A FOUR-YEAR-OLD was made to wait at Southampton General Hospital for nearly 24 hours for an emergency operation on a broken arm.

Charlie Parker did not eat for 12 hours and was not offered painkillers by a member of hospital staff according to his angry parents.

Staff also lost Charlie's X-rays and medical records during his stay.

Hospital chiefs have launched an investigation into a complaint made by the youngster's parents.

Charlie Parker senior, 52, and his wife Tina, 26, of Franklyn Avenue, Sholing, Southampton, say a breakdown in communication between staff at the hospital left them tired and frustrated.

Charlie's ordeal began on Monday when he was taken by Mr and Mrs Parker to the hospital to check on the progress of his arm which he had broken two weeks before when he fell of his tricycle.

When they arrived at the hospital, they were told by a surgeon that the break was not healing properly and Charlie needed an emergency operation.

Mr and Mrs Parker were then told that no bed was available in the hospital's children's ward but were offered a bed for Charlie in the children's specialist cancer unit which they turned down.

Mr Parker said: "We did not want to subject him to anything like that but we were told to take it or leave it."

The couple said they indicated that Charlie would need painkillers but Mr Parker claims they were never offered any. Eventually, the couple bought some from a local chemist.

Finally, after Mr Parker complained, Charlie was admitted to the children's ward. But the family's nightmare was far from over.

After waiting until 5pm, staff told Mr Parker that they could not find his X-rays or medical records and a new set had to be prepared.

At 7.30pm, the family thought Charlie would finally be operated on but further delays meant he was not in the operating theatre until 9.15am the next day.

Mr Parker had to leave the hospital at 10pm to look after the couple's other children but Mrs Parker stayed with Charlie the entire night until his operation on Tuesday (Oct 2).

Mr Parker has now made a formal complaint to the hospital. He said: "We were both tired and totally frustrated. That little fellow had been without food or drink all that time."

The news comes two weeks after Southampton University Hospitals Trust was awarded two stars in new government tables which are aimed at providing a benchmark for excellence in NHS Trusts. The trust was said to have missed "by a whisker" a top three star rating placing it outside the top 25 hospitals in the country.

A spokesman from Southampton General Hospital said: "Charlie had to wait for a bed because the children's wards were extremely busy.

"There was a delay in the notes being transferred between the outpatient clinic and the children's ward, but they had arrived before Charlie's operation on the Tuesday morning.

"Mr Parker has made a formal complaint and we are investigating all of the circumstances relating to Charlie's treatment. We are sorry that Mr & Mrs Parker are unhappy about the service they received but obviously cannot comment further until our investigation has been completed."