Tot’s finger pain after door slams shut

A Wishaw toddler was left with the tip of his pinky hanging off after trapping it on the hinge of his self- closing bedroom door.

Horrified mum Gemma Rundle heard two-year-old Easton’s screams last Saturday afternoon and rushed to find him sitting on his ride-along fire engine with his hand trapped in a weighted fire door and blood pouring from his finger.

With partner Ross Scott’s car in for an MOT, the frantic couple phoned for an ambulance and 999 staff advised them to wrap Easton’s hand in a clean cloth and apply pressure to the wound to stem the bleeding.

After a 40- minute wait, an ambulance took them to University Hospital Wishaw where an X- ray confirmed that there was no damage to the bone.

“Blood was still pouring out of it,” explained student Gemma, of Stewarton Street.

“They put paper stitches on it and wrapped it up like a boxing glove. They gave him diamorphine and told us the only place that was able to deal with an injury like that was the Royal Hospital for Sick Children in Glasgow.”

Staff at University Hospital Wishaw referred the toddler to the Sick Kids for plastic surgery at 7.30am the following day.

Within half an hour of returning home, the pain relief had worn off and little Easton was again crying in pain.

Gemma, who was told that Easton had to fast in advance of surgery, called the hospital and was advised to give him Calpol.

“It was awful. I thought I was going to have a nervous breakdown. I was shaking. It was terrible,” said mum Gemma, 25.

“He wasn’t understanding what was happening and he didn’t understand why he couldn’t have anything to eat.”

The couple were with their son at the Royal Hospital for Sick Children until the anaesthetic was administered.

Easton was in theatre for half an hour, where surgeons repaired his nail bed and reattached the tip of his finger.

The couple tried not to draw attention to Easton’s dressing, and continued to give him Calpol for pain and fever.

They will be returning to the Royal Hospital for Sick Kids to enable doctors to check that the blood flow has returned to the tip of his finger.

“They should have kept him in overnight at Wishaw to monitor the pain. They should never have let him out,” insists Gemma.

“I’m really unhappy with the way they went about it and the way they dealt with him. It’s a disgrace.”

The day after Easton’s operation, tenant Gemma contacted landlords Wishaw and District Housing Association to request safety guards for her flat’s interior doors to prevent them closing automatically but she said housing officers refused on the grounds of fire regulations.

Ross removed a small chain mechanism – the part of the hinge that sliced the tip of Easton’s pinky – from Gemma’s flat’s doors to stop them closing automatically.

But he claims Wishaw and District Housing Association ordered him to replace them.

“These chains are staying off,” insisted Gemma. “I’m not willing to risk my two year old’s fingers being taken off.”

Niall Gordon, chief executive of Wishaw and District Housing Association, said: ‘The association are unable to comment on an individual tenants’ circumstances.

“However, we have made arrangements to investigate the concerns that hh have b been raised. id

“Door closers used in these properties meet these building regulations and safety standards and we would stress that they must be left in place to prevent the spread of fire.

“We are happy to work with tenants to identify possible ways of reducing the risk to children associated with doors”.

Dr Jane Burns, NHS Lanarkshire acute divisional medical director, said: “We appreciate this must have been a distressing time for Easton and Gemma.

“The type of procedure required isn’t carried out within Lanarkshire. Our staff carry out a full clinical assessment and prescribe the appropriate pain relief. Arrangements are then made with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde where the procedure is carried out.

“While we have not received a formal complaint, we would like the opportunity to speak with Gemma about her experience and we would encourage her to get in contact with us directly.”

Blood was pouring out. it was terrible, I though I was going to have a breakdown