A mum was forced to wait in a hospital toilet for 50 minutes to maintain social distancing before her five-week-old baby was seen to by a doctor for his Covid-19 symptoms.
Leah Smith was left feeling 'disgusted and embarrassed' after being consigned to the bathroom for almost an hour and was told she had to feed her little one in the toilet as he was stirring.
The Manchester University Foundation Trust has launched an investigation into the incident after apologising to mother and son, Manchester Evening News reports.
The 22-year-old called 111 on July 27 after her baby, Oakley, started suffering with Covid-19 symptoms at their home in Altrincham.
The mum-of-five was concerned her baby could be coming down with the virus, as two of her other children had recently received positive tests.
After speaking to a doctor on the phone, Leah claims she was advised to take her baby to hospital to be checked.
Instead of her local hospital, Wythenshawe, Leah says she was sent to Saint Mary's Hospital in Manchester city centre, as specialist paediatricians there would be able to provide the best care for the newborn.
When Leah, 22, arrived she says there was 'no one at the front desk' at the entrance she went into.
The confusion led her to search the corridors of the 'unfamiliar' hospital for the children's emergency department at the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital - which shares buildings with other hospitals including Saint Mary's, the Royal Manchester Infirmary and the Manchester Royal Eye Hospital.
Leah says she was wearing a mask, while Oakley was lying in his carrier cot.
The mum asked a passing nurse where to go, telling the staff member her baby had Covid-19 symptoms amid two other positive cases in her household.
Two nurses discussed the mum and son's case, before directing her 'past the waiting area' for emergency department and into 'a toilet by the waiting area', claims Leah.
The mum was left gobsmacked as the toilet door was held open for her, saying: "I told the nurse that he was going to need feeding soon as he was stirring. She said 'you can feed him in there'.
"It's a toilet, it's riddled with germs, he's only five-weeks-old.
"I sat there for 10 minutes while the nurse came back with a form."
After filling in the form in the toilet, Leah says she realised she made a clerical error, but says the nurse was 'rude' to her.
"The nurse said 'make sure it's right first time, it saves me a job'," she explained.
"Then I waited for 50 minutes in a toilet with a newborn baby before a doctor told me to come and see them in a different room.
"I did have to feed him in there as well."
Oakley was assessed and sent back home to be monitored by his mother - who is still reeling from the experience.
She added: "I was absolutely disgusted at how we were treated. I was so shocked at the way I was spoken to. Lost for words.
"It wasn't really until I got home that I realised what had happened.
"I couldn't believe they'd just done that. He could have caught anything in that toilet.
"Why do they not have a place for people with Covid symptoms to wait, they will be seeing a lot of that at the moment? I just hope they don't do that to anybody else."
The hospital trust told the Manchester Evening News that it is not standard practice for any patient of the paediatric emergency department to be told to wait in a toilet.
The hospital has also confirmed that all patients who attend the paediatric emergency department are streamed at the front entrance, with separate pathways for patients with suspected or confirmed Covid-19, followed by dedicated waiting areas to keep the patients isolated while waiting for treatment.
A spokesperson for Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital (RMCH), part of Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust, said: “We apologise unreservedly to Ms Smith and her son for their experience in our Paediatric Emergency Department.
“We take all complaints very seriously and we are grateful to Ms Smith for raising her concerns, which we are investigating fully. We will continue to work with Ms Smith to resolve the issues she has raised and will provide her with an update on our investigation.”
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