How to get to A&E

[Mrspotter12]

If I need to go (poss infection and sepsis) how should I get there?
DH is home as is 10yo DD. I don't want her in a busy A&E, it's 23 miles away and I can't afford a taxi. Would I morally be ok to accept an ambulance if one is suggested!
This is not a question of IF I should go, but of transport. Thank you.

“FFS sepsis is an emergency! Call 111, see what they recommend. People on here are weird about ambulances, please get proper medical advice asap. I've had sepsis, nearly died, hope you're ok”

Tbh I seriously doubt OP KNOWS she has sepsis. Otherwise the person who diagnosed her appears to have then make no effort to get her hospitalised

Look at MN, anyone with a temperature is advised to run off to A&E in case it’s sepsis. OP probably just wants checking out

Let us know what happened, OP, esp. what treatment you got.

Sepsis is an emergency.

When my daughter was hospitalised with suspected sepsis, I took her. When I was chatting with our gp at a later date, he said that an ambulance would have been longer so it was just easier

Thanks for the replies and sorry if I've offended anyone.
I had my last lot of chemo last week and am at high risk of infection. I have been hospitalised before with sepsis during my treatment (I called a neighbour at 3am as hubby was away) and my mum came to stay with DC. I was in for 6 days.
Tonight DH is here and eldest DC is already at mums so I don't want to be calling her back out.
My temperature is bouncing between 37.1 and 37.3 and while I feel rough I am not yet needing medical intervention but I am concerned that as the night progresses that may change.
I have been offered an ambulance in the past but could make my own way there so did not accept it. This time I am trying to plan ahead. I do not believe that ambulances are a taxi service, far from it. But when s medical professional offers it (chemo nurse when I had sepsis before) I just wondered if I should accept it?
Thanks all for your insight.

I agree Capri but it's not our call and I would hate somebody in genuine need to be put off getting help. That's why I advised calling 111 instead of listening to us lot on here

OP they won't offer it unless it’s necessary.

Why don't you want your Dh to take you?

You shouldnt even think twice about getting an ambulance to hospital mrspotter With your history I wouldn’t wait until you get worse before you are seen either

Personally OP it does sound like you need to be in hospital to be checked I'd have DH drop you now and get DD home to bed. Much better than sitting worrying and you probably won't be a priority for an ambulance if you're not currently feeling too bad. Quickest way will be for DH to drop you. If you stay home and feel worse than yes ambulance.

Ah @Mrspotter12 I believe what you’re now going to be accused of is a dripfeed...

In the circumstances you describe if a medical professional suggests you utilise the services of an ambulance who can come out and stabilise you, get fluids in etc then I would take them. I don’t know what area you’re in, but my local ambulance service’s 111 will arrange for a taxi to transport patients to A&E if there are no life threatening symptoms. As a clinician though, I would prefer you to be in the care of health care professionals rather than a taxi driver in these circumstances.

Best wishes to you, you might not think you need medical intervention.... but I’d rather you sought it anyway and you were sent home with your tail between your legs than you didn’t seek help at all for fear of how you’d get to the hospital.

My temperature is bouncing between 37.1 and 37.3 and while I feel rough I am not yet needing medical intervention but I am concerned that as the night progresses that may change.

Is that not a normal temperature?

If you're concerned later then call 111 and see what they say. Personally I'd rather go to hospital in a comfortable car than wait for an ambulance.

Is there a reason why your husband can't take you?

Either way, if you think you are showing early signs of sepsis, you need to get to hospital/Out of hours ASAP rather than waiting.

Temp needs to be 37.5 twice, half an hour between. So not at that stage yet and TBH it might not even get there.
DH would take me like a shot but he would want to stay as he worries so much. We were both very scared last time.
If I have to go in he will want to call my mum out but tbh she is getting on and I wouldn't want her to worry.

I do appreciate all your responses, especially the one about owing an Uber. We are quite rural and I've never used Uber but it has made me think we could "owe" our local taxi driver.

If you think you have sepsis then you need to call 111 and/or an ambulance.

I totally get all this hysteria about using ambulances wrongly but 111 will not send one if you don't need one so they should be your first port of call. If they say you need one then you need one, what anyone thinks is completely irrelevant

Massive drip feed....

Go to a&e....

Why wait to get worse, given you've been undergoing chemo and had sepsis recently, just go in now. Get DH to drop you off

Or if your mum already has your eldest, can you drop the other DC with her now and head to the hospital? DH can stay with you then. I know in these kinds of circumstances my parents/PILs would be eager to help however they could

Really didn't mean to drip feed. Just wanted un unbiased opinions. As I said whether or not to go wasn't the issue.
My formal temp is below 37 - I check it a lot!!!! When it creeps up and I feel off then I start to worry.

Normal, not formal.

firstly its not clear why your Dh cant take you from your OP or your update. It's probably the quickest way. however If a medical professional suggests an ambulance theen call an ambulance. ignore mumsnet people here are obsessed with avoiding ambulances but paramedics dont mind going out to treat people who may be suffering from life-threatening conditions. I would say a taxi is a bad idea as if you deteriorate the driver cant help you and if your DH is driving at least he will know to pull over and call 999 and will have all your medical details.

A temp of between 37.1 and 37.3 is normal isn’t it?

Plus a fluctuation of .2 is more likely to be standard error, home thermometers wouldn’t be that sensitive. So not even a variation in temperature?

I’m always a bit confused when people post about “temperatures” under 37.5 as i’d always thought normal was anything below that.

With the chemo o/p it’s obvioulsy best to err on the cautious side. Don’t you have a nirse you can ring for advice in situations like this? Better that than 111 or mumsnet...

Ok so i wonder how many posters on this thread have experience caring for a patient having chemo and their high likelihood of having sepsis? Do you all know the extra risks? How.quickly sepsis can spread in a cancer patient? The recommendations given to cancer patients regarding their temps and symptoms?
It is completely fine to accept an ambulance for possible sepsis, let alone in your case! Remember if your temp spikes to 38 or above to ring, or whatever your cancer nurse has advised. Is it 38 for you? Dont delay and certainly accept an ambulance if you need one. If you are not feeling right can you ring the inpatient ward? Temp or not they may be able to support you.

With your history I'd phone 111 and accept an ambulance if they send one

It’s a bit of an odd thread considering there seems to be no option to get to hospital (which as you say is non negotiable) without an ambulance. What did you expect people to say?