Oline (1) was attacked by an eagle – sat alone in the emergency room for an hour – news Trøndelag – Local news, TV and radio

Last Saturday, 1.5-year-old Oline was attacked by a golden eagle while she and her two older siblings were playing outside in the yard at home. – I heard a shout – the kind of shout that describes that now things are going wrong. And when I turn around, I see an eagle simply holding Oline down on the ground. Tonje Jakobsen, Oline’s mother, says so. She ended up in a fight with the eagle to get her to drop the roof over her daughter’s head. The golden eagle was euthanized after it attacked and inserted its claws into the back of Oline’s head. Photo: Norwegian Institute for Natural Research – I didn’t have a chance to get the claws free. I just felt that they were going further in, says Tonje. But in the end the eagle let go and they had to call an ambulance. They were then driven to the emergency room in Orkdal municipality, where mother and daughter were shown to a room where they could wait. Sat alone for an hour Here Oline and Tonje sat alone for an hour before the little girl got help. – We were told that a doctor would come later, but it took an hour, explains the mother. Finally, a doctor came in to see the two of them and send a picture of Oline’s injuries to a pediatrician at St. Olav’s hospital. Tonje Jakobsen, Oline’s mother, says it was tough waiting alone with her daughter to get help. Photo: Sunniva Skurtveit / news And then came the counter notification – Oline had to go to the hospital in Trondheim and was put under anesthesia. – It was another shock when I had a seat there for an hour, says Tonje. – If I hadn’t been in shock, I wouldn’t have gone into the emergency room. Then I would have demanded that I should be taken to the hospital when there are head injuries from an eagle claw. Because so much time had passed, Tonje began to think that perhaps what had happened to her daughter was not so dangerous. Sorry it took a long time. At the emergency room in Orkdal municipality, they say that assessments were made of Oline’s injuries on the basis of a handover from the ambulance personnel. – But I regret that it has taken so long, and I want to improve that. That’s according to Anders Jystad, municipal manager for health and coping in Orkland municipality. – It is an emergency room and everyone who is here has an urgent need. Then we make professional assessments based on procedures about who gets help first and who doesn’t, he adds. Municipal manager for health and coping in Orkland municipality, Anders Jystad, says their top priority is looking after the family and Oline. Photo: Sunniva Skurtveit / news – Isn’t a child who has been attacked by an eagle and got its claws into the back of the head an acute injury? – Yes, absolutely. It is absolutely appalling what has happened. And at the same time there is something I am quite unfamiliar with. It’s something I haven’t heard of in many years, if I’ve heard of it at all. But we assess the injuries based on the assessment made by the ambulance and then deal with it accordingly, replies Jystad. – Could there have been a communication failure at one point or another? – Yes. We will investigate all the underlying conditions here, so we keep that option open, says the municipal manager. Main rule to send patients to the emergency department In an e-mail to news, Christoffer Strøm, head of department for AMK and patient travel at St. Olav’s hospital, says that the incident was considered to be an emergency assignment. – This means that the ambulance moves out immediately, but without the use of blue lights, he adds. He further writes that the paramedics carried out examinations and assessed Oline’s need for health care. – Based on their findings and assessments, it was decided that the patient should be taken to the emergency room for further assessment. Ole Marius Vormdal, Tonje Jakobsen and Oline (in the middle). Tonje says it feels safe to be out in the yard where the eagle attacked Oline, but that the family is still struggling mentally. Photo: Sunniva Skurtveit / news Strøm writes that it is also the main rule that patients must be assessed by an emergency room doctor. – Exceptions can be made if there is a need for rapid examination or treatment which can only be carried out in hospital by the specialist health service. – We understand that this has been a demanding situation for the patient and relatives, he writes at the end. The municipal manager in Orkdal says they will investigate in collaboration with St. Olav’s hospital whether there is a point of improvement they can come up with together. – Oline is doing well physically. Oline had to be put under anesthesia so that the doctors could properly examine the wound from the golden eagle. And luckily, the little girl was fine. – I have had great luck and it has gone well. But I didn’t know that then. There was a reason why they wanted to put her under anesthesia, says the mother. The eagle attacked Oline and not the hens at home in the yard at Svorkmo. Photo: Sunniva Skurtveit / news In retrospect, Tonje has thought a lot about what could have happened. – It is certain that the damage to the back of the head went through the skull. But would they have seen anything else in the ambulance? It could happen, we just don’t know. But it does make you feel a little scared. But the incident has seen a shock in Oline and the rest of the family. – It is the psychological part that I struggle with the most. Oline is doing well physically, but there are some behavioral changes. She still reacts a bit to stress and is a bit wary, quite simply. – I hope others don’t have to sit for an hour alone in the emergency room after something like that, says Tonje in the end. Published 18.09.2024, at 09.31



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