Son comes back from school trip with fracture

[debsadoos123]

Hi, first time poster, please be kind. I picked my 14 year old DS up from school at 4pm today after he'd been away for a week skiing. When I got to him he had a makeshift bandage on his wrist and the teacher explained that someone had fallen into him yesterday morning and that my DS complained of extreme pain in his wrist. The said teacher went on to explain that they didn't seek medical attention because if it was broken then my DS wouldn't be able to fly home. They had taken him to a chemist and purchased a bandage and applied it.
By the time we had got home (10 min drive) my son was crying in pain so we went straight to A&E... Long story short, he has fractured a bone in his wrist. He is now in plaster and we have to return in 10 days for a bone scan.
Would I be unreasonable to make a complaint to school about their lack of action and failing to provide a duty of care?

That is terrible. I'm stunned. I'd be onto the school first thing.

Is it a fractured scaphoid OP, out of interest?

Why would a fracture mean he couldn't fly ?

They seem really stupid even so.

I hope he makes a full and quick recovery.

Having been this teacher but earlier in the week, I always rang the parent (my concern was the child would not ski). In discussion with the parent we saw how it went.

On one occasion when a child couldn’t come on the coach with us, the parent (and a doctor) were flown out to collect him).

I can see their point about flying but it should have been your decision to make.

I would be more angry about not being asked what I preferred. Clearly it was more convenient for the school to get him home, and he might have preferred that as well, but really they ought to have put it to you, and if they had to be inconvenienced, they had to be inconvenienced. Honestly, I'm not sure what I'd choose under the circumstances, as I might just want my child home ASAP.

I'd be fuming. Fractures can lead to complications requiring operations. I fractured an ankle last year and developed dvt as a result - despite being on blood thinners from the moment it happened. Relatively common in ankle fractures, but the pain was excruciating even with painkillers. Your poor son.

@SunshineCake Lots of airlines say you cannot fly the day after a fracture. It is not unusual. He could fly the next day.

I genuinely shocked. I thought your post would be about being angry your son got hurt on a trip and I was popping on to call you unreasonable. But bloody hell! It’s no exaggeration to say they put his life at risk - a broken bone can absolutely lead to complications. I broke my leg years ago falling out of a tree and needed surgery that very day due to how the break was near the ankle joint.

You need to absolutely complain. I’m aghast.

Some airlines need people to wait 24 hours after having a plaster cast fitted for a flight of less than 2 hours and 48 hours for a flight of more than 2 hours. Something to do with swelling and circulation issues. So the school are right that he probably wouldn't have been able to get on the flight, however, they knew this injury probably needed a cast/strapped up so they should have called you and asked if it was ok to strap it themselves, give him pain relief and get him home or if they should take him to a hospital and he would probably be on a later flight home

is it a Colles fracture?

You can’t fly with a set plaster cast for your blood circulation. However, that was no reason for them not to go to the hospital as (1) he needed medical assessment - what if it was a particularly complicated fracture (2) proper pain medication and (3) they could have put on the cast leaving a gap so the pressure thing is managed or give him a properly applied splint. It is bizar they just took a decision not to seek medical help. For what it’s worth, I broke my ankle once before a flight and the doctors put on a special cast with a gap so it complied with airline regulations - it was temporary for that reason but it got me home.

MN seems to think that whenever a parent has a complaint or concern about anything school related it should immediately be reported to Ofsted but the reality is that they actually have a very specific remit

^This

Solicitors and OFSTED are not the correct route. The matter obviously needs to be addressed by speaking calmly with the head to establish what happened and to ensure it ever happens again.

For what it’s worth, I broke my ankle once before a flight and the doctors put on a special cast with a gap so it complied with airline regulations
Yep, that’s what they do. They are expert at it in ski resorts and they give you the ‘ok to fly’ certificate.

@sw16 It does not matter what Dr's say, a lot of airlines have blanket regulations about this.

It would be interesting to read the schools incident report: ...he complained of extreme pain in his wrist so medical help was not sought because he potentially would not be able to board the plane. We thought that this was more important than medical complications that could arise from flying. The wrist was bandaged up with a bandage purchased from a chemist because a first aid kit was not available, even though this is a statutory requirement for a school to have, together with all staff having paediatric first aid training. We did not attempt to make contact with the parent after the incident occurred because...you know... they might say they didn’t want him to fly and that would be a right hassle.

Ask to see their risk assessment for the trip. The staffing should have been adequate for one member of staff to support children accessing medical care. Accidents like this must happen relatively often on ski trips. So should be planned for. Your poor son hope he is ok now.

I remember watching an episode of banged up abroad and a medic thought it was a great idea to smuggle drugs in a fake cast on his arm. Seemed like a good plan but he forgot to take into account that the airline staff would want to investigate if it was safe for him to fly with a newly fitted cast, like PP said if a gap had been left/it had been fitted in order to not cause circulation issues. He had a fake medical certificate saying he had broken his arm but forgot to write that the doctor had fitted the cast to be safe for flying! He was caught because they wanted to check the cast for safety! They didn't actually suspect he had drugs in there if I remember rightly. His demeanour changed when they wanted to simply check the cast so then they clicked on something wasn't right and ended up taking a section of the cast off and found the drugs

Poor and simple it's neglect. Whatever the wider implications and inconveniences, not giving medical attention when needed is borderline cruelty. I always thought that is why travel insurance is purchased, to cover all eventualities.

When will schools learn that they aren't medical professionals.
We had DS sent home last year (a journey that involves walking a couple of miles and a train ride), with a torn ACL.
He had been told that there was nothing wrong with him and that he "needed to grow a pair" by a PE teacher.

When will the OP be back

You can’t fly for 48hrs after having a cast fitted because of the risk of DVT, so the teachers put your son at considerable risk by ignoring guidelines. I’m sure the local hospitals in a skiing resort are expert are dealing with fractures, your DS should have been taken there immediately. Obviously, you should have been contacted. I’d be furious with the school. I’m guessing the head teacher will be too.

I agree that that school made the wrong decision and should absolutely have sought medical attention. There's a good chance that the medics would have been able to splint and bandage to temporarily immobilise to all him to be able to fly home. Not their call to make. You need to put in a complaint and discuss this with the school.

And I'm not sure how many have said it already, but a fracture and a break are the same thing!

he had a fracture of his wrist, they explained why they couldnt get a cast, he had a bandage, he came home

No, they explained why they thought he couldn't get a cast, @EnidBlyton. As they didn't take medical advice, the reality is that they had no idea. Nor did they have any idea about the potential dangers of travelling by air with an untreated wrist fracture. A bandage is worse than useless if the bone isn't set properly.

I think they were probably playing the 'hoping game'. Hoping that it was badly bruised. As your son got on with it', they assessed it wasn't that bad and that it was better to just get him home. That is probably not such a bad call and what many of us would have done.

But I do think that you should have been informed and had some sort of say in what would happen rather than find out at pick up.

Worrying about him not being able to fly is rubbish, ski resorts medical centres would be very used to a) this type of injury and b) flying restrictions.
Half casts can be used temporarily to allow flight.
They have fucked up.
A co
Ain't need to be made to the school and the governors, I might even take it further.
This is appalling.