OAP was sent home twice in agony with fractured hip

Teresa Brocklehurst, 86, was discharged from Chorley and South Ribble Hospital in agony after A&E staff twice failed to spot that she had a fractured pelvis.

The OAP from Adlington, was in severe pain after she fell getting out of bed.

But each time staff sent her home, saying she just had a urinary tract infection.

Her daughter Angela McNulty, said: “They didn’t even X-ray her, it’s terrible. She was crying in agony, it was awful.”

Teresa’s husband and carer Joseph, 90, kept calling 999, and eventually she was taken to Wigan Infirmary, where an X-Ray confirmed that she had broken her hip. Medics atWigan Infirmary then operated and pinned the fracture in her hip.

Teresa, who suffers from dementia, spent two weeks recovering in hsopital before being moved to Highgrove Home care home, where she is now recuperating.

Angela feels that her mother was badly let down by the emergency department at Chorley.

“She was trying to get out of bed and she had fallen,” said Angela, who is a cleaner at the hospital. “My dad couldn’t pick her up.

“They took her to Chorley who told her she had a urinary tract infection and sent her home. She’s had two strokes in the past which have left her very confused.

“My dad is 90 and he is her carer. My dad rang again and she went back to Chorley’s A&E but they kept sending her home.

“My dad kept calling and paramedics came out and said stop ringing 999. But he kept calling and the next day they took her to Wigan A&E and they X-rayed her straight away and she had a broken hip.”

Medics at The Royal Albert Edward Infirmary in Wigan then operated to put screws in her hip. Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is now looking into the situation.

Mark Pugh, medical director of the Trust, said: “We are liaising with Mrs Brocklehurst and her family to investigate this matter. We aren’t able to comment further until the investigation has concluded.”

A spokesperson for North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) said: “The Trust prides itself on its care and compassion and we are sorry to hear that the patient’s family are unhappy with the response by the service.  

“If they would like to us to investigate their concerns, we would urge them to contact our patient experience team who will look into the incident and will then be able to provide the family with a detailed response.”

Following her operation Teresa spent two weeks recovering in hospital. She is now being cared for in Highgrove Home care home in Highfield Road North.

“She just sits in her seat all day because she can’t walk,” said Angela. “I’m just so disappointed that they didn’t X-ray her at Chorley.”

Chorley’s A&E was closed a year ago this month, with hospital bosses saying they were facing staff shortages.

On January 18 the A&E was reopened part time.

Activists are still pushing for the department to open full time.