Shaye Armour: Mum Nicole says she will take legal action

Nicole Armour, 34, told how 13-year-old lad Shaye had to be transferred to a treatment centre in Newcastle after an Edinburgh-based surgeon - whom she says supported her turning to the Telegraph - was suspended.

The mum-of-three says that within 24 hours of Shaye arriving at a Tyneside Hospital he had received the type of wheelchair that NHS Lothian had told her could take up to half-a-year to get for him.

We told last week how Shaye and his mum had been fighting for a wheelchair to help him get around while he awaits surgery for congenital kyphosis scoliosis, a serious condition which causes the spine to bend forward.

The youngster had already spent several weeks at the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People in Edinburgh and Nicole says he faced the prospect of being stuck in a hospital bed there for the next six months due to the lack of a wheelchair.

She told the Tele: "Angry doesn't cover how I am feeling and I'm not going to stand for it.

"I'm determined to take legal action.

"They were feeding him when he was lying in the bed and he was having terrible problems with his digestion. 

"Having the chair would have helped him get up out of bed, see people properly, and engage in some schoolwork."

Just days after our original story was published, Nicole contacted the Tele claiming that Shaye's surgeon, Dr Christopher Adams, had been suspended and that as a result her son would be transferred to Newcastle.

Nicole, who is also mum to Draven, five, and Killian, three, says she was told there was a specialised wheelchair at the Edinburgh hospital but that it had been 'confiscated' from a previous patient and couldn't be used by Shaye. 

She told how Shaye had been fitted with a traction device around his head to try to stretch his neck in preparation for a surgery due to take place in April, and potentially another operation in the autumn, both of which carry risk of paralysis.

NHS Lothian confirmed that wheelchairs for children who have had spinal surgery have to be custom built for each individual child, and that the process could take between three and four months. 

Nicole said: "Dr Adams has been doing Shaye's surgeries since he was four, so he really trusted him and felt comfortable with him. 

"They [NHS Lothian] told me he hadn't been sacked but couldn't comment on whether or not he had been suspended. 

"All I knew was that I couldn't speak to him and that Shaye wouldn't be under his care anymore.

"Removing Dr Adams might not just have had an impact on Shaye but could have an impact on other children and families as well."

Nicole says Shaye was initially 'terrified' when he heard he would be going to another hospital but is now 'doing really well'. 

She says that within 24 hours of Shaye arriving in Newcastle he had received a specialist wheelchair and medics had him up and walking around his room. 

Nicole said: "He's getting on so much better. 

"It just shows you what can be done. 

"I know he has the right equipment for everything he needs now. 

"They're going to do their own x-rays and find out when they can do the surgery.

"I'm still so angry about everything that happened at the other hospital and I'm still going to sue."

NHS Lothian declined to comment on Nicole's intention to take legal action against the health board.

In relation to the situation with Dr Christopher Adams, Dr Tracey Gillies, Medical Director at NHS Lothian, said: "We do not comment on individual members of staff.

"If a clinician was not to be at work for any reason, patients and their families would be told and their case would be reassigned to another surgeon, as soon as possible - particularly if it was time sensitive. 

"In cases of a specialist service, it can often be necessary to link in with the closest centre to ensure the patient is cared for appropriately."