Wycombe Hospital, said: "I was ashamed to say that I worked for the NHS.
"How can a very distressed five-year-old child with a painful broken arm be expected to be put in a car and driven for an hour and a quarter?"
A hospital spokesman said yesterday Joshua's ordeal was a "rare occurrence" - and insisted the 2005 A&E changes were best for patients.
Dominic Grieve, MP for Beaconsfield, vowed to write to health secretary Alan Johnson about the "extremely worrying" case.
The news comes as more services are to be axed from the hospital on Monday in the week the NHS celebrates its 60 anniversary. Women who need an overnight stay for gynaecological conditions will have to go to Stoke Mandeville Hospital, Aylesbury, once the new cuts bite.
Sharon and dad Trevor, of Blind Lane, Flackwell Heath, took their son to the hospital after he fell in a car park in Bray last Thursday at 8.45pm.
Sharon said: "I know Wycombe - I worked there from 2000 to 2004 as a health visitor. I've taken many children there since, and I gave birth to all four of my kids there."
An x-ray revealed Joshua had broken his radius and ulna, the two bones in the forearm, which was put in a cast.
He was given paracetamol and his parents were told to wait for a bed at Stoke Mandeville.
But by midnight, after doctors tried to find beds in seven hospitals, the family was given directions and sent to Stevenage.
Sharon said: "They asked: Do you have a car?' We said yes' and they gave us directions. It was a nightmare. Every step of the way it just got worse.
"Luckily, Joshua fell asleep by 11pm so I just cuddled him in the waiting room."
When they arrived at 1.20am, they waited a further 15 minutes for Joshua to be given a bed. Yet he was woken by a drunken argument in the waiting room - and there were no beds available for his parents, who stayed in chairs.
Eventually, at 10.30am on Friday, Joshua had his operation to move the bones back into place, and he was discharged at 4.30pm.
Sharon said: "The staff were absolutely fantastic. Everyone we came into contact with was brilliant - and they were brilliant with Joshua."
She has written to her MP, Dominic Grieve, about her experience. "I just think someone needs to do something about the system. Wycombe used to be a fantastic hospital," she said.
Jon Fisher, head of communications for Buckinghamshire Hospitals NHS Trust, said: "We regret that on this evening, due to a large number of children requiring hospital stays across Thames Valley, many hospitals, like Stoke Mandeville, were unable to offer inpatient accommodation to children.
"This is a rare occurrence and we sympathise with the family for the experience they had.
"Unfortunately, from time to time across the region, much larger than usual numbers of children require in-patient care... and are therefore unable to be offered immediate accommodation at their hospital of choice."
Yet, he said: "We believe that by bringing together our in-patient children's wards at Stoke Mandeville Hospital, and reorganising the way in which children receive their care, these instances will become even rarer."
Mr Grieve said: "I find this story extremely worrying. The standard of service given to this boy is below standard. It highlights the fact there is now a limited number of services Wycombe Hospital provides."
Joshua is now on the mend, and was back at Juniper Hill School, Flackwell Heath, on Wednesday.
If you want to join in the campaign asking Gordon Brown to look again at Wycombe Hospital's services click on the link in the box below
9:40am Friday 27th June 2008
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CommentPosted by: erm, ermsville on 10:48am Fri 27 Jun 08
[quote]This is a rare occurrence[/quote]
the Labour government should be ashamed, good luck little fella
This is a rare occurrence
the Labour government should be ashamed, good luck little fella
Posted by: motco, Beaconsfield on 11:12am Fri 27 Jun 08
It's like a third world country. No, they're better than this, surely?
It's like a third world country. No, they're better than this, surely?
Posted by: Nukem!, HWY on 11:16am Fri 27 Jun 08
I hope the little guy is not suffering any pain now and is on the road to recovery.
As for those people whom have made cuts, more cuts and intend to make additional cuts - wake up!!! You are causing anxiety, suffering and potentially will be the cause of unnecessary deaths in the future. You people disgust me with your "yes man" attitude and trying to look good to your bosses by saving money!
Do something useful and drive solutions to ensure that Wycombe Hospital can offer ALL services for the expanding community. We pay through the nose for these services and expect better.
