A Wimbledon mother has launched a national campaign for more thorough health checks on newborn babies - two years after doctors treating her daughter failed to pick up a life-changing condition.

The daughter of Quintin Road resident, Oonagh Keith, 44, was born in January 2008 with a serious hip problem that required her to be put in a full-body cast and could lead to a lifetime of operations.

But two-year-old Siomha Keith left St George’s Hospital, Tooting without having had the check up that could have assisted doctors in diagnosing her condition - developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH).

It was only when she was a year old that Mrs Keith realised there was a problem. Medics at Great Ormond Street Hospital later spotted her hip was dislocated and conducted a three and half hour operation to create a new hip socket.

On Friday, Mrs Keith shared a stage with Health Secretary Andy Burnham and the Prime Minister's wife Sarah Brown at the Royal College of Midwives' (RCM) annual conference in Manchester, to call for standardised hip checks at hospitals across the country.

Mrs Keith said: “A year ago people were saying I didn’t know what I was talking about and I’d draw blank looks from people in the medical field. It’s taken a long time to gain respect.

“Anger about what happened to Siomha is a wasted emotion, but what helps me now is knowing that we’re helping to move this issue forward.”

Following Siomha's diagnosis, Mrs Keith became involved with the charity Steps, allowing her to hear from many other parents with similar experiences.

Children who are given a later diagnosis, after just eight weeks, may be subjected to months in a body cast and several operations.

Find out more at steps-charity.org.uk.

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