Mackay baby Amity Buchanan is in an induced coma in Brisbane after swallowing a button battery

A Queensland hospital has been accused of failing to discover a button battery stuck in the throat of a one-year-old girl, leaving her in an induced coma who suffered from internal burns to her esophagus.

Parents Daniel Buchanan and Jemma Gultzow rushed their daughter Amity to Mackay Hospital after suspecting she swallowed a Styrofoam bean while she was vomiting and choking on Monday afternoon.

A doctor examined Amity with a stethoscope before sending the little girl home without an X-ray, leading her parents to believe she had a stomach problem.

At home, Amity’s condition continued to deteriorate, so they took her to the GP, who told them to go straight to the emergency room.

“We received a referral from our GP and we presented to triage in an emergency and were told to sit down,” Ms Gultzow told Sunrise on Thursday.

“We stood in front of the doors and thought they were about to come, but we waited and waited and waited.

“We had to keep fighting and fighting to get her to have any type of x-ray or care.”

Mackay toddler Amity Buchanan swallowed a button battery earlier this week

Emergency room doctors eventually took an X-ray of the little girl and found a battery in her throat.

At this point, the jammed battery caused an 8 cm acid burn in Amity’s throat. She was taken to Townsville Hospital for a two-hour operation to remove it before being flown to Brisbane Hospital.

Amity was placed in an induced coma and is being fed through a tube.

Mr Buchanan says his little girl could have avoided all the suffering if the X-ray had been taken when they first presented Amity on Monday.

“If[the doctor]had done the X-ray then and there, she would probably be her happy and healthy self at home now,” Mr Buchanan said.

‘She’s at war at the moment. Only time will tell when it comes out.’

“I’m beyond angry. What will it take?’

Amity Buchanan is in an induced coma and is expected to remain on a feeding tube for weeks

Ms Gultzow gave an update on Amity’s condition on Thursday morning in Brisbane.

“She’s stable, but she’s in an induced coma to give her throat time to heal, protect her airway and be as safe as possible,” she told Sunrise.

Ms Lang appealed to other parents to trust their intuition when their child is sick and fight for the care they deserve.

“Just trust that and don’t be afraid to fight for your child. It doesn’t matter, just use your instinct to give your child the best you can. That’s all you can do.’

Jemma Gultzow and Daniel Buchanan (pictured with baby Amity) are now opening up about their harrowing ordeal to urge other parents to trust their gut instincts

Amity now has a long road to recovery and is expected to remain in hospital in Brisbane for weeks.

“She won’t be able to eat anything for the next 4-6 weeks. The biggest risk is infection so the hospital is taking all necessary precautions for our little girl,” her father wrote in an online fundraiser.

“All of this could have been prevented if she had been x-rayed straight away. The damage that has been done and what she is going through at the moment is due to the neglect and being there for so long.”

Mackay Base Hospital says it is reviewing Amity’s case.

“The information provided to the hospital was that a styrofoam bean had been swallowed and this would not have shown on an X-ray,” the statement said.

“We do not perform routine medical imaging on children who have swallowed a radiolucent foreign body if their clinical appearance is normal.

“As always, we ask patients to come forward if they develop new symptoms or if their condition worsens.”

The button battery lodged in Amity’s throat caused an 8 cm long acid burn. The X-ray is shown

Source: | This article originally belongs to Dailymail.co.uk