10/08/2012

Accident Man Sent Home From Casualty Hours After Losing Two Fingers

A man who lost two fingers in a lawnmower accident was sent home just two and a half hours after attending hospital, the Impartial Reporter newspaper has reported.

School bus driver Johnny Nelson, from Tamlaght, visited the new £276m South West Acute Hospital after his accident, which happened while he was taking a grass box off a lawnmower.

But after giving him morphine and taking an X-ray of his hand and bandaging it up, staff told him he would have to make his own way to the Ulster Hospital in east Belfast the next day for treatment.

Angered by his experience, Mr Nelson says he will be out of action for four to five months now and will have to travel to Belfast for his aftercare treatment for the next three to four months.

He said he was "put through hell" and blamed short-staffedness.

He said: "We have this lovely new hospital but we are no better off".

Mr Nelson was happy with his treatment at the Ulster Hospital.

He has not made an official complaint with the South West Acute Hospital, as he believes it to be a "waste of time".

A spokesperson for Western Trust would not comment on Mr Nelson’s case individually, but said: "In order to minimise the possibility of further tissue disruption prior to plastic surgical assessment and treatment, local treatment is based upon protection of the injured area only, and is dictated in operational procedures agreed with the Regional Specialist service."

(NE)

Related Northern Ireland News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

27 April 2022
Woman Attacked By Masked Gang Armed With Hammers
Police have issued an appeal for information after a woman was assaulted in her home in Carrickfergus, County Antrim. According to police, the woman, aged in her 40s, was in bed at her home on Sunningdale Crescent, when five masked me, armed with hammers, forced their way into the house at around 10pm on Tuesday night.
01 December 2021
Arson Attack In Bushmills Being Treated As A Sectarian Hate Crime
An arson attack at a flat in Bushmills, Co Antrim, is being treated as a "sectarian motivated hate crime", according to the police. A wheelie bin was pushed against the front door of the property in Silverstream Court and set on fire just after 7am on Monday, 29 November. A woman was treated for smoke inhalation.
25 October 2021
Appeal For Information On 'Vicious Attack' In North Belfast
The PSNI have issued an appeal for information following a "vicious attack" in north Belfast. Police have said that a man suffered a serious head injury when he was attacked during a burglary at his flat on Edinburgh Street at about 22:30 on Saturday, 23 October. The man require hospital treatment for his injury.
16 April 2021
Investigation Launches After Man Shot Multiple Times In L'Derry
An investigation has launched after a man was shot multiple times in his legs in L'Derry. The shooting occurred at a house in the Whitethorn Drive area on Thursday, 15 April, just before 11pm. The victim was shot a number of times in his legs after two men forced their way into the house. The man is currently receiving hospital treatment.
12 February 2020
Man & Woman Stabbed In South Belfast- Reports
A man and woman have been stabbed during an altercation at a house in south Belfast, according to reports. It's understood the incident took place at a house in Kitchener Street shortly before 6.45pm on Tuesday 11 February. Local reports suggest that a woman, aged 27, was arrested.