Toddler drinks brake fluid, allegedly refused treatment for 6 hours

A toddler was reportedly refused treatment at the Middelburg Provincial Hospital for more than six hours after accidentally drinking brake fluid.

The 22-month Paul Opperman drank a small amount of brake fluid shortly before 4pm, while with his father in the garage.

Toddler’s ordeal

His mother, Tracy-Lee Vorster, said she arrived at home earlier than usual because she wasn’t feeling well and left Paul in his dad’s care.

“Toe hy vir ’n oomblik sy rug gedraai het, het Paul die vloeistof gedrink.” (He turned his back for a moment and Paul drank the liquid.)

It was unclear how much brake fluid Paul drank. Worried about what it might do to him, his parents immediately took him to the hospital.

Rude, unhelpful personnel

Tracy said when they arrived at the casualty unit, the nurse was rude and “unhelpful from the start”. They also assumed Tracy had consumed the liquid and wanted to send her back home with medication.

When Tracy finally convinced them it was her toddler who had drank the liquid, they told the family to wait since it was “standard practice” not to assist until a case had been opened with the police.

After waiting for two and a half hours, Tracy approached a doctor who said they’d need to take x-rays to determine if his lungs had been damaged.

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Struggle to get assistance

However, the doctor told Tracy they would need to wait. A half-hour later, Tracey took Paul to radiology, where she finally found a friendly face.

After getting the X-rays, Tracy had to find the doctor herself to ask him if Paul’s lungs had been damaged. She wanted to know if Paul could drink water; they had already been waiting more than six hours at that point.

Tracy said the doctor examined Pual’s X-rays and said there was no damage. He said Paul’s vitals “also looked right”.

Admitted for observation at 9pm

The doctor – who, according to Tracy, looked very young – called a senior doctor who suggested Paul be admitted for observation.

Tracy was not allowed to stay with Paul during this time.

She said it was already 9pm and she “definitely didn’t want to leave him alone at the hospital”.

As reported by Middelburg Observer, Paul has since recovered completely. The Department of Health was approached for comment, but no response was received.

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This article was written by Sjani Campher and originally appeared in Afrikaans on Middelburg Observer, a Caxton publication. Translated by Cheryl Kahla.

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