To hassle the doctor for appointment re ds cough

[ChloesFurball]

Took 20 mins to get through to surgery, had to insist. DS has had a hacking cough for 2 days, otherwise seems ok, temp normal, off food a bit. Got told they were very busy, however I insisted. Last time I waited 45 mins after my appointment time to see doc. All that with a bored 2 year old.

Even when they have previous history a lot of the time its not worth rushing to the GP as there is only a certain stage where anything can be done and its best to treat at home and then if it gets worse get checked.

There again, if a cough for 2 days meant a trip to the doctor then DS may aswell move into the local doctors!

Tell me this is a wind up? I haven't read the thread yet...

Give the OP a break, she has (presumably) no medical training and is worried about her son. No need for unpleasantness.

Indeed, but What is the doctor supposed to do?
They are not miracle workers.
A kid with a cough is best kept warm and hydrated till it passes.
The obsession with 'getting something for it' is why antibiotic resistance and bowel disorders are becoming more prevalent

It's all very well saying "give the OP a break" but what if we all ran off to the doctor when our DC had a bit of a cough and no temp for a couple of days? The doctor would be absolutely over-run! Oh, yes they all ready are, and people who are really ill can not get an appointment for love nor money!

You have to use your common sense. It might be Christmas next week, but the doctor can't predict what is going to happen in the next few days. We always see posts on here about doctors receptionist's being miserable old cows who won't give appointments, but look what they have to deal with, people who want the doctor to see a child who is slightly under the weather, as an emergency, just incase he gets worse in the next few days! It's madness!

I love most of the responses on this thread :)

bubbles - I took my daughter to the doctor because when we were in the car she would wiggle in her car seat and then go all red. Apparently she'd just discovered it felt nice rubbing on the seatbelt.

Second kid could pretty much play with chainsaws before he got a GP visit.

Is this a joke? Cough for 2 days with normal temp and otherwise ok?
I am a gp and have seen nothing but this for the past week, with every parent wanting 'something to make them better for Christmas'.
There must be a Christmas pill I don't know about that parents do!
If it wasn't Xmas would you still want a doctors appointment?

StrawberryMojito Thu 20-Dec-12 19:18:16
"Give the OP a break, she has (presumably) no medical training and is worried about her son. No need for unpleasantness. "

All very well, but more difficult if you have just been in a situation where your GP needed to refer you for the scan that would tell you if your child needed immediate surgery or not- and found that there was no chance of an appointment. As I did on Friday.

There are times when you genuinely need medical training to know if a situation needs instant treatment or not.

My dd's ruptured ovarian cyst was one of those situations: I could not refer dd for a specialist scan; only a GP can do that.

A common cold is not: anyone who has lived in a human body for 15 years or so should know what it looks like and how you deal with it.

My friend died from cancer, which was referred too late. Sometimes cluttering up the system costs lives.

But strawberry you don't need medical training to be able to tell that a cough without temp/ other symptoms at all for 2 days isn't going to be helped by a GP visit. You just need basic common sense.
Does she think that the GPs have some special medicine to prevent coughs and colds which is reserved for Christmas time?
Yes, she is a worried parent but she is also a selfish one as she could prevent someone else getting the care that they need.
On top of having no common sense, she complains that she had to wait 45 minuted last time with her two year old.
Maybe the OP should ask a friend/ a relative or having a telephone conversation with the GP or practice nurse next time if she is worried.

Dinosaur's case is different because of the history of several hospital admissions. The other case of the small baby with a high temperature is obviously different too.

I was in A and E with DS last night and a mother came in with a child of about 6 because "he has a bit of an ear ache" a nurse asked if he had had any calpol and he hadn't.

Some people simply don't think before seeking medial help!

YABU to take him to the GP just in case it gets worse over Christmas, if there's no symptoms but a cough. Even if it does get worse over Christmas, there's likely to be very little the GP can do about it until it does get worse.

I'm not saying she didn't make a mistake, I'm saying that she has been told and doesn't deserve a bashing, she was worried about her child's health.
Cory, you don't know that all the other people with appointments on Friday had perfectly valid reasons for attending gp themselves. I'm sorry your friend died of cancer, that is awful but I'm sure there were many reasons that it was referred too late, blaming the general public is a bit dramatic.

Oh I dunno x2boys. I do think nhs direct has its uses. If it wasn't for me phoning them and asking for their advice my 2 year old dd3 might not be here today.

Two years ago on xmad eve my dd developed what I thought was a nasty cold, she had a cough but she really wasn't well at all but my doc said it was a virus and just dose her up.

Boxing Day morning she took a turn for the worse and developed breathing difficulties. We phoned nhs direct for advice and they took a listen over the phone and told me to ring for an ambulance so we did. Turns out she had severe bronchiolitus and was on oxygen in the ambulance and in hospital.

So they do save lives now and again.

Yabu

I object to the old boot accusation as well.

I am an old cow.

Yabu. No wonder the NHS is struggling. Go to the pharmacy and get some cough mixture, the pharmacist will be
able to advise.