Gran Paula Robbins fears she could be left with a permanent stoop after doctors in A&E sent her home with a fractured back.

She suffered the injury in a bad fall down stairs, and was left hobbling around in agony for three weeks before Medway Maritime Hospital reviewed her case and called her back in for treatment.

The 61-year-old has since been fitted with a chest brace after an X-ray revealed a fractured vertebra in the middle of her spine.

The previously sprightly grandmother of three said she had now been told she could face walking with a stoop.

Ambulance crews took her to hospital after she plunged from top to bottom of the steep flight while babysitting for her daughter in Wainscott.

She was examined, X-rayed and discharged back to her home in Admiralty Terrace, Upnor, with a course of painkillers.

She then contracted a chest infection which compounded her condition, and in desperation she went to her GP who prescribed antibiotics.

Then “out of the blue” came a letter from the hospital asking her to report back to casualty as soon as possible.

Mrs Robbins returned the following Monday and was there for six hours while she was put through the entire admission process again.

She said: “When I was told about the break I was in shock. It makes you think what the situation would have been if I had been admitted and not sent home.

“Would I still be faced with walking with a stoop?

“I was walking round, doing my chores and looking after the children.

"My message would be: go with your gut instinct" - Paula Robbins

“I just thought it was a case of managing my pain. After all, I was told everything was all clear, I was OK to go home. There was no follow-up appointment.”

Mrs Robbins, who is married to Eric, 64, said: “My message would be: go with your gut instinct.

“I know they are the experts, but go for a second opinion if you don’t think things are right.

She said: “I have a strong pain threshold, but I was taking painkillers every two hours for three weeks and it was not getting any better.

“I appreciate there has to be a safety net, so all X-rays are reviewed, but three weeks is not acceptable in my eyes.”

A Medway NHS Foundation Trust spokesman said: "I apologise if Mrs Robbins is unhappy with her care.

“Our emergency department X-rays are reviewed twice as a matter of course, once by the doctor or nurse seeing the patient and a second time by a radiologist or reporting radiographer to ensure no injuries or subtle changes are missed.

“If this second review detects any minor abnormalities then we will contact the patient to ask them to come back to hospital for additional care.

“This ‘double check’ system is recognised good practice across the NHS and is particularly beneficial to patients who have minor fractures, which are often very hard to detect, such as many spinal fractures.

“If Mrs Robbins would like to get in touch with the team, we are keen to talk to her in more detail about her concerns.”

Mrs Robbins made headlines in January after her eight-year-old grandson Oscar raised the alarm following the accident at his home in Wainscott Road.

The quick-thinking schoolboy dialled 999 after his gran fell while getting a dummy for his cousin Buddy.