A FIVE-year-old girl was left bleeding and in severe pain after being wrongly prescribed a vaginal pessary by a physician associate, a report found today.

The Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman detailed the case of the girl, who was taken to a GP practice in the East Midlands in March 2023 with itching and vaginal discharge.

A physician associate (PA) suspected thrush and recommended a clotrimazole vaginal pessary and cream.

Her mother questioned the treatment but was reassured it was appropriate.

After the pessary was administered, the girl began to bleed and scream in pain.

The ombudsman found the prescription was inappropriate, as the child’s symptoms were consistent with vulvovaginitis rather than thrush and a pessary is unsuitable for a five-year-old.

It also found no supervised discussion had taken place between the GP and PA, as required, since PAs do not have independent prescribing rights.

The girl’s mother said: “I had huge guilt for doing what the PA, who I thought was a GP, told me and feeling as if I had inflicted this trauma on my daughter.

“The prescription went through three professionals and no one picked it up or questioned why this was being given to a child.

“My daughter is neurodivergent, so it has been even harder for her to move on from the harm this caused. I don’t think she will ever move on from it.”

Last year, a government-ordered review recommended PAs be banned from seeing patients not first reviewed by a doctor, after finding they had been used as substitutes despite significantly less training.

The Royal College of GPs has said PAs should not see any children under 16.

British Medical Association council deputy chairwoman Dr Emma Runswick said the role of PAs in general practice is unsafe.

“It is particularly concerning that the child’s mother believed her daughter had been seen by a GP when she had in fact been assessed by a physician associate,” she said.

“There must be clear limits on the scope of practice, greater transparency for patients and robust supervision arrangements to ensure no other child or family experiences harm like this again.”

The ombudsman said the GP practice and pharmacy involved in the case have taken action to prevent it from happening again.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said it was working to implement the review’s recommendations.