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.

You should have been given a 24/7 phone number and advice on neutropenia and neutropenic sepsis. If you have a number call them, and if they want you in call an ambulance, you are too fragile and vulnerable to go any other way.

What this thread shows is never ever to ask for any sort of medical advice on mumsnet. People with no medical back ground advise nonsense and often dangerous advice.

Op I hope you feel better soon and if not call hospital and get their in an ambulance if need be. Sepsis will be serious in someone who has just had chemo.

OP has cancer, if she has good reason to believe she has developed sepsis an ambulance is perfectly acceptable. I would not want her to run the risk of becoming worse in the back of a car. I would be surprised if 111 didn't advise an ambulance for a person who is showing signs of sepsis, has cancer and has recently been admitted for sepsis

I absolutely agree beyond a shadow of a doubt. But the cancer aspect, nor much else was explained in the initial post.

To be brutally honest, if I were in the OP's position I'd not be posting on mumsnet for advice, I'd be using my own common sense and relying on those around me (If you are lucky enough to have loved ones around you). I'd ask my husband to drive me to the hospital.
I would not call an ambulance because my husband could likely get me there quicker and faster in our car. Failing that, I would call a taxi. Ambulances are equipped to treat heart attacks and broken limbs and strokes and breathing difficulties en route.

They cannot administer antibiotics.

If I was in an emergency situation I would ACT. I would not text mumsnet for an opinion. An emergency is broken limbs, loss of consciousness, loss of blood. But mostly a
situation where you don't want to move somebody in case you cause more damage. Suspected sepsis is a pretty major emergency, but why wouldn't you just jump in the car (if you have one) Why would you wait for a possible 3 or 4 hours for an ambulance?

If you have small children and no child cover, then you have to take them with you. That has always been the case in my experience. I have been in A&E with the staff watching my children! Because there was nobody else to do it.

Nowadays, the demand on the ambulance service has been increased because people call for an ambulance when they don't actually NEED an ambulance,

This is not a question of IF I should go, but of transport. Thank you

If your husband can drive you there, then that's what you should do.
The ambulances are attending people who are having heart attacks or strokes, where time is of the essence of the best outcome for them. Your driving there will get you there quicker than the stroke patients can hope for. Your 10 year old will cope perfectly well with whatever treatment you need. It's much better that your children know what's happening, It may be that they get to bed later than is ideal, but it's still good for them that they know what's going on.
I speak from experience. The kids are more settled when they know what's going on.

Guessing if you're well enough to ask on Mumsnet you probably don't need an ambulance

I'm inclined to agree. But then again, I'm probably much older than
most on here. If I thought in the 60s that I was so ill that I needed an ambulance, I would probably have rung 999. As a young adult, you had to make your own decisions.

I would NOT have had the option of consulting Mumsnet.
Computers did not exist. Imagine that!!
I could not ring home because we had no landline.
When I was a teenager and went out with my friends and didn't get home till the early hours, my parents had absolutely NO way of contacting me, or having the vaguest idea where I was.

But even then, in the 70s, we always knew to find a phone box and ring 999 when in difficulty. The difficulty then was, finding a phone box. And then finding one that worked.
Today's children might not be able to embrace that concept.

I posted on a FB group when I wasn't sure. Because it was the early hours of the morning, no family to help etc
I had 5hrs of surgery less than 2 days after I posted. Drove myself (like an idiot) to a&e and said I have cauda equina. They did face and sent me for an MRI

I was capable of texting, FB, candy crush etc given my fingers hadn't fallen off and there was lots of waiting around. And I did need an ambulance but because I worked for the ambulance service I didn't call one

See photo of FB post, my spinal op was less than 48hrs after that

The issue with ambulances is some people need an ambulance. Some need a&e but not an ambulance. Some need neither of the above!

