Emergency appointment for head injury

[xanderer]

Hi Just had to kick up a big fuss to be seen at 5.10pm for my 2 year old who had caught his head on the corner of a sharp edge.
The surgery told me they were full and tried to send me to a and e 8 miles away which has no paeds department. Also the other option is minor injury unit 16 miles away.
Apparently they can send people away with head injuries as it is an emergency and can be dealt with in a and e.
The only other options we have are out of hours gp service and again the gp can ask to see you at minor injuries unit which is 16 miles away. The other walk in centre is 5 miles away but nurse led and in a different pct.
Is this reasonable and have I got cause to take issue over this and who would I do that with?
really feel like changing surgeries but I am not sure if i can move into a different borough as we are right on the border. I just imagine the gps services on the other side of the border might be a bit better. I am not feeling good about this.....any help gratefully received as a bit concerned of getting repeat performance next time we have a bump. The drs at this surgery are really good so prob. a bit loathed to change - just they are very busy and the emergency side of thing is a bit rubbish. I have spoken to practice manager but I am not writing a letter to them for fear of recrimination.

Agree with everyone else on this thread.

GP is not the place for children with head injuries. Doesn't matter if the hospital has a paeds dept either - the a& e staff will be able to assess the severity of your dss head injury and if he needs admitting for observation then they will arrange to transfer to a hospital with the appropriate facilities.

The reason he needs to be seen in hospital is as others have said - if there are any worrying symptoms / signs / circumstances surrounding his injury he will need assessment with a ct scan. Which is not available in a GP surgery.

Either call NHS direct for advice as to whether he actually needs to go to A&E or get yourself there.

I suspect that the fact your child has a head injury and you are posting on here rather than taking him to A&E points to a childhood incident you may have had, where you banged your head and your mother wondered...

Dd2 had a nasty fall last weekend so I know what it is like. I took her straight to a & e where she admitted to childrens ward for observation after vomiting and drowsiness. A gp would not have done. I know it is 8 miles away but you need to correct equipment.

I agree with everybody else. I hope the fact that you haven't come back to this thread means that you took your child to A&E.

I took my child to the doctors after doing an emergency stop as I was neurotic worried. They sent me away saying they can't see children who have been in a road accident.

A&E A&E A&E A&E as an ex A&E Nursing Sister there is no other place I would ever consider taking my child with a head injury (or an adult patient) Head Injury patients can appear well and detoiate quickly.If you are well after we have done all the necessary investigations we will be moe than happy to send you home with advice.If you are not well then you ae in the correct place as quickly as possible.NEVER Hesitate paticularly with children,trust your mothering(or fathering) instinct it will never let you down.If your wrong nobody will give you into trouble we will just be happy your child is well and send you home,you are not bothering us ITS Our Job and the most wonderful thing still about our Great NHS Is that its still free and avaliable to all.Much love hope you are both well (As a mum we are always a bit unwell worrying about our children...Myself included)Karen x

He was fine. It was a minor injury imo - deep small cut and broken skin and no concussion. Though I am not a Dr I have some experience of these things. GP did see him - he needed some superglue. We have a large med centre.
Just really interesting to see what others felt about this.

I suppose my concern is that surgeries are not offering any medical care for emergencies not even a triage service when they are busy and they are often the closest place to go if you are rural especially at rush hour.

I am concerned my GP does not do angioplasty and has no heli-pad.

oh mine does, you must live in a downmarket area

They don't offer triage services for emergencies because those services are provided at A&E.

A&E is for emergencies. The clue is in the name.

ANd you don't have to take your child to a childrens A&E either. Our nearest A&E doesn't have that - just ONE department.

Glad he is ok though.

Glad all is well,but I am moving to where Clevercloggs lives but only if he also does open heart surgery (under local and painfree) Karen x