Terminally ill Scots baby hotel staff refused to help pictured for first time

Baby Charlie was denied use of a life saving device he needs at the Duck Bay Hotel. The business has since faced a backlash.

A terminally ill baby who was refused help by a luxury hotel that has since been hit by a wave of criticism has been pictured for the first time.

Baby Charlie and his family, who gave permission for the tot to be pictured, were visiting Duck Bay Hotel on the banks of Loch Lomond when they were denied plugging in a life saving nebuliser – a device that turns a liquid containing medication into a fine mist to breathe in.

Bosses from Duck Bay have since said they are “truly sorry” in a public apology following the incident over the weekend.

Charlie, who lives with a tracheostomy, is currently staying with his parents at Robin House Children’s Hospice just a few miles down the road in Balloch.

His parents, from Edinburgh, had decided to take the tot to the popular loch side venue for family time and spent £40 on coffee and cakes.

They were left horrified after they were denied use of a plug socket to switch on Charlie’s life saving machine. They have since shared pictured of their son with Edinburgh Live.

Charlie’s uncle, Bradley Raynham, took to social media blasting the hotel, calling it an “embarrassment of a place” and the post went viral.

Bradley said: “My sister and fiancé are currently residing at Robin House Children’s Hospice as my nephew is receiving end of life care there. He is a little over 3 months old and every minute of every day is a blessing with him just now.

“He has a tracheostomy which he breathes through and every so often he needs a nebuliser which is essentially vaporised water that’s like steam that helps clear his airways to help him breathe.

“They went to this absolute embarrassment of a place, as they’re trying to do nice things and make every day Charlie has left special.

“It got to the time Charlie needed his nebuliser so as the restaurant was so busy, they asked at the reception of the hotel if they could use one of the plug sockets so he could get this.

“While they’re holding him in their arms they were told “no we don’t do this here”. Even after explaining the situation they weren’t interested one bit.

“They had to leave and get back to the hospice immediately so they could give him the nebuliser.”

Bradley added: “How in this day and age can ANY place turn someone away for something like this. Especially after being there and spending money. Literally holding a baby in their arms who needs this.

“Not really going to make a massive difference but hopefully this gets shared far and wide and nobody bothers to go and spend their money there. In the nicest way possible I hope the place rots and none of the staff are ever in a situation like this with their extremely ill child.”

Hotel bosses issued an apology in response to Bradley’s post, saying many members of staff were “devastated” to hear how the family was treated.

A spokesperson said: “Duck Bay Marina have recently been made aware of an incident which occurred earlier today and would like to profusely apologise for what happened.

“The incident involved a junior member of staff who has recently joined the company, acting without guidance, who entirely misunderstood and misjudged a situation.

“We are deeply upset at how this incident was handled and we are truly sorry for the upset it has caused.

“It is in absolutely no way a reflection of the values of Duck Bay Marina or our hard working staff, many of whom are devastated by the incident. A full investigation will follow and the necessary remedial action will be taken.

“We have made contact with both Robin House and Charlie’s parents to offer a personal apology and to reassure them that the incident is completely unacceptable and will be dealt with as a matter of urgency.

“As long time supporters of local charities we will certainly make amends for the incident and will take the opportunity to review our training and procedures to ensure such an incident is never repeated.

“We are also aware of social media posts and comments regarding the incident.

“Whilst we completely understand people’s reaction to what happened, we would like to remind you that this is an incident involving a very inexperienced young person who has made a mistake, they are absolutely devastated by what has happened and how they have handled things.”