Mum's anger as tot misdiagnosed twice

A Lincoln mother is fuming after her young daughter was misdiagnosed twice in three weeks by an out-of-hours medical service.

BillieJo Swan is calling for reforms at out-of-hours GP service Linmed after her four-year-old daughter Shania Brien's experiences with the organisation.

When Shania fell ill on October 26, Linmed told Mrs Swan, 30, that her daughter had croup.

The next morning, unhappy with the diagnosis, Mrs Swan, of Andover Close in Birchwood, called her GP and was told Shania had swine flu.

The family felt angry – but more was to follow.

When Shania fell ill on Sunday, a Linmed operator told the family that she did not need to see a doctor.

Worried that more needed to be done, father James Brien rushed to the walk-in centre on Monks Road – where a doctor said Shania had tonsillitis.

Now Mrs Swan is calling for action.

NHS Lincolnshire said: "We are sorry to hear Mrs Swan is unhappy with her daughter's treatment.

"For reasons of patient confidentiality we are unable to comment on specific cases relating to an individual."

For more on the story, see Saturday's Echo.