A mum whose two-year-old daughter was caught up in the Angus E. coli outbreak has spoken of the “horrible” moment she was told her child had contracted the deadly bug.
Having initially believed two-year-old Iva was in the clear after suffering diarrhoea and vomiting, Karina and Hamish Fulford returned to Ninewells Hospital to be informed that she had tested positive for the potentially lethal infection.
After a fraught 24 hours, doctors told the anxious family the youngster was not infected, and although final test results are still to be received, Iva’s parents are confident she has come through the scare and is on the mend.
But as another youngster from the same playgroup continues to receive treatment in a Glasgow hospital — and it emerged yesterday that a ward has been set up in Dundee for confirmed and suspected cases — the mum criticised a lack of communication during the worrying ordeal.
The health authority has been widely condemned over a lack of prompt action and information about the outbreak, which last week led to a multi-agency taskforce being re-convened amidst suggestions that the Angus situation may be linked to a national outbreak which claimed the life of a three-year-old girl this summer.
Iva attends the Peter Pan playgroup which was voluntarily closed on Friday September 9, and remains shut.
Having been there for two days prior to the closure, the toddler began to show signs of being unwell that weekend, and when she suffered sickness and diarrhoea in the early hours of last Tuesday the family contacted NHS 24 and were advised to attend hospital.
“We went there at around 11am and left there about 7.30 in the evening, it was a long day,” said Karina.
“After that she didn’t have any symptoms again and we were told that if the results were positive they would phone.
“The following afternoon she was a bit poorly again and we hadn’t heard anything but we phoned the hospital again looking for results.They didn’t have them and we were assuming everything was okay, but my husband phoned again later and they said it was positive.”
Shocked by the news, pregnant Karina and her husband were, however, advised that Iva did not need to go to Ninewells that night because she was not considered to be in a critical situation and her blood test results were satisfactory.
“We went back on Thursday and no-one knew what was going on, but we were then told that her results were negative.”
Karina added: “Part of this has been that she has had blood tests every 48 hours and the second one was all clear on Sunday.
“She is fine now but the thing that we have been upset by is the communication process.”
Karina, who is originally from Ecuador, added: “We have a five-star health service here and when things like this happen you don’t understand why they can go wrong.
“I don’t blame the doctors or nurses, I blame the system, it did not seem that they had a clear process for dealing with something like this.
“The whole thing was not properly managed and I am able to smile about it now, but it was horrible when they said it was positive.”
The relieved mum also has no criticism to make of the playgroup, which remains closed.
“Iva started there last winter, they are great there and all the mums are so happy with the playgroup, and so sad that it happened there. I don’t understand how it could happen there,” added Karina.
“When it re-opens I am sure she will go back there, and I will trust them, but I will be more demanding of them in terms of safety and I think all parents need to be very careful and responsible.
“We have been very lucky.”
