A Toddington mother is “disgusted” with the Luton & Dunstable Hospital after it failed to spot her daughter’s broken ankle and told her to walk on it.
Jackie Turney took 14-year-old Courtney to the hospital after she fell off swings playing in a park on June 5, but was told she had merely suffered a sprain.
The next day, Courtney was in so much pain that Jackie took her to Milton Keynes Hospital, where she was referred to a specialist who told her the ankle was broken and her foot was displaced.
Jackie,45, said: “They booked her in for surgery as soon as possible and kept her in overnight so she could stay nil by mouth.
“She was distraught to be in theatre – she was so stressed and upset.
“I was absoluely disgusted. I felt so guilty forcing her to walk on it, but a doctor had told me to. I’m glad Milton Keynes had the decency to see that something was not right.
“That extra day might well have made a big difference. It’s unfair. She’s missed out on school trips.
“We had to wait three hours, she had an X-ray, and they told her is was a sprain. They should have made an all-out effort.
“We were shocked how bad it became. She had black toes and the bruising went all the way up her calf.”
Brother Matt, 22, said: “I knew it was broken because I broke my bone the same way, but her bruises were worse.”
Jackie added: “I would hate for someone else to go through this. I just want to make people aware.”
A spokesman for Luton and Dunstable Hospital said: “We are very sorry to hear that Courtney has had to undergo surgery and have apologised that the fracture diagnosis was not reached more promptly.
“We did contact the family to advise that there was a fracture, but by that time, Courtney was already receiving treatment.
“Our chief executive Pauline Philip will be writing to Courtney’s mother with a full explanation and we apologise for the delay in answering her complaint.”