I hope the little guy is not suffering any pain now and is on the road to recovery.
As for those people whom have made cuts, more cuts and intend to make additional cuts - wake up!!! You are causing anxiety, suffering and potentially will be the cause of unnecessary deaths in the future. You people disgust me with your "yes man" attitude and trying to look good to your bosses by saving money!
Do something useful and drive solutions to ensure that Wycombe Hospital can offer ALL services for the expanding community. We pay through the nose for these services and expect better.
Posted by: erm, ermsville on 11:35am Fri 27 Jun 08
my taxes are higher than ever, yet I get a far poorer service than before...
my money must be being spent somewhere...oh yes, MP's expenses
my taxes are higher than ever, yet I get a far poorer service than before...
my money must be being spent somewhere...oh yes, MP's expenses
Posted by: David St, High Wycombe on 12:22pm Fri 27 Jun 08
I don't understand how a broken arm is treated as a "serious trauma". If Wycombe can't treat that then why bother having an A&E in the 1st place?
I don't understand how a broken arm is treated as a "serious trauma". If Wycombe can't treat that then why bother having an A&E in the 1st place?
Posted by: yvette, Hig Wycombe on 12:37pm Fri 27 Jun 08
What is it going to take for us to get our hospital back - surely this just proved the point that Wycombe needs a fully operational hospital -Hope the little fella is on the mend x
What is it going to take for us to get our hospital back - surely this just proved the point that Wycombe needs a fully operational hospital -Hope the little fella is on the mend x
Posted by: Julie Rogers, High Wycombe on 1:26pm Fri 27 Jun 08
This just proves a point that Wycombe WGH needs to be a fully functioning hospital with all aspects of A & E covered. Especially being close to M40.
How many more parents have to go through this anguish ?
I wish Josh a speedy recovery.
This just proves a point that Wycombe WGH needs to be a fully functioning hospital with all aspects of A & E covered. Especially being close to M40.
How many more parents have to go through this anguish ?
I wish Josh a speedy recovery.
Posted by: Julie Rogers, High Wycombe on 1:27pm Fri 27 Jun 08
This just proves a point that Wycombe WGH needs to be a fully functioning hospital with all aspects of A & E covered. Especially being close to M40.
How many more parents have to go through this anguish ?
I wish Josh a speedy recovery.
This just proves a point that Wycombe WGH needs to be a fully functioning hospital with all aspects of A & E covered. Especially being close to M40.
How many more parents have to go through this anguish ?
I wish Josh a speedy recovery.
Posted by: nhs fan, bucks on 2:04pm Fri 27 Jun 08
Poor little boy, perhaps he should have been home in bed at nearly 9pm! His parents could always have opted to take him home to sleep as presumably he had no treatment during the night.
It would be great to have all services on the doorstep but it is not cost effective and I would rather an occassional inconvenience than a higher tax bill. This little boy got a bed and quality care without paying for it. This is something to celebrate not complain about.
Poor little boy, perhaps he should have been home in bed at nearly 9pm! His parents could always have opted to take him home to sleep as presumably he had no treatment during the night.
It would be great to have all services on the doorstep but it is not cost effective and I would rather an occassional inconvenience than a higher tax bill. This little boy got a bed and quality care without paying for it. This is something to celebrate not complain about.
Posted by: maverick, HW on 2:36pm Fri 27 Jun 08
also interestingly enough is that Wexham Park is only 15 mins away, but is a different county.
Could not the NHS have had this thought?????
also interestingly enough is that Wexham Park is only 15 mins away, but is a different county.
Could not the NHS have had this thought?????
Posted by: needmoresleep, High Wycombe on 3:56pm Fri 27 Jun 08
[quote]it is not cost effective[/quote] ? - it's not supposed to be!!! Anyway, it's extortion having to go backwards and forwards on the car/bus to Stoke Mandeville every day to visit people, then pay car parking on top... let alone being sent to Stevenage. I spent a small fortune when my mum was seriously ill for 2 weeks and sent to Stoke... I'd rather pay higher taxes and not have to spend an extra hour a day travelling!!!
it is not cost effective
? - it's not supposed to be!!! Anyway, it's extortion having to go backwards and forwards on the car/bus to Stoke Mandeville every day to visit people, then pay car parking on top... let alone being sent to Stevenage. I spent a small fortune when my mum was seriously ill for 2 weeks and sent to Stoke... I'd rather pay higher taxes and not have to spend an extra hour a day travelling!!!
