‘Slow-to-Doc’ blast

Reporter: BEATRIZ AYALA
Date online: 09 July 2009

Poorly Azra in six-hour ordeal

AN angry mum has blasted Oldham’s out-of-hours health service following a six-hour ordeal to find medication for her poorly daughter.

Azra Mahmood (37), of Falmouth Street, Hathershaw, called Go-to-Doc at 8.15pm on Monday after seven-year-old Marium complained of breathing difficulties and a persistent cough.

The worried mother-of-three was told to bring Marium, who has asthma, into the surgery in Yates Street at 9.50pm, but was not seen until 11.15pm.

The doctor diagnosed a chest infection and referred Marium to the Royal Oldham Hospital for a nebuliser.

Upon their arrival at 11.30pm, Marium had to wait until 1am to see a doctor who said she didn’t need a nebuliser but faced a further three-hour wait to be properly examined. Mrs Mahmood decided to return to Go-to-Doc where a different doctor finally gave Marium antibiotics at 2am.

She said: “Marium had really laboured breathing and was constantly coughing so I called Go-to-Doc for help.

“While at the surgery, people with urine infections and insect bites were seen before my daughter.

“They could have given me the medication at 11pm instead of 2am, that made me even more cross.

“The doctor at the hospital was going to have her wait another three hours, they thought it was trivial.

“I think the health professionals are just not bothered — they fobbed me off.

“My daughter was very upset by the end of the night, she was crying her eyes out and just wanted to go home. She doesn’t deserve the distress she went through.” David Beckett, chief executive of Go to Doc, said they would be investigating the issues raised by Mrs Mahmood.

He said: “Patient care is at the heart of everything we do and we are always sorry when our service does not meet patients’ expectations.

“In line with our own policy and NHS complaints regulations we will ensure we keep Mrs Mahmood fully informed of our findings, at all stages.”

A spokesman for the Pennine Acute Trust, which runs the Royal Oldham Hospital, said Monday had been the busiest ever day at the hospital with more than 300 patients attending A&E.

He added: “This unprecedented activity meant that our staff would have appeared very busy, but this does not affect their kind and compassionate attitude towards patients.

“The A&E department does try to treat children as special cases. If this child would have waited, she would have been seen in less than two hours.”