Grande Prairie RCMP are investigating after a 12-year-old boy was assaulted over the weekend – and the boy’s family is speaking out against the provincial health system, as the boy’s most serious injuries went untreated for several days.

The victim, Thomas Seidel, was allegedly attacked by a group of teens late last week. He suffered a broken jaw and underwent surgery on Wednesday.

The boy’s family told CTV News the boy was put on a list for surgery Monday.

His grandmother has issued a letter to Alberta's Health Minister Fred Horne, expressing her concerns over how long it took for her grandson to receive the surgery. 

“If the Grande Prairie Hospital couldn’t do the surgery than he should have been moved to Edmonton,” Cathy Rode said in a phone interview with CTV News. “You do not ask a 12-year-old boy to endure pain for five days.”

Alberta Health Services has since apologized to the family for what happened.

“When I spoke to the mom yesterday, the first thing I said to her was an apology,” Dr. Kevin Worry with AHS said. “I apologized because I think we would always want our kids treated sooner than in this case.”

Worry said a large and unexpected number of emergency surgeries bumped the boy’s procedure back.

Police say the family reported the incident on Saturday.

At last word, no arrests had been made at this point.