Posted by: nhs fan, bucks on 4:16pm Fri 27 Jun 08
[quote]I'd rather pay higher taxes[/quote]
Maybe you would but a one off journey to Stevenage is not really the same as 2 weeks travelling to Stoke.
I agree that some services should be on both sites, having had to travel between the 2 on a recent occassion but if the beds were full at 7 local hospitals what makes you think they would be empty at wycombe? and then the complaints would be about high taxes and empty beds! I would rather drive for 1/2 hour for a team that specialise than have a thiny spread team.
No lasting damage just a one off night of inconvenience, they would not have been comfortable wherever they were.
I'd rather pay higher taxes
Maybe you would but a one off journey to Stevenage is not really the same as 2 weeks travelling to Stoke.
I agree that some services should be on both sites, having had to travel between the 2 on a recent occassion but if the beds were full at 7 local hospitals what makes you think they would be empty at wycombe? and then the complaints would be about high taxes and empty beds! I would rather drive for 1/2 hour for a team that specialise than have a thiny spread team.
No lasting damage just a one off night of inconvenience, they would not have been comfortable wherever they were.
Posted by: erm, ermsville on 4:19pm Fri 27 Jun 08
NHS fan, bucks is gordon brown staying at Chequers, but shhh don't tell anyone it's a secret
NHS fan, bucks is gordon brown staying at Chequers, but shhh don't tell anyone it's a secret
Posted by: mummy_jo, High Wycombe on 5:08pm Fri 27 Jun 08
[quote][bold]David St[/bold] wrote:
I don't understand how a broken arm is treated as a "serious trauma". If Wycombe can't treat that then why bother having an A&E in the 1st place?[/quote] But we don't have an A&E any more, and that's the problem. That's one of the reasons that the number of A&E nurses leaving Wycombe for new jobs is well into double figures! Nobody wants to stay in a dying hospital and that's exactly what this town has, the floodgates have been opened and staff are stampeding for the doors, not just in A&E but other departments as well.
David St wrote:
I don't understand how a broken arm is treated as a "serious trauma". If Wycombe can't treat that then why bother having an A&E in the 1st place?
But we don't have an A&E any more, and that's the problem. That's one of the reasons that the number of A&E nurses leaving Wycombe for new jobs is well into double figures! Nobody wants to stay in a dying hospital and that's exactly what this town has, the floodgates have been opened and staff are stampeding for the doors, not just in A&E but other departments as well.
Posted by: mummy_jo, High Wycombe on 5:28pm Fri 27 Jun 08
[quote][bold]nhs fan[/bold] wrote:
Poor little boy, perhaps he should have been home in bed at nearly 9pm! His parents could always have opted to take him home to sleep as presumably he had no treatment during the night. It would be great to have all services on the doorstep but it is not cost effective and I would rather an occassional inconvenience than a higher tax bill. This little boy got a bed and quality care without paying for it. This is something to celebrate not complain about.[/quote] My word, one of the hospital managers is using the site, my husband is a healtcare professional, and I'm so glad he doesn't see the additional stress and upset caused to his patients by having to transfer from hospital to hospital as an inconvienience. He and many others are so disgusted and upset by the situation at Wycombe they are leaving, they've joined the petitions, sat in meetings and spoke out all to no avail, the managers don't care about the people in Wycombe, all they care about are targets and budgets.
The reason the NHS as a whole is in the mess it is is because the managers are trying to run it as a business and not as a public service.
People of Wycombe be warned, if we're not careful, we won't have a hospital to fight for!
nhs fan wrote:
Poor little boy, perhaps he should have been home in bed at nearly 9pm! His parents could always have opted to take him home to sleep as presumably he had no treatment during the night. It would be great to have all services on the doorstep but it is not cost effective and I would rather an occassional inconvenience than a higher tax bill. This little boy got a bed and quality care without paying for it. This is something to celebrate not complain about.
