Patient with broken vertebrae put at risk in A&E

What happened

Mr G complained that the Trust did not properly assess or treat his broken neck when he was admitted to A&E after a high‑speed car accident. In A&E, staff removed his neck collar and gave him pain relief tablets.

When staff took Mr G for an X‑ray, his bed was bumped against a door frame, and this caused him great pain. Mr G then tried to stand but was unable to do so, and collapsed. It was at this point that a senior doctor became involved and ordered a CT scan, which showed broken vertebrae.

The Trust then transferred Mr G to another hospital, where the neurology team treated him, and fitted him with a 'halo' spinal injury brace, which he had to wear for 19 weeks.

What we found

The Trust should have treated Mr G's case as a trauma call when he first arrived in A&E. Had this happened, a senior doctor or trauma team would have reviewed him initially and he would have got the right care from the start. Staff should not have removed the neck collar and should have given him stronger, intravenous, pain relief, rather than tablets, which he found difficult to swallow. The Trust should have X‑rayed Mr G where he was, rather than in an X‑ray unit.

Mr G experienced unnecessary pain and distress because of the Trust's failure to properly assess and treat him. His scan results showed that he had potential instability of the spine. Removing the neck collar put Mr G at risk of displacement. However, these failings did not affect the way he was managed in the longer term, or how long it took him to recover.

Putting it right

The Trust apologised to Mr G and paid him £750 in light of the unnecessary pain and distress he experienced. It also agreed to review its criteria for initiating a trauma call or involving a senior emergency department doctor, and to explain how it will monitor how well the criteria are working.