So a burn to the hand, an eye injury, broken wrist etc etc. Need a&e but (disclaimer MOST LIKELY) don't need an ambulance

Then you have the stuff that needs an ambulance because there isn't another option. Back pain where you can't move, elderly person fallen and can't get up, GP admissions to hospital

Then you have the without a doubt needs an ambulance like cardiac arrests, choking etc

There's in between stuff like head injury, bleeding, broken ankle etc. Some of those could wait 2hrs+ for an ambulance so it's assessing available transport, risk of further damage etc etc

I live maybe 3 miles from hospital so it's easier to clamp a towel on bleeding and drive rather than wait and wait for an ambulance. Same with broken ankle, shove them in the car unless it's an open fracture or they can't move

Given your are undergoing chemotherapy the question should be what gets you to hospital the quickest? If you meet the criteria your unit has set for you and the quickest way in is via ambulance that is absolutely the right thing to do a totally appropriate use of resources. If it's being dropped by your dh then that is fine too. I say this as a medical professional. It might be worth speaking to your nurse in the future, it maybe you are able to claim back taxi fares if you meet the criteria.

Ignore people who don't know you or you condition and listen to the professionals that do. I hope you feel better when you wake up

I’m sorry that you are unwell but it’s great that you realise you need attention.

This is going to sound harsh but no, you shouldn’t get an ambulance with what you describe when you have a DH at home who is perfectlly capable of driving you. That’s what contributes with issues with services. If your DH was not there then absolutely an ambulance would not be questioned but just because you don’t want your DH to be hanging around, no. Your DH should just drop you and leave with your 10yo if that’s the best thing for your family, his inability to do so shouldn’t impact on an ambulance service.

The thing is, your dh is right there, has a car, and is perfectly capable of dropping you off, and picking you up when its time.
The only reason to not, is emotional need and not medical/financial/availability .
I am sorry you are feeling so rough, and I think you should go be seen, but unless you feel too ill to be in a car, it's the best option.
I hope you feel better soon

I hope you are feeling better when you wake up. The thing is, in this situation it would still be wrong to waste an ambulance - you would be prioritising inconveniencing your DD over someone else possible in need of emergent care. If someone can drive you, that should take precedence, and your DH could.

Good morning all.
Temp is 36.2 and much more normal for me.
Thank you all for your thoughts, advice and good wishes.
You have all given me a lot to think about, should I be in this situation again.
Thank you all.

I've been through chemo and I had to go to A & E once with high temp. I was advised once it reaches 38 go to A & E. Check every half an hour over 37.5. I was ok with the high temp. No sepsis but they were pleased I went in and gave me antibiotics.

Our conclusion was with the whole thing was just to drop me off. We took our D.C. on the journey with us because didn't want to leave them alone in house. The nurse when explaining the process said if I was alone they would send an ambulance/car.

Check every hour not half an hour that should be, if I recall correctly.

Hi all

As we say in our general health topic, Mumsnet hasn't checked the qualifications of anyone posting here. If you have medical concerns, please seek medical attention; if you think your problem could be acute, do so immediately. Even qualified doctors can't diagnose over the internet, so do bear that in mind when seeking or giving advice.

The problem is @LilyMumsnet that people post in a state of panic, at the point of maximum vulnerability, and if they get a raft of 'oh don't be ridiculous this isn't an emergency' posts at the wrong moment, it's very easy to imagine becoming wrongly reassured. A sign at the top of the health topic isn't enough, it won't get read in that moment of panic. To me there's a case for MN intervening in the same way as on mental health threads, to specifically and individually remind posters in this situation that the only safe course of action is to seek proper real-life assistance. Better 10 999 calls that aren't necessary than one that doesn't get made when it should. On the whole, if you care enough about wrongly making a fuss to post on MN to ask advice, you probably aren't the kind of person who calls an ambulance for a chipped tooth or a slight headache.

(sorry, I know that's what you've just done here, but I meant a message as a matter of policy, on every such thread)

Guessing if you're well enough to ask on Mumsnet you probably don't need an ambulance

This is absolutely NOT true and a ridiculous statement. As is Hmmm so may be an infection but actually having “ sepsis “ you would be very very unwell by now and not typing on here
There is a difference between having a infection and being septic

Nine months ago my friend was posting on Facebook about how awful he was feeling and was ringing the doctor in the middle of the night and how he was in so much pain and he was scared... Turned out he had sepsis and unfortunately died. So please stop telling people if you can type you aren't that unwell because it is not true and could be dangerous!!

OP should have explained her special circs rather than shut down questions with "This is not a question of IF I should go, but of transport."

When I ran a temp of 41 I didn't think about transport options but I did think that things weren't normal any more, so the usual rules shouldn't apply.