A mum has blasted the "ludicrous" situation in which her disabled daughter was turned away from Queen Mary’s because they were told there was no available hoist.

Karen Airey, of Birchington Close, Bexleyheath, was due to take Holly, who has cerebral palsy and is quadriplegic, in for an ultrasound to investigate why the 13-year-old has had a period every day since Christmas.

The GP arranged the appointment the week before because of his concern about the ongoing bleeding and Mrs Airey cancelled Holly’s respite care for that day.

The 54-year-old rang the hospital the day before just to check the radiology department had a hoist to lift Holly out of her wheelchair and was mistakenly informed there was none in the whole department.

She was also told to rearrange the appointment for Queen Elizabeth’s Hospital in Woolwich.

Mrs Airey, who works as a teacher at Shenstone School in Crayford, rung around a dozen times to book the new appointment and struggled to do so before eventually getting an appointment the week after.

News Shopper: Queen Mary's Hospital will be under new management from October 1.

She told News Shopper: "I feel let down by everyone.

"It’s an important appointment - they need to know if there’s an underlying reason why she’s bleeding. 

"I think it’s ludicrous. It means I’ve spent the last few days just ringing people up trying to get another appointment and I still haven’t got anywhere."

An spokeswoman for Dartford and Gravesham NHS Trust, which provides radiology at Queen

"We would like to offer our apologies for the misinformation provided to Ms Airey regarding the absence of a hoist in the Radiology Department at Queen Mary’s. 

"We are happy to confirm that there is a hoist, which although was temporarily out of action, is now in full working order. 

"The use of a hoist in the Ultrasound department is extremely rare and this may have caused the recent confusion."