A family from Lleida denounces the care received at the Arnau de Vilanova hospital for eleven days due to the case of their twelve-month-old son, whom they took up to four times for a lump in the neck before a test detected a possible risk of airway obstruction and he was urgently transferred to Vall d"Hebron hospital in Barcelona.
The case began on February 20, when the baby arrived at the Lleida center with fever, lack of appetite, and cervical inflammation. After four days hospitalized, the minor was discharged when the fever subsided, although the lump in the neck was still present.
"The doctors communicated that it was probably an inflamed lymph node, and that it did not seem serious" - Elisabeth Ojeda, mother of the minor
Four assists in eleven days
On February 25, two days after the first discharge, the family returned to Arnau de Vilanova due to the persistence of the lump and because the child continued to reject food. During that second admission, they performed blood tests and administered antibiotics.
Two days later he was discharged again, although the mass had not disappeared nor had his general condition significantly improved, always according to the family's account. On March 1st they went to the Emergency Room for the third time because the baby continued not to eat. During that visit, the professionals attributed the problem to a sore on the lip, prescribed an ointment and sent him home again.
The situation changed the next day, on the fourth visit. Then the doctors checked that the lump had grown and that the throat presented greater inflammation and redness. It was at that moment when it was decided to perform a CT scan.
Urgent transfer to Barcelona
The diagnostic test revealed that the lump could obstruct the minor's airway. Following that result, the baby was urgently transferred by ambulance to Vall d"Hebron hospital in Barcelona, where he underwent surgery.
According to the family, at the time the case became known, the child had been admitted for almost twenty days in the Barcelona center. Furthermore, the child was operated on again yesterday.
The mother has also reported incidents during the care process. Specifically, she states that during the second admission her son had to spend a night fasting because, according to what nurses told her, he had a test scheduled for the next morning, although the pediatrician later informed them that this was not the case.
"During the second admission, my son had to fast for one night because nurses said he had the test scheduled for the next morning, but the pediatrician later said no" - Elisabeth Ojeda, mother of the minor
The family studies actions
The family plans to file a formal complaint or a report for the care received. For now, it maintains its criticism of the evolution of the case at the Lleida hospital and the fact that the CT scan, the test that warned of the risk to the respiratory tract, was not performed until the fourth visit.