A mother has questioned the duty of care at Frome Community Hospital after staff allowed her to walk out with her daughter after she'd had a suspected epileptic seizure.

Emma Southey, of Wren Close, Frome, became seriously concerned about eight-year-old Adelaide, who suddenly became ill on a shopping trip last Saturday afternoon.

The mother-of-two said: "When I took Adelaide to the community hospital we were told to go to Bath, there was no doctor available and no one offered to get an ambulance.

"Adelaide was very disorientated, her eyes were glazed and she wasn't making any sense – it was frightening.

"What sort of health service is that?"

Mrs Southey said her first instinct was to take Adelaide to the nearest hospital, which was Frome, but what happened next shocked her.

The Hayesdown First School pupil was examined by a nurse at Frome, who called the Royal United Hospital, and Mrs Southey was advised to drive Adelaide there for treatment.

She said: "At the time I did as I was told as I was so worried, but by the time we got to the Frome bypass Adelaide deteriorated, she was breathing erratically, her eyes were rolling and she was vomiting."

Mrs Southey called an ambulance from the car and stopped at Adelaide's grandmother's house in Beckington.

She said: "The ambulance arrived within minutes and it had to be escorted to Bath by a fire truck due to the weather conditions.

"Adelaide's father, Adrian, travelled in the ambulance with her and Matthew and I followed in our car."

At the RUH Adelaide was given a brain scan, a lumber puncture and a number of other tests to determine what was wrong.

Mrs Southey said that what has upset her the most is that the hospital "passed the buck and packed us off to Bath".

She said: "My daughter needed urgent medical attention, she could have had meningitis and that 25-minute drive to Bath could have been vital.

"I cannot see the point of spending £15 million on a hospital if it can't help me or any other parent in this type of emergency. What's the point of it?"

Adelaide is now back home and specialists believe she may have a form of child epilepsy, though more tests are due to be carried out.

Mrs Southey, who works as a care assessor, said: "She is doing well but we are keeping a close eye on her and waiting for an appointment for further tests.

"I would like to thank the paramedics and the children's ward at the RUH for what they did for Adelaide, they were amazing with her."

Mrs Southey said she will be sending a formal letter of complaint to the directors of Somerset Primary Care Trust.

A spokesman for Somerset PCT said: "Managers of Frome Hospital were disappointed to hear from the Somerset Standard that the parents of a child brought to the hospital's Minor Injury Unit (MIU) on Saturday, January 9, had been unhappy.

"Frome Hospital MIU provides a nurse-led service, helping patients with minor ailments ranging from a rash to cuts, burns and bruises and broken limbs.

"It is not a service intended to deliver the sort of diagnosis and treatment provided from an accident and emergency department at a large district general hospital, such as the RUH.

"In the case of a child presenting at Frome's MIU, a district hospital paediatrician would be telephoned and their advice sought and acted upon.

"With regard to the child brought to Frome Hospital's MIU on Saturday, January 9, advice was sought by staff from a hospital paediatrician at the RUH and they recommended that the child should be brought to its accident and emergency department, which the parents agreed to do.

"No complaint has been received from the parents regarding their child's care, however hospital managers at Frome would like to remind patients or the public that if they have concerns about NHS treatment or services they can share these with NHS Somerset's Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) by calling 0800 0851 067 during normal office hours."