Young Amputee’s Family Suing Maltese Health Authorities Over Lack Of Urgent Treatment
The family of a toddler whose lower leg had to be amputated at Mater Dei Hospital is taking legal action against the Maltese health authorities over negligence and lack of urgent treatment.
Melbourne-based Saviour and Joanne Seguna are claiming that their son was left waiting for four days in the hospital.
Later on, staff admitted that there was no paediatric vascular surgeon and he had to be transferred to the UK’s Great Ormond Street Hospital where he had his leg amputated.
The family filed a judicial letter in the First Hall of the Civil Court against Health Minister Chris Fearne, Mater Dei chief executive Celia Falzon, Superintendent of Public Health Charmaine Gauci, chief government medical officer Walter Busuttil, the hospital’s clinical director Joseph Debono, and the ministry’s director general of health services Clarence Pace.
While visiting Malta seven-month-old Zayn was taken to hospital after contracting bronchitis.
His mother claimed that the doctors told her that they had damaged an artery while inserting a central line during Zayn’s treatment, restricting blood flow and quickly resulting in extensive muscle and tissue damage.
“They hit an artery which they realised straight away because his leg went pale, cold, changed colour straight away,” she told 7NEWS.com.au.
“They pulled the line out and gave him Heparin which is a blood thinner…because a blood clot formed.”
“On day four they told me they don’t have a kid’s vascular surgeon and said he’s going to have to go to the United Kingdom to have it looked at and repaired,” Joanne said.
“The (UK) surgeon said it should have been looked at within hours (but) it (had) been days.”
“If they told me it needed surgery and they didn’t have a surgeon I would have fought harder.”
The parents are claiming that the four-day delay caused by not admitting the lack of a pediatric vascular surgeon resulted in their young boy losing his leg.
Meanwhile, the Times of Malta reported that when asked if there were plans to recruit a child’s vascular surgeon following the incident, the ministry said the hospital “offers comprehensive health services locally”.
“When clinicians indicate that patients require very specialised care not available locally, the hospital has arrangements in place with foreign specialised hospitals to send patients for treatment/surgery abroad,” the spokesperson said.
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