How can a broken wrist go undetected for 20 hours? Asked furious Mom Caroline Bassett, who when picking up her son from a one night residential school trip, found him suffering with the unattended and incredibly painful injury. His parents took him straight to Sandwell General Hospital where his wrist was placed in a cast. He continues to wear a corrective splint.
Parents and the local community have branded Kingsland Primary school lax and disgusting after they failed to act on Mikel pleading with staff that he was in pain. Mikel sustained the injury while playing football at Condover Hall in Shropshire, he went straight to staff but was told to continue with the scheduled activities, including archery. He ran the wrist under the tap, trying to help himself when he was repeatedly ignored and went on to spend the night suffering with the unattended injury.
The parents are rightly horrified and have lodged a formal complaint with the school. They accuse the staff of failing in their duty of care, failing to report the accident to them and insisting Mikel continue with activities while in such pain. Ms Bassett, 30, said: "I could see there was something wrong when I saw his face when he came off the coach. He held up his arm and said I am in so much pain […] The way they have handled everything has been disgusting." You expect your child when in the care of professionals to receive proper medical care and to be told if they have been injured, said Mikel’s father.
The school have investigated and admitted in a letter to the parents that the findings showed areas for improvement. They intend to review their procedures for dealing with injuries on school trips. The Head Teacher and Chair of Governors have apologised to Mikel and his parents, and insist they have reminded staff of the importance of clear communication with parents and carers.
Having well known and established emergency and reporting procedures are essential on any school outing, for keeping staff and students safe and notifying parents. The school and residential location also had evident deficiencies in first aid provision and supervision, both of which would have ensured the prompt identification of the injury. Find out how to be fully compliant with our trip planning system and avoid situations wherein a lack of preparation leads to the prolonged suffering of a child.
