Family’s shock as girl, 2, is treated in store cupboard
MEDICS at a children’s hospital treated a two-year-old girl with a severe head wound in a storeroom as the NHS crisis escalates.
Quinn McKenna slipped during a swimming lesson and cracked her head, causing a cut on her face.
Her mum took her to hospital while dad, Martin, 33, looked after their other daughter Oakley, four.
But when Quinn arrived at the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow, she was taken into a room clearly used for storage rather than treating patients.
Emergency service worker Martin said: “The place was full of boxes and equipment and during Covid times, there is no way the room was a sterile environment – particularly for a child with an open wound.
“It looked as if the bed had just been shoved in there and it didn’t even look that clean.”
The family, from Dunbartonshire, had expected better facilities at the country’s showpiece hospital. Martin said: “My wife didn’t want to rock the boat and the doctors were really nice, so she didn’t ask why Quinn was being treated in a storage cupboard.”
Pictures taken in the room show equipment on shelves and cardboard boxes on the floor.
It is a far cry from the ethos of the hospital, which promises child-centred care.
Last night, Labour’s health spokeswoman Jackie Baillie called the case “deeply worrying”.
A spokesman from NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde said: “On this particular day, our Emergency Department was extremely busy so the patient was seen in the plaster room to ensure prompt assessment and treatment. This use of space allowed the patient to be seen, treated and discharged in two hours. We apologise for any distress caused to the patient and her family.”
A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: “During this unprecedented pressure on the NHS, health boards are dealing with exceptional demand and will utilise all available capacity to safely treat people as quickly as possible and we thank them for their dedication and hard work.”