No pediatrician on duty on site
The family, living in Leuze, went to Ath hospital. “After about twenty minutes of waiting, a nurse quickly examines Andrea. She takes her temperature (38.4°) and her saturation which is very low 88-91… but the nurse considers that it is her oximeter which is not doesn’t work!”
Half an hour later, a doctor comes by. “He auscultates her. He says he listened to the lungs but there is nothing… even though we heard Andrea wheezing! He considers that the parameters were good but did not take back his saturation or his temperature … while Andrea’s condition continues to worsen, he has more and more difficulty breathing, he no longer moves, his fingertips turn blue.”
A blood test is planned, but no one comes to do it. “After more than an hour of waiting, I go to see the nurse, and the same doctor comes back with an exasperated look… I ask to see a pediatrician, but I am told that there is no pediatrician available. on site, that my child is well and that his parameters are good!”
Hospitalized in less than 10 minutes in Ronse
Romane is losing patience. “After three hours of waiting, without a diagnosis, I finally decided to leave and take Andrea directly to Ronse hospitaladds the mother. And there, as soon as we arrived at the emergency room, he was taken care of. The doctor takes his parameters, with saturation still very low. He listens to his lungs, his bronchi, gives him a chest x-ray. Everything happened very quickly. So, 10 minutes after our arrival, the doctor tells us that Andrea must be urgently hospitalized and placed on oxygen.”
Other tests were carried out, and the diagnosis was quickly made: severe dehydration, bronchiolitis and pneumonia. “In addition to being put on oxygen, we insert a gastric tube to rehydrate Andrea, and we begin treatment with 5 aerosols per day, cortisol shots and respiratory physiotherapy.”
-The little boy will remain hospitalized for five days in the pediatric department of AZ Glorieux in Ronse. “He is starting to get better, but still has to do aerosols and respiratory physiotherapy.”
The mother wanted to share her story to denounce “the incompetence of certain hospitals which proves dangerous and deadly”. “It’s shameful! The medical sector should always be a service that helps people… We should not find ourselves faced with such cases of negligence which, in view of the numerous testimonies received, are not facts isolated… Through my message, I above all want to alert and remind people that patients, especially children, are not numbers, but humans and when parents say that their child is not doing well, we must also believe them…”
Contacted via its communications department, EpiCURA Ath hospital did not wish to comment on this matter. “The hospital is subject to medical confidentiality and we cannot comment on files relating to patients. We invite parents to contact our mediation service.”