My word, one of the hospital managers is using the site, my husband is a healtcare professional, and I'm so glad he doesn't see the additional stress and upset caused to his patients by having to transfer from hospital to hospital as an inconvienience. He and many others are so disgusted and upset by the situation at Wycombe they are leaving, they've joined the petitions, sat in meetings and spoke out all to no avail, the managers don't care about the people in Wycombe, all they care about are targets and budgets.
The reason the NHS as a whole is in the mess it is is because the managers are trying to run it as a business and not as a public service.
People of Wycombe be warned, if we're not careful, we won't have a hospital to fight for!
Posted by: erm, ermsville on 6:21pm Fri 27 Jun 08
[quote]I would rather an occassional inconvenience than a higher tax bill.[/quote]
I don't know about the rest of you but my tax bill has gone up yet my services have gone down
I would rather an occassional inconvenience than a higher tax bill.
I don't know about the rest of you but my tax bill has gone up yet my services have gone down
Posted by: Ron Schreck on 7:08pm Fri 27 Jun 08
[quote]People of Wycombe be warned, if we're not careful, we won't have a hospital to fight for![/quote]
You don't have a hospital to fight for. From what I have read so far, Wycombe Hospital offers very little services. In the States, Wycombe Hospital would be considered a "Clinic"
By the way, add "Wycombe Hospital" to all of the other reasons why IVOR considers Wycombe to be the best place to live.
People of Wycombe be warned, if we're not careful, we won't have a hospital to fight for!
You don't have a hospital to fight for. From what I have read so far, Wycombe Hospital offers very little services. In the States, Wycombe Hospital would be considered a "Clinic"
By the way, add "Wycombe Hospital" to all of the other reasons why IVOR considers Wycombe to be the best place to live.
Posted by: matthewjohn, highwycombe on 7:31pm Fri 27 Jun 08
i hope joshua is ok now. makes you wonder where all this extra money that the government is putting into the nhs is going TO PENCIL PUSHES PERHAPS !! also bring back matrons please
i hope joshua is ok now. makes you wonder where all this extra money that the government is putting into the nhs is going TO PENCIL PUSHES PERHAPS !! also bring back matrons please
Posted by: Anita, High Wycombe on 10:12pm Sat 28 Jun 08
This is horrendous! What happens to the people who have to rely onpublic transport? I'm lucky enough to be able to drive and when my son had appendicitis I was sent to Stoke at gone midnight it'sjust as well I do drive as there are no buses at this time and a taxi would have cost an extortionate amount of money.[quote]quote[/quote] [bold]bold[/bold]
This is horrendous! What happens to the people who have to rely onpublic transport? I'm lucky enough to be able to drive and when my son had appendicitis I was sent to Stoke at gone midnight it'sjust as well I do drive as there are no buses at this time and a taxi would have cost an extortionate amount of money.
quote
Posted by: mary, Penn on 6:46pm Thu 3 Jul 08
Im still wondering what the drunken argument was about
Im still wondering what the drunken argument was about
Posted by: mary, Penn on 6:47pm Thu 3 Jul 08
Im still wondering what the drunken argument was about
Im still wondering what the drunken argument was about
Posted by: shylock, Terriers on 11:41pm Tue 8 Jul 08
[quote][bold]erm[/bold] wrote:
[quote]I would rather an occassional inconvenience than a higher tax bill.[/quote] I don't know about the rest of you but my tax bill has gone up yet my services have gone down[/quote] Anyone that pays taxes has noticed the increase... but everyone has noticed the breakdown of the NHS in the local area.
erm wrote:
I would rather an occassional inconvenience than a higher tax bill.
I don't know about the rest of you but my tax bill has gone up yet my services have gone down
Anyone that pays taxes has noticed the increase... but everyone has noticed the breakdown of the NHS in the local area.
Posted by: Steve, Totteridge Hill on 9:58am Fri 11 Jul 08
Hear hear!
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