An Aberdeen mother has claimed NHS Grampian put her child’s life at risk by failing to diagnose a potentially fatal tumour the size of an egg.
Katherine Fenwick, 22, claims that if her daughter Savannah, who is now 19 months old, had not been transferred to Edinburgh after developing pneumonia she likely would not be alive today.
Since she was born in October 2016, the tot had struggled to breathe and had close to a dozen hospital admissions among multiple doctor appointments.
But while her mum knew something was wrong, neither she nor her husband Jordan, 23, were given reassurance from medical staff at Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital.
Mrs Fenwick claimed: “She was sent home as a ‘happy wheezer’ repeatedly.
“But if they had just done a CT scan they would have seen a cyst the size of a chicken egg in a very tricky place.
“It was crushing her windpipe.”
The mum said she had to “beg and plead” for staff to carry out further tests and, while “something” was highlighted in an x-ray, she was told it was nothing to worry about.
In March, Savannah developed pneumonia and was flown down to an intensive care unit in Edinburgh.
To the relief of her parents, she was finally given the scan she needed which revealed the tumour in a “very rare and uncommon” position.
Last week Savannah underwent major surgery in Glasgow to remove it and is now recovering from the operation in hospital.
“She now has a chance to live her life without struggling to breathe,” Mrs Fenwick said.
The mum is now encouraging other parents experiencing a similar situation to push for better care.
She said: “They just have to keep fighting but they shouldn’t have to.
“Other parents need to tell them if they feel there is something wrong.
“NHS Grampian needs to understand that even though their staff have done the training and they’re the professionals, every parent is the expert with their own child and their voices need to be listened to.”
An spokeswoman for the health board said: “Whilst we cannot comment on this case in detail, we take any complaint very seriously and we ensure that is investigated fully.
“The outcome is always discussed directly with the complainant.”
