to want to take my pushchair into my doctors surgery?

[gillquil]

my g.p surgery has just banned pushchairs, I've them a letter that follows, is this the norm? or should I just change our G.P.?

Hello,

I would like to make a complaint about the forthcoming ban on pushchairs in the surgery from the first of April. I am a mother of three, my eldest child has just turned four and we have a double pushchair which we normally use for our two youngest. My youngest child has just turned one, and as is typical for his age, he wants to crawl and climb all the time, he definitely doesn?t want to sit on my lap while I wait, he will however normally wait happily in his pushchair, or sleep in it while we wait or during our appointments. My two year old daughter just wants to run around.

If I am unable to bring my pushchair into the surgery I am going to have to let my son crawl over the floor in the surgery which I can?t imagine being the most hygienic thing to do. Or when he is asleep I will have to wake him, and what if both he and his sister are sleeping? do I really want to wait for my appointment struggling with a sobbing two year old daughter and a crying one year old son, my handbag, and changing bag on the floor or on the seat next to me. All of which, toddler, and baby and baggage have to then be carried into the appointment. I would also like to know what is suggested for mothers who need for example to have their young child with them during say a smear test? Should I leave him to crawl around the floor in the surgery during this?

Parents that I know often rely on being able to entertain a young child or children in a pushchair so that they can speak to their G.P. or nurse for a few minutes uninterrupted. Or the child sleeps on through their appointment and waiting time, and the parent can have a proper conversation or treatment.
I don?t have the option of arranging childcare for the times when I need to come to the surgery, especially as we normally ring at 8 a.m to see what appointment we can get if any for that morning.

I asked about the security of the area that has been designated for pushchairs to be left. As far as the lady I spoke to knew, there is none, it seems that the surgery is relying on the area being ?out of sight.? I disagree anyone walking past will be able to see a row of unsecured pushchairs. Pushchairs cost as I am sure you know an enormous amount of money. We live close by and two of my neighbours have had pushchairs stolen from outside their own front doors in the last six months, and we had a child?s scooter taken ourselves. It was suggested also that I buy a bicycle style lock for our chair, but I can?t see what I would secure it to.

While I can see the need for some sort solution to the congestion in the waiting room, as a result of parents and children who are patients at XXX Surgery using pushchairs, I don?t feel that just telling people their only option is to leave their pushchairs outside, in an unsecured area, and carry in their child or children and changing bags, handbags and who knows even their shopping, is acceptable. In fact I think it?s discriminatory. I have spoken to several mothers today who are patients at XXX, as are their children, and they all agree, and have said they will be putting forward their comments also.

I look forward to your reply and hope that XXX can be a bit more creative in finding a solution that doesn?t leave patients feeling unwelcome.

I had a root canal while breastfeeding my DD, and plenty of haircuts!

Its perfectly doable with babies, its when they are toddlers and just learning that it is more difficult. I want to be able to concentrate on what the doctor is saying not worrying about the cupboard DT1 is getting into or the chair that DT2 is getting on.

Our GP surgery bans pushchairs too. What's the reason for it? How come they allow wheelchairs but they don't allow pushchairs?

GP surgeries are becoming increasingly patient unfriendly with their arbitrary rules and unhelpful opening hours.

Claireall -not everyone finds raising children so easy. BF my baby is hard work. Not everyone can do it so easily and multitask. Your perfect children may yet turn into little horrors so your can stop shining your perfect mother crown.

It is tempting to joke but OP I think you have a valid point. If a mother is put off from making a drs appt when she's ill because of the difficulties in getting her children to and from the appt, the consequences could be quite serious.

Even in today's world, it is more likely to be mothers who are affected by these bans. And if you follow that line then the ban is potentially discriminatory.

I get the fire reg thing but there are other ways of solving that problem. For example, why not remove some of the chairs in the waiting room and replace them with folding chairs? If a parent brings in a buggy, then one or two chairs are folded up out of the way so that the gangway is clear. Receptionists just need to use a bit of imagination...

OP - I think the letter is a great idea but it needs to be shorter, more to the point, copied to the CEO of your local health trust (google the name and address) and should suggest at least one alternative for the surgery to consider (eg foldable chairs to allow more room for wheelchairs and buggies).

LittleFrieda - its H&S rules gone mad (to coin the Daily Mail). I speak as somone who used to work in the construction industry and believe in H&S, it saves lives but it has got out of hand.

Lagoonhaze -

our surgery doesn't allow pushchairs inside, as they can't be got up the stairs anyway. It's not the end of the world with a single child - not sure how I'd cope with twins though! I tend to take snacks and toys for DS (30 months now) if it's an appointment for me, and then he will sometimes sit quiety and entertain himself. Depends how long the wait is too.

I do find a strategically used packet of chocolate buttons gets him to sit still for long enough for the midwife to examine me at the moment though - not sure how easy it will be at sweep time etc :o

I think YAB a bit U, but can understand why it annoys you - and your letter is far too long winded to be taken seriously just now. If you can shorten it, get to the point quickly, and be less emotional, it has far higher chance of being read by people who actually make decisions.

