Rider furious over treatment
A Shropshire businesswoman today claimed she suffered a "hellish experience" in hospital following a horse riding accident. Gill Coleman, 52, says she was taken by ambulance as an emergency patient to the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital but was not treated as such, and was left on a trolley for six hours before she had X-rays taken.
She claimed doctors failed to take prompt action to pin a fractured femur just below the ball that fits into the hip joint. Mrs Coleman, pictured, was taken to the hospital last Sunday following the accident at Sansaw near Shrewsbury.
But it was not until Wednesday that she saw a consultant, she said.
In the meantime she had been under the impression that she had suffered only a hairline fracture and had struggled to the toilet and bathroom which resulted in more damage to her hip.
She had not been given a treatment plan or told that she needed to remain in bed.
Mrs Coleman was due to undergo surgery on Wednesday but the operation was cancelled after she had been prepared for theatre.
She said she was so disgusted at the lack of care that that she discharged herself. On Thursday she went to her GP and was referred privately to an orthopaedic consultant who she saw on Friday.
Mrs Coleman, who runs a letting agency and property investment company in Wellington, said she had been told the ball on top of the femur had become displaced and she would need a hip replacement.
"I was allowed to drag myself around in hospital and was never told not to move," she said. "I have gone from being someone who could run, ski, dance and ride to being an invalid."
Mrs Coleman, from Coton near Whitchurch, is considering legal action against the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital Trust for neglect.
A trust spokesman said: "We encourage any patient who is unhappy with any aspect of their care to contact the patient advice services, PALS, or our complaints department so we can investigate and hopefully resolve the problem."
By Dave Morris
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