The family of a schoolboy in remission from leukaemia has slammed a Lanarkshire A&E, after their son failed to get treatment for a potentially life-threatening infection.
Mark Cannon, 11, from Strathaven - known as 'Wee Mark' - was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, a very aggressive form of blood cancer, last August.
He had to be taken to Hairmyres A&E in East Kilbride earlier this month after his temperature soared to 39.4 and he was later diagnosed with a chest infection.
However, after waiting for more than three hours for potentially lifesaving antibiotics to be administered, his worried parents, Sharlene and Mark, eventually drove him themselves to the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow.
He had previously spent six months in the Schiehallion children’s cancer ward there.
His battle was fraught with a series of major complications including sepsis, multiple seizures, organ failure and even sight loss - but he pulled through despite the odds and even spent some time back at school last month.
Mark's family have now warned that the lives of child cancer patients "are being put at risk at Hairmyres A&E" and insist urgent action is needed to improve staff training.
They were told there was no one in Hairmyres A&E trained to administer antibiotics through the boy's Hickman line.
This is used, amongst other things, to give patients intravenous medication more easily.
Furious mum, Sharlene, told Lanarkshire Live: "Someone is going to die at that A&E due to lack of good patient processing procedures and poor training.
"An ambulance came recently after Mark's temperature hit 39.4.
"The paramedics were lovely and we were taken to Hairmyres but three hours later were still waiting on him getting antibiotics.
"The reason - there were no staff at an A&E hospital trained in paediatric Hickman lines.
"An ambulance has to take a patient to the nearest A&E hospital, in our case Hairmyres, it could not bypass this A&E and take Mark to the children’s hospital.
"This rule needs to change as that is actually putting children like Mark in danger. We left Hairmyres as they tried and failed to get a canula in and due to Mark's condition we know it’s difficult to find a vein.
"He was upset and they added more stress to an already stressful situation.
"His dad and I drove him over to the Children's Hospital in Glasgow so he could receive treatment four hours after we arrived at Hairmyres A&E.
"It’s a disgrace - he is not going near Hairmyres again. I'm so disgusted.
"The delay in Mark's treatment is actually life or death - if he got sepsis he could have died due to their failings."
And Sharlene also criticised hygiene practices at Hairmyres after she claimed a nurse failed to wear gloves, scratched her head and then touched Mark's line, with the family having to wipe it down themselves with a disinfectant wipe.
Sharlene is still calling for answers as to why Mark was discharged last August after going to the East Kilbride A&E extremely unwell and gasping for breath after collapsing on his front step after the first day back at school.
"I have already complained about Hairmyres A&E department due to them sending Mark home the day he collapsed after a six-hour wait to be seen," Sharlene went on.
"I was told he was “fine and good to go to school the next day" by the doctor, only to be called an hour after returning home to be asked to come back and told our son had leukaemia."
The mum added: "I am sure there are many dedicated and great staff in Hairmyres, however, if they do not get the right training they are no use to kids needing intravenous drugs via a Hickman line.
"What’s the point in their A&E if staff are not given the much needed skills required. We were told "we're an adult hospital so don’t really deal with kids".
"That cannot be the case - they are an A&E department for everyone - adults and children.
"There are many children in East Kilbride and surrounding area with Hickman lines so it's disturbing to be told that there are zero trained staff at Hairmyres.
"The nurses at the Queen Elizabeth were disgusted when they found out what happened and said that a child’s Hickman line and an adults are the same, so they can’t understand why no one knew how to use it."
Clydesdale MSP, Máiri McAllan, said: "I spoke with Mrs Cannon from hospital on Monday and she described to me the traumatic circumstances her family and of course in particular, her son Mark, have been going through.
"I have assured her I will be raising these matters directly with the Health Secretary this week.
"I will be seeking a meeting to discuss what went wrong, how the Cannon family can be better supported and how these issues can be avoided in future."
Lise Axford, chief of nursing services at NHS Lanarkshire, said: “We are sorry that the family were unhappy with their child’s experience at University Hospital Hairmyres.
“There are staff on site that are trained in using Hickman lines that can be accessed to support our emergency department staff.
"This does not appear to have happened with this patient and we will address this through training for our emergency department staff to support any future patients attending our emergency department.”
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “It is a particularly worrying and anxious time when a child is unwell and we are sorry to learn that the family are unhappy with the treatment their son received.
“We understand that there are staff trained in using Hickman lines at the hospital and that training will be provided to staff in the emergency department to ensure they know how to access the support available for other patients attending A&E.”
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