5hr Wait to see a Dr with sick child - how are we at this point

@IAmADancer , how is your DD?

afew years ago DS had a nasty accident at school that meant he had bent loose (adult) teeth and a large gash to his chin and lip. It looked like blood was pouring from his mouth (obviously mixed with salvia) we wait ed in a&e 6 hours , ds couldn’t eat and struggled to drink. There was no doctor, they had to pop down from adult a&e sporadically. The doctor we eventually saw did not know what to do , he rang a children’s hospital (45 min away) for advise. Couldn’t stitch /tape it by then so he basically told us to purée food and got us an appointment at the children’s hospital the next day. The children’s hospital were fantastic and saved his teeth, they were appalled the cuts weren’t treated at all and DS has significant scarring to his chin now.
Our local hospital is a 5 minute drive from our house, I will drive 30 min to minor injuries or 45 min to children’s or 35 min to a different towns a&e now rather than go there (based on several negative experiences) Never waited more than 1 hour at the other 3 hospitals.

How is your dd now op? I hope you have seen the dr?

It’s awful isn’t it. My 1 year old DS had a history of Bronchiolitis last year, the worst experience we had was waiting to be moved up to a ward for 9 hours. The poor thing had to sleep in his pram all night hooked up to obs monitor 😢

I hope your DD is feeling better asap

I think this started prior to the Tories being in government when Tony Blair changed all the GP contracts meaning that GPs no longer had to provide a round the clock service.

The problem we have now is that there are three gateways to treatment, the GP. 111 and A and E.
it can be very difficult to get a GP appointment,111 can be helpful but will often just send you off to A and E. Years ago those sitting in A and E would probably have had a home visit for the duty doctor.

Hope your child has now been seen and has had treatment that is started to help get her well again.

As to the how we got here, 14 years of Tory government. As to whether it is seen as acceptable, well those who don't vote, support the Tories or Reform, they think it is or of lesser priority than other things, or it does not affect them as they have no children who are not now adults.

This I’m afraid. Countries that have great public services pay for them. And hope things are a bit better now.

How are you getting on OP? I’ve had blood taken, and CT scan done. I’m now just waiting for a bed to open up on a ward. I’m also going to be given antibiotics as a precaution.

I hope you’re ok

Hope she is seen soon

Hope your DD is ( or soon will be) ok OP 💐💐💐

This is a result of years of political decisions.

the rich elite want you to pay that’s why, and then the public have consistently voted for tax cuts rather than public services.

You’re right to get her checked. Shame there isn’t a children’s section. There is at my local hospital and even if the wait is the same, it’s a much nicer environment to wait in. 5hr wait is probably what i’d expect really at this time of year. It’s not ideal but definitely good to get her checked than wait until the morning. Especially if a doctor is advising that. Hope she is ok OP.

Suspected meningitis is an emergency.

As it doesn't sound like either an "accident" or "emergency", you're probably low priority.

It’s terrible @IAmADancer Your poor dc.

What a shambles the NHS is now

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

I was in A&E yesterday, called 111 and they had me in an ambulance within 20 minutes I have just been diagnosed with angina. But I had a very severe reaction to one of the drugs that’s I had been taking for just 2 days and had spent 14 hours vomiting bile and couldn’t even keep a tiny sip of water down. I did also have chest pains that couldn’t be controlled by my GTN spray. I had 2 ECG, bloods, saw cardiologist, slept in a bed for 2 hours, IV anti nausea drugs, IV fluids, morphine, and a new prescription, discharged after 8 hours. The staff said it was unusually quiet so I got lucky,

Just spoke to a friend of mine in America and he said without insurance that trip would be at least $20,000.

Hope your DD is ok

My friend’s mum was in A & E for 30 hours. She went because she was struggling to breathe. They wanted to admit her but there were no beds, so they sent her home. She’s evidently caught something nasty and is back there waiting.

I hope your DD is being seen OP

'can’t put chin to her neck as it hurts'

This along with her other symptoms suggest this could potentially be quite serious.

Apologies for my ignorance I don't know how things work in A&E atm...has your child been triaged yet?

My daughter sat in emergency for 10 hours with a cut to the bone while she was terrified she was going to bleed out after being transported there by ambulance (she wasn't going to bleed out, the ambos bandaged it up to hold it as best they could before getting her to hospital).
It kind of is the norm these days. 5 hours is a lot 10 was excessive.

Yanbu

Oh but the NHS blah blah bullshit

We are A&E regulars and are always seen right away as it’s a priority. In my experience, when it’s a genuine emergency, they are on it. When it’s something that could have been managed by a GP or just needs review by a doctor and there are no big red flags, it’s a long wait.

As frustrating as it is, it’s a good sign that you’re not seen as a priority.

In any event, hope you are seen soon, your DD is well and you are back home very soon!

ETA - my post was trying to bring you comfort during a stressful time. Based on the other posts on this thread, not at all trying to dismiss the possibility your daughter could be unwell.

Also sorry I meant to say, DD never got a rash. It never developed. It was the only one out of the "typical" meningitis symptoms that she didn't develop (she had the stiff neck, headache, vomiting, couldn't look at light etc).

Just something to be mindful of OP

Had a very similar situation when my eldest DD was 11. Almost identical symptoms. Sat in A and E for 4 hours, the doctor finally saw her, glanced over her (did no tests). Said it was a virus and packed us off home

Very long story short it wasn't a virus. It was meningitis. And because the meningococcal bacteria (neisseria meningitidis) spread through her body due to no treatment, she ended up with sepsis (it infected her blood), cellulitis (it infected her skin) and septic arthritis (it infected her hip joint).

By the time I got them to actually listen to me and admit her, she couldn't walk at all, use her arm, and was very very unwell.

Even when they finally listened the fourth time I took her for medical help, we still had to wait 5 hours in A and E with DD in a wheelchair.

Ultimately turned out she didn't just have meningitis (and the other stuff) but she had (what was classified at the time as) the most deadly form of meningitis.

Just a virus though.

Please, please listen to your mammy instincts.