To think the hospital could do a bit more?

[EyeSpyaBlueFoot]

Had to bring DS1 and DS5 with me to AE because I dropped a kitchen appliance on my foot from a great height last night. It turned all sorts of colours and looked like a cartoon foot this morning.

We waited 2.5 hours and I had to change DS1s nappy. Told the receptionist in case my name was called. Came back out and checked with her it hadn't been called. After another hour I ask how much longer they think it might be to be told I'd missed my name being called and I'll have to start again in the queue. Not a word of apology from the receptionist. Two hours later we are called in to have my foot X-ray. I now have very grumpy fed up small kids. X-ray tech is using as few words as possible and simply points and says they have to stay behind the wall. I completely agree but how? I try bribing the little one with snacks but he's 1 and keeps coming to me. X-ray tech getting irritated. DS5 trying his best to pin DS1 but it's just not happening and DS5 has autism so this is no small asknof him. Eventually the tech, without giving me the choice, takes the X-rays with both kids stood behind the bed (I couldn't see them and thought DS5 had manage to pin DS1). AIBU unreasonable to think we could have expected a tiny bit more help or is that standard?

Before anyone asks DH is on a business trip in another country and no one else could come with me.

I really, really can not believe some of the posts on here. I work in the nhs doing tests on patients. It is my job to carry out these tests competently and accurately while
Showing respect
Showing kindness
Respecting dignity
Understanding that my patient may be stressed or worried or in pain
Showing patience
Being compassionate
This is part of my job, not a bit extra or if you're lucky I'll be nice, it's part of my job. And I absolutely I would have owned up to my mistake on reception and arranged for her to be seen sooner. Absolutely I would have calmed her frightened, worried sons down.
The OP is not being unreasonable at all.

OP you need to be seen tomorrow, it's important and could lead to dangers and complications if you don't go. If the only option is to take your sons then take them and I hope you'll see people tomorrow who show you and your boys all of the things listed above, like what should have happened today.

I would complain about irradiation of DCs - a total Nono, why didn’t the radiographer pick up small dc and step behind the screen. Why didn’t the radiographer ask some other staff member to step in. Problems happen all the time in X-ray depts, patient dizzy, patient vomits, they aren’t left lying on the floor until they come round and sort themselves out. This was shifty service.

I can't think of any other workplace where this treatment by staff would be acceptable other than the NHS
I agree, it’s shit.

I'm with the later posts - A&E could and should have done more to help you. The 5 key principles the CQC measures are Safe, Effective, Caring, Responsive to people needs, and Well Led. I think they failed on the first 4 of those and would be putting in a Concern to PALS and probably to the local Healthwatch too.

It was either do the X-Ray whilst they were there or don't do the X-Ray. I'm sure you would have been upset if they hadn't done it at all. It is not their job to man-handle your children into submission and they would face multiple law suits if they did this with other children. Perhaps you wouldn't have minded but they have to cover themselves and not every parent has the same views as you. I understand that you didn't haven anyone to watch them and you were in agony. But I would have suggested calling a doctor out. And they could have provided you with painkillers to cope with the pain until you could find someone. I also understand that the reception staff not informing you that you were called was frustrating, but again they were probably run off of their feet and are exhausted.

Oh OP I've broken my foot and other bones and it's so painful. I feel for you having two children to care for alone and deal with this.

I really think you should try get to the fracture clinic app though. I'd ask at reception to see if you can get some help. I'd also post on local FB Page and see if someone could help you. I know plenty of people would. Worse case ask someone in the waiting room, not ashamed to say I've done that myself and they were glad to help me.

Good luck and hope you feel better soon

Goth you think you can safely leave a multiply fractured foot for potentially several days with no proper medical attention, only painkillers? Bloody hell. That way lies foot amputation or worse, quite a price to pay for lack of a spare playworker to watch ops kids for 2 minutes don't you think?!!

At my hospital parents/carers can contact the Trusts Learning Disabilities Head Nurse for help and if available she will attend appointments for support.

Try and find out if yours has a similar nurse

@MrsEvedder is 100% correct. Health professionals should be compassionate and deal with situation in hand. I hope that you get better soon

Our hospital has play workers on duty in children's A&E who will help children brought in with adults into main A&E but who don't need full medical attention themselves.

They were fantastic when a car crashed into DH while he was cycling on a cycle path with DD (aged 3) behind him. Dh's leg was shattered and DD had a bumped head. Another driver called an ambulance which took them both to hospital before the police had told me.
I got to the hospital about 20 mins after the ambulance to find DH sedated and DD happily chatting to s nice lady about her preferred bear choice.

It might be worth phoning the hospital to see if they do anything similar.

Sorry op, your day sounds utterly miserable. I hope your foot is better soon.

I hope your foot doesn’t hurt too much now, OP. I agree that you can’t expect the NHS to help out with your children although I often find people can be incredibly kind and willing to do so, but it can’t be taken for granted.

Perhaps asking a neighbour or the taxi driver to get your pushchair for you would have been the best thing to do since you had to take the children with you.

