To have refused to take DD to A & E

[Polarbearstar]

‘Refused’ sounds more aggressive than it actually was, but DD has not really been quite right for a while now with a perforated ear drum, high temperatures, cold, streaming nose.

Doctor keeps saying to take to A and E and I am unclear what A and E can do that they can’t?

OP I think people here are for some reason unable to read properly.

For their benefit: GP HAS NOT TOLD OP TO TAKE HER CHILD TO A & E RIGHT NOW!!!!!

You need to ask your GP what would be the benefit of going to A&E, and if the GP thinks the hospital can offer a treatment that the GP cannot, then ask the GP to do a proper ENT referral.

@Polarbearstar it's good her temperature has come down. I would ring your surgery and ask for clarification as you're confused why you would need A&E over GP care or out of hours Drs. Definitely find out in case there's something more to it they're worried about.
Also make sure you get referred to ENT if it becomes a recurring thing as it can affect their hearing and speech development if it's a chronic problem.

@MrsSkylerWhite

Polarbearstar

“@MrsSkylerWhite because the GP has seen her already.“

Yes. And the GP’s advice was A&E. Do you routinely ignore expert opinion?

No it wasn't - read the OP.

I agree my first post was unclear @MrsSkylerWhite but I have since clarified. The GP does not wish me to take her to A and e now. In the future, however, whenever she is unwell, this is where she should go.

do you routinely ignore expert opinion

No, but I do think I use common sense and own judgement.

@thebellsesmereldathebells perhaps best if we end this conversation, I have no desire to converse further.

[quote Polarbearstar]@RiverRats we don’t need to go to A and E because we saw the GP. In future, however, we are apparently not to go to the GP, we are to go to A and E, which is what I am confused about.[/quote]
Surely the GP means that if this current illness continues to worsen despite the antibiotics then go to A&E?

I don't think the GP means that if she gets tonsillitis or something in 6months time you need to go to A&E instead of GP as first port of call.

I thought it was fairly routine for GPs to advise A&E for young children when symptoms are not improving

Polarbearstar

I agree my first post was unclear @MrsSkylerWhite but I have since clarified. The GP does not wish me to take her to A and e now. In the future, however, whenever she is unwell, this is where she should go.“

So, in future, that’s where you should go.

If this is recurrent do as the GP says and go to AandE next time. Explain to them that the GP has told you to do this so they know this is the case.

This course end up being the difference between your DD losing her hearing in one ear.

*could end up (not course)

OP, I think it's just a case of accepting that the NHS is not fit for purpose, and A&E is now the default GP service because it's impossible to get an appointment with a GP. It's rubbish, but it's the way it is.

• Antibiotics make little difference to the number of children whose symptoms improve
• Antibiotics make little difference to the number of children with recurrent infections, short-term hearing loss or perforated eardrum

From NICE guidelines. Every time I’ve been to GP for something similar, they say ‘come back and see me if it doesn’t go away’. Not ‘go to A&E if it doe my go away’ Unless there’s concerns about sepsis obvs.

At the end of those five hours we were told ‘calpol and fluids.’

Because medical diagnoses work on the basis of ruling out other more sinister illnesses- therefore the A&E ruled out any other more serious illnesses and sent your daughter home. Just because they didn’t tell you the other illnesses that they ruled out doesn’t mean that they didn’t check her for them. Children can decline very rapidly and diagnoses is a difficult part of medicine - they have to check for more serious causes than the obvious ones. If nothing more serious is found then they send you home with instructions such as “calpol and fluids”.

As someone whose child was often admitted with minor symptoms and major underlying causes you should be very very glad that you were sent home with calpol and fluids instructions rather than an admission to a ward for further investigation.

Why hasn't a referral to ENT been made? Ongoing ear problems and a perforated ear drum needs to be investigated by a specialist. Also she will need hearing checks as repeated infections cause scaring that can affect hearing.

No idea why you’re getting such a hard time on here. The lack of reading comprehension and ability to understand nuance is - to quote one particularly sanctimonious poster - a “frightful bore”.

@Thingstodotoday

No idea why you’re getting such a hard time on here. The lack of reading comprehension and ability to understand nuance is - to quote one particularly sanctimonious poster - a “frightful bore”.

She’s getting a hard time because she posted in AIBU

*doesn’t go away. I agree you should ring for clarification from GP on what they think A&E will do.

By any chance is your gp hoping she might get a faster referral to a specialist? This was my experience also as an adult with a heart issue. For obvious reasons the gp sent me to a and e as she couldn’t provide the treatment they could immediately, but also, because my referral went through a and e I got an initial appointment with cardiology faster as when the list was being triaged I was automatically more urgent from being treated In a and e. Not sure if this could apply with kids and waiting lists but wanted to share my experience.

OP what is the point in your post? You've clearly decided you're going to do what you want/think is best anyway. Do you just want to annoy people with your bad attitude?

YABU

This is what I am taking from your posts.

DD is having recurrent temperatures and ear infections. GP has treated as needed.

This is what I am taking from GP’s advice.

If they are recurrent which it sounds like they are, the infection DD might have could be antibiotic resistant, therefore would need testing, which would need to be done in hospital. So GP is saying if it happens again, there isn’t much more we can do as DD would need testing to see what strain of bacteria or fungus could be causing the issue.

If the GP keeps giving you antibiotics that the infection is resistant to, that can cause antimicrobial resistance which is no good for anyone. This is my take on GP’s advice.

@lilahbelle, no, not quite. The conversation went something like ‘What do you want …. I can prescribe antibiotics but … ” I said okay, will try antibiotics again. The GP went on to say ‘in future, just go to A and E.” I said “if it gets worse?” The GP said, “no, no, if she seems ill, just go to A and E.”

The problem is that when this has happened before, mostly because DD always gets unwell on Sundays for some reason, you go to A and E and get told to see your GP. That’s why just following the advice of the medic isn’t always helpful. This happened to me years ago with a back injury in fact and I went through some pretty miserable months as everyone just kept referring me to someone else but then the someone else would refer me back!

I guess I am wondering if the GP role has changed, if we just need to accept we need to pay and so on.

I've taken my dd to a&e with ear issues about 4 times. Always seen by ENT, once was admitted, once had micro suction of ear junk.
Grommets sorted it after 3 years of pain and ear pouring puss.

I see your point, OP.

GP should be dealing with this and making an appropriate referral.

@ChloeHel that would make sense but no. She isn’t being referred to an ENT or paediatrics.

Also, while the infection seems to have lasted a lifetime, it’s actually only been a couple of weeks. We had an initial telephone appointment and then a face to face,however the condition worsened and high temp last night. So took to the GP today.

Three years how awful. I think we definitely need to go down the private route, then.

Your GP should make a referral to ENT if she’s that worried.