To not take dd to fracture clinic

[VivaLeBeaver]

i probably am aren't I?

She broke her little finger a few days ago while we were on holiday. Not a bad break and not into the joint. The hospital in Wales was very nice and strapped it up and told me to ring up my home town hospital fracture clinic and get her seen a week after the break. The nurse said they'd want to check for malrotation, ie that when she bends her finger it isn't wonky.

So I ring up hospital back home. They won't make an appt in fracture clinic until I turn up at our local a&e and endure the usual 7 hour wait. Only when dd has been seen by their a&e will she get an appt at their fracture clinic.

I reckon I can keep checking her finger to see if it's in line or not. Keep it strapped for six weeks..........is that bad? How serious is a little finger break? I never had to go to fracture clinic when I broke my big toe.

yes, I'm afraid you are BU IMO, you need to take her

Of course YABU! If there is a confirmed fracture then it needs looking at. I think you would feel very bad if you didn't "endure the usual 7 hour wait" and there was a subsequent complication.

Can you not get your gp to refer her?

Usually a GP can refer to fracture clinic so may be worth trying that on Monday. If they have recommended she go then you really should take her, the hassle of sorting out a mal-aligned fracture is far worse in the grand scheme of things than waiting in A&E (and if you go at a sensible time ie weekday mornings, you won't have a long wait anyway)

Do you have a localish minor injuries clinic ? Many of those can do xrays, and the waiting time is usually v short

I went to a&e the other Saturday morning at 10 am. I was the only one there (city hospital) and I saw the Dr immediately, they didn't even bother with triage.

Take her.

A&E isn't always a 7hr wait.

Ring them and ask when their quietest time is

I don't think I would take her if it looked okay and wasn't painful.
But I might if it was wonky or sore.

I would probably go early on Monday morning though rather than Saturday night.

Why won't they book it? I've worked in a booking office for a trauma dept in an NHS hospital before, and so long as the patient had Xrays (usually on disc) and the covering letter to bring in, then it was booked as a fracture transfer. I'd be calling the welsh hospital to clarify their instructions, if they still won't book it, I'd try calling your GP to see if they will fax a quick referal over so she can be booked in that way instead. She needs to be seen, but I don't see why that has to involve a lenghty wait in A&E just for protocols sake.

Ok, will get up ultra early tomorrow and go. No minor injury place near here.

CMOT - fracture clinic is a bit different to the services offered by a minor injuries unit, it's a proper clinic run by orthopaedic surgeons to assess how fractures are healing, if they need re-casting or surgery and that kind of thing, not just a case of getting it x-rayed

I don't have any paperwork or disc from the welsh hospital. They said that they send it to my local hospital but local hospital says stuff often doesn't turn up and if it does it's too late.

don't get up too eary! there will probably be more staff after 9am. Weekdays at 9am are the best time to go apparently!

i'd get up early and call the A&E dept tbh, they may have a backlog from Sat night?

but yes, def take her. i've got a twisted pinky finger from having it strapped up incorrectly when i was 13.. it stopped me playing musical instruments

Ouch, no I dont want her having a permanently twisted finger.

Tbh if that is what fracture clinic have said then that is what you need to do.

But I thought A&E was for acute problems. A week old injury which has already been treated is not something your A&E should be dealing with. I think I would ring fracture clinic back and tell them this. I think the fracture clinic is in the wrong. Fair enough they need a referral but it doesn't feel right that A&E is the only possible source of referral.

Despite all that she does need to be seen and therefore it is your responsibilty to take the necessary measures to achieve that.

Do you have extensive medical knowledge and xray vision? Didn't think so, you need to see your GP who can refer straight into fracture clinic. Did you get a CD with the xray on it and a copy of her notes? If you were out of area they should automatically request a copy for the clinic to have something to compare the new xray to. I find it odd that your local fracture clinic won't accept your DD without you seeing the A&E depatment, I work in an A&E dept and we don't see patients who need referring to fracture clinic because of an injury that occured out of area. Surely that just clogs up the dept with unnecessary crap that is neither an accident nor an emergency?

GP will refer. Don't worry. You do not need to sit in A and E if you have already been seen in Wales. That is just daft.

Just ring ahead and ask them what time suits them

Meant to add, DS dislocated shouldder in USA and we just went via GP to have the follow up here.

*shoulder

I've had this before when I broke my leg on holiday and I even had the xray then. Went to my gp to ask for a referral for fracture clinic and he said he couldn't refer me and I had to go to a&e then. It does seem a daft waste of resources. The fracture clinic refused to look at the xray I brought back from holiday as they said a French x ray might not be accurate.

pally is on the money, there really is no need to pitch up in A&E!!! I feel myself getting a little frustrated by the attitude that A&E is a drop in centre. The injury is a week old and has been treated by a dr already, A&E do not need to be involved. Phoning and asking them what time is best for them will be met with the answer 'you don't need to come here, see your GP'. Speaking from 11 years experience, there are far more important things, like actual accidents and emergencies, to deal with than a week old injury. GP's get paid enough to write a little white slip and faxing it to the clinic.
I don't mean to sound harsh (and slightly angry) but this is not an A&E problem.