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

A Queensland hospital has been accused of failing to detect a button battery lodged in the throat of a one-year-old girl, sending her into an induced coma suffering from internal burns to her esophagus.

Parents Danielle Buchanan and Gemma Goltzow have taken their daughter, Amity, to Mackay Hospital, after they suspected she swallowed a polystyrene pill on Monday afternoon while she was vomiting and choking.

Amity was examined by a doctor with a stethoscope before sending the little girl home without an x-ray, which along with her parents led them to believe she had a stomach bug.

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 were given a referral from our GP, presented to an emergency triage team, and told to be seated,” Ms. Goltzow told Sunrise on Thursday.

We were standing at the doors thinking they would come right away, but we were waiting and waiting and waiting.

We kept having to fight and fight to get any kind of x-ray or care.

Doctors in the emergency room finally X-rayed the girl, and a battery was found in her throat.

By then, the stabilized battery had caused an 8cm burn in Amity’s throat. She was taken to Townsville Hospital for a two-hour operation to remove it before being airlifted to a Brisbane hospital.

Friendship has been placed in an induced coma, and is being fed through a tube.

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

“If (the doctor) had just done an X-ray then and there, she would probably be herself happy and healthy at home by now,” said Mr. Buchanan.

It’s in the wars right now. Only time will tell when you get out of it.

I’m so angry. What will it take?

Ms Gultzow provided an update on the status of Amity in Brisbane on Thursday morning.

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

Ms. Lang implored other parents to trust their instincts when their child fell ill and fight for the care they deserved.

Just trust him, and don’t be afraid to fight for your child. It doesn’t matter, just use your instincts to give your child the best you can. That is all it can do.’

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

You will not be able to eat for the next 4-6 weeks. The biggest risk is infection, so the hospital is taking all necessary precautions for our little girl,” her dad wrote at an online fundraiser.

“All of this could have been prevented if she had been X-Rayed right away, and the damage that’s been done and what she’s going through at the moment is from neglect and being there for so long.”

Mackay Peace Hospital says it is reviewing Amity’s condition.

“The information provided to the hospital was that a polystyrene pill had been swallowed, and this would not have shown up on the X-ray,” a statement read.

We do not routinely perform medical imaging of children who have swallowed a transparent foreign body if their clinical presentation is normal.

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