My son was failed by Royal hospital

My son was failed by Royal hospital

1 June 2016

THE father of a young Crossgar man with Locked-in Syndrome has claimed the health service failed him over the bank holiday weekend.

Twenty four-year-old Declan McMullan suffered a cardiac arrest in 2012 which resulted in brain damage and severe physical disability.

Confined to a wheelchair he is unable to eat, speak, move or see and communicates by blinking.

On Friday he was advised to go urgently to the Royal Victoria Hospital’s A&E department where, according to his father, he didn’t receive the urgent medical treatment required because of holiday cover.

Mr McMullan explained Declan had been feeling unwell and that there was a problem with his feeding tube, which meant it was difficult for him to receive medication and water.

“Our local doctor said to take him to the Royal as soon as possible,” Mr McMullan said.

When he got to the hospital Mr McMullan said he was informed it was a bank holiday weekend and was advised to wait until Wednesday for further treatment, when a hospital team was already due to come to the house.

He was given a preion for antibiotics and while he was in the queue at the pharmacy Mr McMullan became more concerned.

“I started to think, I cannot get fluids into him and they are giving me fluids,” he said.

He then vented his concerns through the Declan McMullan Fund Facebook page and received welcome offers of help.

“Sinn Fein councillor Naomi Bailie contacted me and said she was going to try to talk to the Health Minister over the weekend,” he said. “I then got a phone call on Sunday night from the Belfast Health Trust wanting to know how to help. I said, ‘you tell me’.”

The South Eastern Health Trust also tried to assist and Declan was invited back to hospital on Monday when he was told he needed surgery.

Mr McMullan said a doctor wanted to help him but he ended up being “disappointed but not surprised” that a specialist X-ray needed before this surgery was unavailable due to “limited services”.

There was a further delay yesterday when the surgery was postponed.

Mr McMullan said he believed part of the problem in the A&E related to the severity of Declan’s disability but he doesn’t know if this was down to “human error or the system”.

“What happens if someone breaks their arm? What happens if someone drunk falls off a swing? They get treatment,” he said.

“I believe Declan’s condition creates a challenge for staff. It is enough trying to work, trying to look after a disabled son. I should not have to deal with this.”

Mr McMullan said bank holidays should not affect a whole weekend of services.

“Airports are not closed, for example. You can eat, drink and fly to Spain. But if you’re sick it is a joke.”

Declan came to public attention last year when his brother Mark McMullan became an overnight internet hit. A recording of him singing an emotional version of the Les Miserables Hit ‘Bring Him Home’ to his disabled brother went viral. Money was also raised for the Declan McMullan Fund in a recent St Patrick’s Choral Society production.

Mr McMullan said he had no intention of running down doctors and nurses — he has several in family. However, he said the system needed to be better managed for Declan and people like him.

“I am a happy man, but when you see your child suffering it is very hard to take,” he said.

A spokesman for the Belfast Trust said they had been made aware of parental concerns about a patient’s treatment over the weekend. 

“We would like to apologise for any distress caused to the patient and family,” he said.

“We have responded quickly to the family’s concerns and continue to deal with them directly to ensure the best possible care for their family member.

“The Trust always has appropriate services in place over bank holiday periods.”