To expect an on call doc to be in here in under 7 hours

[limpingbint]

and to not have a go at me when she gets here.

At 5 this morning my DD had a fit - she id a diabetic and has been diagnosed with epilepsy - There was no need for an ambulance but she took a long time to rouse and I just wanted to have her checked over. She was sick a lot and i have 3 other children (as well as her friend staying on a sleep over)so didn't want to put her in a car and take her 10 miles into town.

The doc has now been and immediately had a go at me because our house was no very easy to find (i told her to take it up with the county council) she then checked dd over and asked about her diet - i told her the fits she had had a while ago had gone after we switched onto a coeliac diet - she then started warning about the dangers of this diet of she was not diagnosed with coeliacs (which she is) - she then told me it would have been better for me to have taken her into the hospital - I never ever call the doc - I know they are stretched but she could see how many children i had here and she only stopped being sick a little while ago.

Just a horrible experience in which I am meant to feel bad for calling in the first place......

Sorry about the rant but I am not a panicky Mum or a flake and I was really surprised how mean she was.

Thats awful, limpingbint! Absolutely no need to be nasty with you, you obviously called because you didn't have the option of going in...

Just makes me crazy - even with a child with such health probs I have called them in her life i think under 5 times - she was really insensitive.

It has really upset me.

WHen she left DD said to me 'even though she is a doctor isn't very nice is she Mummy' - DD has a very high opinion of Docs

Bloody out of hours - used to be so much better when you could see someone from your own surgery

FFS - you can't win can you? Ambulance, A & E your draining the resources. Sensibly assessing your DD and calling for medical advice and you don't live in the right house or have the right diet. .

Limpingbint YANBU. The GP sounds rude. Hope DD is feeling better soon.

DD is so much better - she is a remarkable child who has a lot of health problems and does not make a fuss - I am a sensible Mummy and know a fair bit medically - I was trying to make a measured response to what happened - calling an ambulance is all very well but it really scares dd and ramps up a drama about her health that she just doesn't need.

I was trying to be low key - how unfortunate she became ill in the early hours of the weekend.

Complain complain complain. Find out the name of the head of OOH and complain complain complain.

I may do Tee - hadn't thought of that - I cannot tell how grateful I am to have the NHS - my DD has good care and our own GPs are amazing as is our Health Visitor - I just refuse to feel bad about calling a Doc when we need one - Ironically the doc spent longer outside our house after she finished here than she spent inside with DD!

If you didn't have the other kids there would you have taken her to the hospital?

Where I live the oncall Dr works out of hte hospital afetr hours. So you ring your GP but its not someone from the GP's surgery that comes out. The Dr has the whole city plus villages on the outskirts to cover.

I've rung for my dad before who has a very rare and very serious autoimmune disorder which can kill him when he has a relapse. I rang them once when he had a relapse as they can assess him and then he can be admitted straight into hospital and we can bypass a&e. I would rather have him barely concious in his own bed for a few hours than barely concious in a&e for 6-7 hours as happened once.

It does seem to be very understaffed/resourced but not the individual Drs fault. I suppose they have to prioritise. I guess someone who is so ill and unable to come into hospital will take priority over someone who is OK now but needs checking over. They have to go and see any termianlly ill patients etc who may need morphine. I think you may be better off next time going to a&e, she could probably get checked over by a high level nurse and you won't need to wait to see the Dr. They do that in our local a&e now and if you're happy to see the nurse the waiting time is a lot less.

Does sound like the Dr had an attitude problem though.

To be honest it wouldn't have been safe because she was drowsy and vomiting and her blood sugars were all over the place ( I had to give her a glucagen injection also) so no I don't think I would have because she requires a lot of monitoring initially. Maybe later on I would have when she stopped being sick - I just find going to the out of hours place which is in A and E is a massive drama and when DD has so many health problems I try to make my reaction proportionate and not panic her.

Doh - meant to put when I rang for my dad I rang about 10:00am and they weren't there till 3:00pm, that was with someone who could potentially die if they don't get IV abx in him asap.

To be honest the wait wasn't the issue so much as her attitude when she got here - I do expect to wait of course but I don't expect to be made to feel bad for a service I pay for.

Most of our other health care is on private health insurance so we are not a huge burden on the system.

Bloody hell Viva that is scary

and I did not complain to her about being so long - I really wouldn't dream of that

She probably doesn't have kids herself and maybe just hasn't a clue/is unable to put herself in your shoes to think what it would be like for you with 4 kids to go to a&e one of who may be vomiting.

I'm not saying that ringing hte out of hours Dr was wrong but I think there has been a bit of a shift recently towards what the out of hours provision is expected to be for. The Drs see it as purely for people who are physically unable or too ill to get to hospital. If you can get to a&e they prefer that. It is cheaper for the NHS if you go to be seen in a&e than the Dr come to your house. When I was a kid one of the GPs in the village surgery would be on call and come to peoples houses for this sort of stuff at night/weekends but they don't anymore.

Hope your DD is feeling lots better now, must have been worrying when she had a fit. And of course I'm sure the worry that she may have another fit is another reason you wouldn't have wanted to go to a&e.
Wouldn't have been good if she'd had another fit in the car. But again the Dr probably didn't think of that. Just put it down to a Dr with a poor bedside manner and maybe ask your GP for advice about what they think you should do next time. They should know your DD's health concerns well and be able to advise.