A primary school pupil was left untreated and without painkillers for hours after breaking his arm on a school trip, his devastated mother has claimed.
Julia Teixeira, from Braintree in Essex, dropped her son Salvador Teixeira, 11, off for his Year Six school trip to adventure holiday park PGL Bawdsey Manor in Suffolk on July 13th for a three-day residential stay.
The mother-of-two claimed she received a call from one of his teachers that night telling her he’d broken his arm and was being taken to Ipswich Hospital in Suffolk.
In a panic, the 52-year-old drove to meet her son but said neither he, nor any teacher or PGL staff member, could be found when she arrived.
Julia claimed it was two hours after Salvador broke his arm that he arrived at hospital via taxi with a teacher – despite breaking his arm so badly it resembled Mr. Tickle from the Mr. Men book series.
The council worker revealed she was told he’d jumped and fallen while playing hide and seek in the dark with other children in his room before bedtime.
A horrifying photo shows Salvador’s ‘spaghetti-like’ right arm broken in two places.
Despite being in excruciating pain, Julia says PGL didn’t offer him pain relief and didn’t drive him to the hospital despite the taxi and ambulance having long wait times.
Julia Teixeira, from Braintree in Essex, claimed school trip staff left her son Salvador Teixeira, 11, without painkillers or taking him to hospital for hours- despite breaking his arm so badly it resembled Mr. Tickle from the Mr. Men book series
After reaching out to PGL via email Julia alleges she has been told they aren’t responsible for his injury as the accident happened ‘outside of scheduled activity time’.
Julia is sharing what happened to Salvador, who is now in a cast and potentially needs surgery, to ensure it doesn’t happen to anyone else.
PGL said the safety and security of our guests is their ‘number one priority’ and they have a ‘range of safeguards in place to protect the wellbeing of all visitors’.
They said they are ‘unable to administer medications directly’ and a taxi was booked ‘in line with normal procedures’.
Julia said: ‘I just wanted them [PGL] to admit that they didn’t act as they should.
‘At 7:05pm I received a call from the headmaster saying Salvador had fallen and broken his arm and they were taking him to hospital.
‘They said the incident took place at 6:30pm. My husband and I went straight to Ipswich Hospital to meet them.
‘When we arrived [at the hospital], no one knew anything about Salvador.
A horrifying photo shows Salvador’s ‘spaghetti-like’ right arm broken in two places resembling Mr Tickle’s bendy arms from the Mr Men series
Despite being in excruciating pain, Julia says PGL didn’t offer him pain relief and didn’t drive him to the hospital despite the taxi and ambulance having long wait times
Julia had dropped Salvador off for his year six school trip to adventure holiday park PGL Bawdsey Manor in Suffolk on July 13th for a three-day residential stay
The mother-of-two claimed she received a call from one of his teachers that night telling her he’d broken his arm and was being taken to Ipswich Hospital in Suffolk
‘I called the teacher at 8:06pm and they said they were half an hour away.
‘They said it was difficult to find a taxi. We Googled it and the PGL site was 30 minutes away from the hospital so it means they were only just leaving the site.
‘They finally arrived in a taxi at 8:40pm.
‘When he turned up at the hospital, he was in shock. He was in extreme pain and when the teachers turned their backs he started to cry.
‘I couldn’t find it in myself to look at his arm at the hospital so I only saw the photo after.
‘It looked like his arm had gone to jelly and was spaghetti-like. It looked like Mr. Tickle.
‘I can’t understand why PGL didn’t find anyone with a driving license or a car to take an injured child to the hospital.
‘I can’t see the difference between a taxi with an unknown person and someone from PGL taking him to the hospital.
‘They [teachers or PGL] said they didn’t give him painkillers as they were scared he would need surgery.
The council worker revealed she was told he’d jumped and fallen while playing hide and seek in the dark with other children in his room before bedtime
Julia is sharing what happened to Salvador, who is now in a cast and potentially needs surgery, to ensure it doesn’t happen to anyone else
Despite Salvador breaking his arm during the evening after day-time activities, Julia claims PGL could have done more to help him due to the extent of the break
Under the teacher’s’ guide to safety and security on the PGL website, it states that it is the teachers’ responsibility to look after their children during the evening and bedtime
‘When I questioned this with PGL they said it was never asked for.
‘You have an 11-year-old with a visible broken arm and they didn’t give him any, I didn’t understand.
‘I don’t question the accident as kids are kids and an accident can happen in front of your eyes no matter how secure they keep them.
‘When I raised this to PGL they said outside scheduled activity, the full responsibility falls on the teachers.’
Under the teacher’s’ guide to safety and security on the PGL website, it states that it is the teachers’ responsibility to look after their children during the evening and bedtime.
PGL then emphasises that this includes deciding whether a member of their group should be referred to a hospital and also notifying the parents about this.
Despite Salvador breaking his arm during the evening after day-time activities, Julia claims PGL could have done more to help him due to the extent of the break.
Julia said: ‘Nobody has checked in from PGL to ask me how he was and all of this adds to the problem about the way he was looked after.
Julia said: ‘Nobody has checked in from PGL to ask me how he was and all of this adds to the problem about the way he was looked after’
‘When I first emailed PGL, I was asking for an explanation and an apology.
‘As we were exchanging emails, with every reply I was getting a little more agitated.
‘I never questioned the teachers and don’t blame them as they did what they thought they could do at the time.
‘I feel let down by PGL and I’m questioning the way they treat people. They don’t want any responsibility.’
A PGL spokesman said: ‘At PGL the safety and security of our guests is our number one priority and we have a range of safeguards in place to protect the wellbeing of all visitors.
‘We are sorry that Salvador’s trip was impacted by his broken arm, which, according to the teacher who witnessed this, was caused by jumping from furniture in his bedroom.
‘This occurred within a short space of time after a safety talk had been delivered which specifies not to jump across beds or other furniture.
‘Within minutes of being aware of the situation, a PGL first aider attended the scene, called 999 and followed the advice provided by emergency responders.
‘It was explained that an ambulance would take between three and seven hours to respond at which point it was agreed, with the school, that a taxi should be booked to take Salvador and a teacher to hospital, in line with our normal procedures.
‘Whilst we awaited the arrival of a taxi we acted responsibly and in line with medical advice, ensuring we made Salvador as comfortable as possible on his journey to hospital.
‘Our arrangements with school groups, teachers and party leaders are clear in that they act in loco parentis agreeing to maintain the discipline and supervision of their group outside of organised activities and in free time.
‘This also stipulates a need to manage and administer medications and liaise with parents directly if an incident occurs.
‘As a duty of care, and in line with the Human Medicines Regulations 2012, we are unable to administer medications directly.
‘We have spoken to the headteacher of the school both at the time of the incident and since it occurred and they have confirmed they were completely satisfied with the response and action taken by PGL.
‘We have been in touch with Salvador’s mother since his accident and have continued to show concern and ask about his welfare and hope that he recovers well from his accident.’
