"Disappointed in some aspects of care"

My 20 month old grand-daughter was taken to A&E on the evening of 24th October, after she had fallen off a dining chair, with what we suspected could have been a broken arm.

On arrival at A&E we were booked in straightaway by the matron on the desk who promptly sent us to Frank Radcliffe, There was a short wait, not too much, then my grand-daughter was assessed by a very nice Sister. We were then taken to x-ray, where the care changed dramatically. The person who was on duty that day clearly was not bothered that this was a 20 month old who's only way of verbalising her pain was to cry!

They took the x-ray form from my daughter and then my son-in-law took my grand-daughter into the room. The x-ray technician then insisted that she laid on the trolley which she didn't want to do as she was very scared and in pain. So my daughter also went in and when she came out she was very distressed. The technician was very brusque with them both and was 'tutting' as my grand-daughter was clearly not complying (again - she is only 20 months old)!

In the first instance, they tried to x-ray the wrong arm until my daughter corrected them and she said they were very offhand. After x-ray, we went back to Frank Radcliffe, where the Sister saw her again, and were told that they couldn't see anything so just to give her Calpol but not to hesitate to bring her back if it didn't seem to be improving.

On Monday morning, my daughter was concerned that my grand-daughter's arm looked to be swollen again so she took her back to A&E. Again, staff in A&E were fantastic and this time round when she went to x-ray, the technician couldn't have been more caring and understanding. They said the best way to take the x-ray would be for my grand-daughter to sit on her mum's lap, that way it was less distressing for her and she would feel comforted by mum. X-ray was done with little discomfort and the result was that my grand-daughter had broken her arm. So she now has a temporary cast on until her appointment for a proper one in the week.

What a shame that this lovely person was not on x-ray duty on Saturday. All other staff on Saturday, from the Matron on the desk to the Sister in Frank Radcliffe were wonderful but that horrible person in x-ray made my daughter and son-in-law feel as if my grand-daughter was a nuisance. I hope I never break a bone when they're on shift!