Young toddlers often won't sit still and shut up, or crawling babies.

That is normal behaviour for children that age, surely?

Bigoted?

God, please don't send that terrible letter.

It reads like a two-page whinge-a-thon. What am i meant to do about this? what am I meant to do about that? Count the questions in your letter - they're endless.

the surgery is there to treat sick people not worry about patients' childcare issues.

Just sort it out yourself - it's not the surgery's problem.

Thankfully my doctors allow buggies. I have 5mo twins, and all these suggestions re slings, car seats etc all sound fine, but I am not physically capable of carrying them both plus changing bag, and definitely not in car seats, they weigh a ton. What happens when they are having their jabs? Do I just leave one on the doctors couch and hope they don't roll off while trying to keep the other still?

I have never understood this phenomenon that appears on mn; that if you have a buggy/pushchair/pram then you have a divine right to take it anywhere and bugger to those who dare to say no! Whether it is public transport or now doctors.....

You just have to cope like the rest of us did a few years ago!

have they also banned wheelchairs then?

how completely ridiculous. YANBU.

The appointments that I didn't make because of not being able to manage with the children were smears (as mentioned) and to discuss my state of mind (I had post-natal depression and anxiety but didn't know that at the time).

For women who are struggling with mental health problems, the smallest hurdles can seem insurmountable, let alone the practicalities of wrangling small children en masse.

I don't know if doctor's surgeries realise that women who need help are more or less prevented from seeking it sometimes when they have young children. I am sure I cannot be the only one who felt like that.,

Its not the opinion, its the attitude

YANBU. My surgery does let pushchairs in. If they didn't I'd find it hard (but not impossible) to attend. I have a 3.5yr old and 19 month old, and I'd make sure I book the appointment when the younger one wasn't due a sleep, so even if she was in the pushchair I wouldn't have to wake her up.

And re restraining them. I'd take a few snacks, books with me to keep them entertained, or talk to them about what they can see etc. Easier with the older one, but the 19 month old is likely to run around. As long as she is not getting in anybodies way or pulling stuff off shelves and throwing things, then I let her walk around a bit if she wants to (although I do try and restrain her, or even BF her to keep her still).

But yes it is a pain when you can't take a buggy with you. If you are not driving and you are relying on a buggy and got your child off to sleep and lots of shopping with you and multiple kids, it is a major PITA.

cricketballs I do think that women without childcare should be able to access the doctor.

I also have mobilty issues and could not carry a baby and manage a toddler up and down the stairs - another reason for not going.

Of course people need to look after themselves but equally services like doctors need to be accessible.

At my dentist you can take a pushchair in no problems so that is fine.

oh and all our examination rooms have a toy box with lots of toys to play with, so an smears etc would not be a problem with a toddler in tow. Mine normally don't want to LEAVE the room after the appointment.

choc yes that was always it

changing bag
babe in arms
handbag
young toddler
stairs
dodgy legs
depression and anxiety

Just wasn't going to happen was it!

wheelchairs and pushchairs are not the same thing, are they? for those who are querying why pushchairs have been singled out, and not wheelchairs. A child who is in a pushchair is either small enough to be carried easily, or can walk a short distance. Generally, wheelchair bound persons cannot get around without their wheelchairs. So please don't equate the two.

If you have twins/2 or more young children who cannot walk, then surely you can ask the surgery to show some leniency, or assist with moving said children about the surgery. If they cannot be decent human beings, and help you around or let you take the puschair in, then you could look to move surgeries.

I really am not sure what all the furore is about here

I'm not talking about childcare - I'm talking about the divine right for buggies to be allowed everywhere! My drs have never allowed them into the waiting room and I and all other patients have managed to cope for the last 18 years with lots of young children in tow

If a toddler won't sit still and be quiet, I don't see why difference a pushchair will make. They will just loudly struggle to get out of the pushchair.

While I understand that pushchair bans will cause difficulties, it's clear from this thread that plenty of people do manage without a problem. So that's a lot of pushchairs that are no longer causing anyone else a problem that would still be cluttering up the surgery if the ban wasn't in place.

Surgeries have to consider the needs of all their patients, not just mothers with young children. There are a lot of elderly patients and patients with limited mobility who not only have to navigate themselves around a number of pushchairs on a regular day, but what would happen if there was an emergency and everyone needed to be evacuated quickly? It's unlikely to happen, but it still needs to be taken into consideration.

I haven't seen many alternative suggestions.

that said, all waiting rooms which have no toys/books for kids, are shite - DS had to go for hearing tests at the hospital a few times, and over the space of a few months, we noticed the toddler-distractions were slowly disappearing, until it was just a shell of a playhouse left. All due to infection control, but it meant that toddler control was a distraction for everyone in the room. At my antenatal check ups at the same hospital, the toddler zone is just a fenced off area in the waiting room - with 3 chairs in it. So those of us on our second or more children are spending the time in the waiting room getting our blood pressure up, trying to get an excitable child to SIT STILL for half an hour whilst the appointments run on and on.

That is more annoying that the ability to take a pushchair in with you IMO!