A horrified mother of three was left fearing for the life of her baby girl after Tesco wrongly mixed up antibiotic medicine for her ear infection.
Little Paisley Thomas, who is 23 months old, was prescribed a repeat prescription of an antibiotic called erythromycin, which she has used 12 times before, for her ear infection.
Mum Becky, 27, had the tutti-frutti flavour prescription dispensed at Tesco pharmacy on Christmas Eve and started the course immediately.
She said: “Paisley’s been on this prescription 12 times in her life- and I’d never seen her like that before.
“She was being sick, she had diarrhoea and it was like she was struggling to breathe- she wasn’t eating or drinking, I was really scared for her life.
“I went to give her the fourth dose and she was lifeless and so ill. I looked at the bottle and the medicine was all congealed and powdery white, not like it’s meant to be.
“Normally it’s like a clear, runny liquid. I thought it looked a bit syrupy and there didn’t seem much in the bottle, but I didn’t think to query it.
Becky brought the medicine, which is normally effective within 72 hours – home and gave baby Paisley four doses until the next day – Christmas day.
She said: “It’s not rocket science, you mix up 100ml of water with the prescription liquid, I’ve had to do it myself sometimes.”
Becky, who is a stay at home mum, said that the ordeal ruined Christmas day for her other children, Finley, 4, and Marley 3.
She said: “The other kids were upset, they wanted to open their presents and had been really excited until they saw Paisley- and they didn’t understand what was wrong.
“I called NHS direct and they told me to come straight to hospital- my dad drove me and Paisley in straight away, obviously he was really worried about his granddaughter.
“We were seen straight away and the doctor said that Paisley’s medicine had definitely been mixed wrongly so they put her on some antibiotics.
“The doctor said the medicine had not been mixed with enough water and it was far too strong. We had been overdosing poor Paisley without realising it.
“It was Christmas day, so we weren’t able to go to a pharmacy and get the medicine, so Paisley had to go overnight without any medicine.
“The hospital saw that she was struggling to breathe and gave her a blue pump called a Nebuliser which she had to take for the next 10 days.
“Her temperature reached 39.9, which is really, really high- she had a fever and she was breathing slower, she wasn’t getting better so I took her to the GP.”
Becky went to her local doctor and attended an emergency appointment on the 27th, worried about Paisley’s condition.
She said: “The GP just didn’t show any interest, they wouldn’t listen to what I was saying, so I took her home and she got worse.
“She was totally lifeless, I called 111 because that’s what I’ve always done and I totally trust them – they sent over a response ambulance straight away.”
The ambulance arrived at about 1pm on the 27th and found Paisley to have severely low blood sugar, so drove her back to Milton Keynes hospital.
Becky said: “At hospital, they gave her a Glucogel to raise her blood sugar but it didn’t work. I’ve been keeping a close eye on her since and have phoned Tesco to complain.
“They just don’t seem that concerned. I want the matter fully investigated as what happened was dangerous. I also want an apology for our Christmas being ruined.
“The general manager I’ve phoned has been totally useless and hasn’t helped or apologised at all- last time we spoke, he said he’s not handling the matter anymore and that he’s forwarded it to the legal team.
“Paisley still isn’t 100% and her brothers just want their sister back to normal again.
“This has made me totally lose my trust in Tesco and I definitely won’t ever be going back to them ever again.”
A spokesman for Tesco said: “Tesco: “We’re extremely sorry for the upset and concern caused to Becky and her daughter.
“We are in contact with Becky and are urgently investigating this incident. We will update her with our findings.”
Tesco have since admitted liability and their insurance company have paid Becky £850 in compensation.
Becky said: “I think it’s a bit of an insult really, considering they ruined Christmas. Well, I don’t know how to feel yet.”
Baby Paisley lives with her two brothers, mum Becky and her parents Jo, 49 and Andy, 51 in Bletchley, Milton Keynes.
