Despite doctor's order

Chad Bryan, Staff Reporter

The mother of a promising young child athlete is accusing her daughter's school of forcing her injured child to compete in the recently concluded Institute of Sports/Seprod Primary School Athletics Championships, despite a doctor advising against it.

According to the child's mother, her daughter, who was champion girl last year at the school, had been complaining of feeling pains in her leg.

The mother, Bianca Thompson, went to the school and gave them a letter provided by physician Dr Jephthah Ford, which stated that the child under no circumstances should be running in any event.

muscle group

Dr Ford, in examining the child, diagnosed that, "the whole muscle group essentially appeared to have been torn off the bone."

According to Thompson, she allowed the school to carry her child to the championships with the express belief that her daughter would not compete.

"They said they would take her to the event but it is just to watch. I didn't have a problem with that. However, she ran three times in three days. She got injured in both thighs and is feeling pain in her groin," Thompson said, accusing the school of being negligent.

Speaking with THE STAR, the child shyly expressed that she was forced into competing.

vice-principal

When the school was contacted for a comment, the principal was said to be out of office. The school's vice-principal, when questioned about the entire incident, declined to comment and responded emphatically with a "no comment" to the questions posed.

Meanwhile, when the Institute of Sports was contacted yesterday, meet director, Anthony Gibbs, revealed that a student is only prevented from competing in these championships, if a medical report is produced and in the case of this child none was produced.

Director of corporate communications at the Education Ministry, Byron Buckley, said the ministry has a report on the matter and is conducting an investigation.