To take two year old to A&E if I can’t get through to GP?

[Readysetcake]

WIBU to take 2 year old to A&E? Drs just rings and rings. He fell in the garden sort of landed on top of his foot (I didn’t see it DH was with him). But now can’t put weight on one of his ankles. It’s been like that since about 10 this morning.

He’s a bit grumpy but otherwise fine, apart from not being able to walk. There is no swelling that I can tell so not sure if A&E is over the top? Don’t want to go if not necessary and obviously don’t want to expose us to corona if we don’t have to.

What would you do?

My DS has a bad fall about 3 weeks ago and hurt his wrist quite badly, couldn't use it for a while and was in a lot of pain. DD had done similarly last year and had a broken scaphoid so DH took him down A&E (where our minor injuries is) and said a) they were brilliant and b) it was the fastest we've ever been seen in there. They said DH had done the right thing and also assumed it was broken, sent him for X-ray and he thankfully hadn't broken it. Had a very nasty lump, bruise and most likely did some tendon damage for a while.

They really want people to use the services like this appropriately and this is definitely an appropriate use, he's likely to need an X-ray to rule out a break.

Another one saying just take him to A&E.

Your dp may well be "desperate to avoid" but your toddler has a suspected broken ankle and needs an x ray, so he needs to get the fuck over himself quite frankly.

Definitely take him today. At our A&E patients are being triaged at the door and split into two separate “sides”. Hot & Cold. Or possible Covid symptoms & everything else. There isn’t a huge risk of catching Covid in an A&E visit.

Just check your local A&E is still seeing children though. Where I work it’s all been moved to a specific children’s hospital about 10 miles away.

If he can wriggle his toes, it is not broken. It might be just sprain. Lack of swelling is a good sign, but that might come much later. Cold compress might help. Honestly, I wouldn't take him to hospital- most of them are not Covid-19 free.

@ChangeMeAlready that is nonsense - people can wiggle their toes with a fracture.

I’m a doctor and hope you have taken him to A&E, we are taking great precautions with patients and sounds like he needs to be seen and assessed there

Go! Don't give it a second though.

I’d take him to A&E now (I’m a nurse). Most A&Es are separated with suspected COVID patients one side and others the other side so the risk is low.

Thanks for all your replies. I’m just going to take him. Like you say better to go than miss a broken bone.

If he can wriggle his toes, it is not broken.
Mumsnet first aid at its best.

Totally nonsense by the way.

Absolutely go to A&E. If he cant put weight on it then no it cant be left. He needs an xray. Even leaving it since 10am is pretty dodgy. I left my broken foot 2 hours thinking I might have just sprained something and got a telling off in A&E. Go now. It will likely be very quiet.

Yeah go.

My dd had an accident on a trampoline aged 2 and couldn’t bear weight on her foot.

We took her to A&E and an x ray showed no fracture and to keep an eye but come back if no improvement

Went back a few days later as no improvement, x-rays looked at again, and there WAS a small fracture

She didn’t need a cast though as she was walking, even if it was a bit limpy

Ive known if 3 peopke to use a and e during lockdown, most recently my mum 3 days ago. She needed to go (rather gruesome injury) but she went everywhere else first to avoid the hospital, got told off for that. Anyway each time they were all told right now youve got more chance of catching covid in a super market then a and e. If he cant walk on it this many hours after the incident then he needs to be checked over x

Let us know how he is, hopefully it's just a sprain but important to get it checked out. It'd be interesting to know how busy it is as well!

We had to take our baby to A&E a few weeks ago after a fall. Very very quiet, seen quickly, home an hour later. Felt very safe and appropriately triaged. Not only was there red/green division for Covid/not Covid, but children's A&E was completely separate.

Just in case anyone else is reading this and weighing up options.

If he can wriggle his toes, it is not broken. It might be just sprain. Lack of swelling is a good sign, but that might come much later. Cold compress might help. Honestly, I wouldn't take him to hospital- most of them are not Covid-19 free.

This is complete bollocks, especially with children whose bones bend and fracture where an adult's bone might have snapped.

You do know a fracture is a break. A snapped bone is fractured. A free stick break is a fracture.
Fracture just means break.

If that's to me, I do know.

A&e is empty all over the country. My dr friend has been taken off shift! People avoiding it now will mean a whole host of issues later.

It's an A+E job. Government guidance and all the daily briefings are reinforcing that, if it's an A+E job for god's sake GO TO A+E! GP will just send you to A+E for an X-ray anyway. You don't want it to be a bigger job if it's broken and doesn't heal properly and needs surgical correction.

From my GP - the hospital is still open, it's very safe if you need to go there, as long as you do what they tell you to in terms of being in the right place and following the precautions they've got in place for you. (Paraphrased but that was the gist)

@ChangeMeAlready You might want to book yourself on a First Aid course.

You're safer in a&e than a supermarket. Please look after your son. Good luck!

Thanks for the advice. Just arrived nurse at the door said Gp would have just sent us here like a lot you said. It’s very quiet so hopefully won’t take long to get seen.

I would guess the GP would suggest A and E anyway. I'd just go (they are apparently generally pretty quiet at the moment too)

A & E departments are deserted at the moment.
They are very well organised and geared up to screen people on arrival.
You do need to get your child's injury assessed.

Hope your DS is ok. I would have said take him to A&E as well but I can see you already have.