A four-month-old baby’s life hangs in the balance at a Sydney hospital after a Wagga doctor allegedly misdiagnosed the child with constipation more than a week ago.
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Mother Rosie Pollard admitted her son Koby Wiles to Wagga's Rural Referral Hospital early on Sunday, March 12 after watching him suffer from horrific seizures.
Ms Pollard was left fuming after she was forced to wait for three long hours just to see a doctor.
Koby has since endured two operations, four blood transfusions and is in an induced coma.
Ms Pollard was left distraught after her son started to vomit and scream in pain at 4.30am on Sunday morning.
She immediately rushed her son to hospital as he began to suffer from intense seizures for up to seven minutes in ten minute intervals.
Maternal instinct kicked in for Ms Pollard as she appealed to the attending nurse, after she was offered a pain killer and advised to take her son home.
“It was just disgusting that nobody wanted to help Koby,” Ms Pollard said.
“I was just about ready to burst into tears.
“I told the nurse I know what my son is like when he has constipation and it was much more than that.”
Ms Pollard claimed the nurse then sought help from another doctor and a number of other staff members immediately rushed to Koby’s aid.
Koby was taken for an MRI where it was discovered he was suffering from severe bleeding on the brain.
Doctors informed Ms Pollard that Koby would need to be transferred to a Sydney hospital for an operation.
Ms Pollard is still nervously awaiting test results, as doctors monitor the pressure on Koby’s brain.
Murrumbidgee Local Health District chief executive Jill Ludford has apologised for the alleged incident.
“We extend our sincere apologies to the family of the child for the distress caused following his presentation to Wagga Wagga Rural Referral Hospital Emergency Department,” Ms Ludford said.
“We are undertaking a full review into the circumstances of the child’s presentation and care provided.
“We will communicate the findings to the family and they will be used to improve the assessment and treatment of paediatric patients in the emergency department in the future.”
The incident was a bitter pill to swallow for the whole family, who have had Koby home for just two months after two months in a Canberra hospital after a difficult birth.
Ms Pollard said she was angry and disappointed at the lengthy wait times and the lack of care at the Wagga hospital, especially after she advised staff her son was born 11 weeks premature.
Ms Pollard is keen to get a message out to help other patients.
