NHS turns injured toddler away due to computer shutdown

Herts and Essex Hospital turned away three-year-old Rafferty Searson because the computer system had been shut down before hospital closing time.

A toddler who was bleeding heavily from a cut to the face was refused treatment by hospital staff – because they had turned their computers off for the day. Three-year-old Rafferty Searson, who was covered in blood from a gash on his cheek, was turned away from the NHS hospital 15 minutes before closing time after a receptionist said he could not be logged on to the computer.

His nanny Kate Moss (?), who took him to Herts and Essex Hospital, said: ‘Two nurses who walked past just looked at me and when I asked for help one said “We have shut down all the systems there is nothing we can do”.’

Rafferty’s 35-year-old mother Hana, from Bishop’s Stortford, Hertfordshire, said: ‘It was a case of “Computer says no”. They were covered in blood and Kate was literally holding his face closed.’ Ms Moss drove Rafferty to a hospital 24km (15miles) away, where he received six stitches.

A spokeswoman for East and North Hertfordshire PCT said there was a ‘large number of people’ at the hospital, which only receives out patients and has a small accident and injury unit.

Source: The Metro