Sadly we have become a blame culture so unless you specifically ask and give permission for someone to hold your child (who would probably resist as much as they could), don't expect someone to offer much help in doing certain things. They may have offered help once and then had a complaint made against them.
Also you should definitely go to that appointment. If they want you seen that quickly there is a reason
Also you CAN be admitted for something like this because in some cases it requires surgery.
I advise you have a back up plan for if they ask you to be admitted for surgery and don't change the appointment because if anything becomes displaced then you may cause future/long term problems

I'm pretty shocked that the children weren't behind the lead screen while u were x-rayed. That should have never happened. It's minimal radiation but still very wrong.

There should have been some kind of chaperone or a colleague to help out even if that meant you had a lot longer wait for the examination or abandon it altogether if that was not possible.

That sounds like a horriable experience. I've ended up in a and e with 2 small children and the staff couldn't have been more helpful. Ds however was the patient. I'd be upset about the x ray but can understand how the call for you could have been missed by the receptionist. I would have hoped they could have put you back on the list without the extra wait but policy may not have allowed that.

I really think you need to get to your appointment tomorrow. You have time on your side now. Could you ring round taxi companies and find one who would be prepared to carry the buggy downstairs for you and help you back up when you return? Or could you knock on some neighbours doors and ask them to help you out with the buggy? I can understand why you can just leave the children with anyone, I couldn't with ds if family weren't avaliable he would need to come with me due to his medical needs. It sounds like you got through the hard part today, hopefully less waiting for the fracture clinic and less chance of missing calls. Where are you? If you were local I'd be happy to sit in the waiting room with your youngest and oldest if he was comfortable with it. Maybe you could put out a request for help on local facebook. Our vicar's wife has sat with people in the hospital in similar circumstances.

Hope your more comfortable now.

Ok, no friends locally but does that mean that there's literally nobody you could leave your children with for a few hours at some point that day? Nobody that could come over and help you later that day or something? If so that's a different situation and very sad / challenging. Leaving an autistic child with an acquaintance may well not be a perfect solution but clearly neither was taking them to A&E. From what you've said though it was an accident but to me it doesn't sound like an emergency so probably could've waited til someone could help you with the children.

The staff have a priority to care for patients and get tests done in a timely manner which doesn't always allow for having someone on hand to look after children.

I was hardly wading in calling her the worst person in the world, OP asked for people's opinions as to whether we thought she was BU, and yet apparently to lots of people here there is only one right answer.

I find it really interesting that in 5 pages there's just one post saying the OP's husband should come home. He is the other parent, the parent on duty needs medical attention and can't cope. He needs to come home. Why has that occurred to so few people? Do men get an entirely free pass on family responsibilities, even when their partner is practically incapacitated, alone with two children in a new area?

Ex nurse here and I think your treatment was dreadful. The radiographer should have got someone in to hold your little one whilst you where having your x-ray done.

As an aside, please, please make it to the fracture clinic. You could end up with a lifetime of pain/disability if your fractures are not treated properly (worked in fracture clinic for years).

Oh OP, my heart goes out to you. I know how it feels to have nobody local you can call for help - I've been there and it's really scary. I hope you're feeling better tomorrow.

"to me it doesn't sound like an emergency"

Well if it ever happens to you, please know that multiple fractures in your foot are very, very definitely an emergency, and I'm horrified to see how many people on here seem to think otherwise!

@Spaghettijumper yes he should, now, after the event. I totally agree. But there, when OP needed to get to the ED that wasn't possible, so many comments are around that moment in time. He likely can't get back in time for her fracture clinic appointment tomorrow either. @agedknees is spot on. OP must make that appointment. If not tomorrow, no later than Thursday or Friday. Fracture clinic appointments are the next day for a reason. Just like she should not have left her initial attendance until she'd built up a support network, found a lovely nanny, brow beat her neighbours into childcare or waited for her OH to get home, which depending where he is could be a major logistical and financial nightmare. If anyone is still in any doubt that she could have expected better just look at the 6 c's of nursing (although my team has the 7 c's as how very dare they miss off cake!).

my heart goes out to you too OP. Please get your foot seen to - you need to look after yourself to be able to look after your little ones. Being understaffed is no excuse, a little help / understanding at the start and everything would have run smoother. I hope you have some pain relief this evening OP.

I'm a nurse, I work for the NHS, I'm also a human being and a mother. op I think your treatment was poor, the technician absolutely should have found someone to hold your baby, yes they're busy but exposing a baby to radiation purely because he couldn't be arsed to find someone to hold a baby for 5 secs is really shitty and my guess is broke all their own policies as well.

Def go to your next appointment, I hope you're next experience is better.

I shouldn't joke but Gilda you've given me this image of someone hopping on one leg, wincing in pain while trying to charm people at some local group in order to build a quick network to provide free childcare. Crazy.

OP you won't be the first person to have to go to hospital with children in tow. You need to do what you can to heal. Don't let anyone make you feel bad.

I wouldn't put it past someone to suggest it snuggy. I still remember the poor op who got told that rather than use the accessible loos, she ought to strap one newborn twin on her back, the other on her front, hold her toddler by the hand, and use an ordinary cubicle that way...

@SnuggyBuggy don't mock haha the MN massive practically demand this kind of self sacrificing networking! It feels like a scene off Motherland! Ok writers if you steal that scene I'm getting 40% for sure 😀