To tell you the NHS is a frightening failure for children?

[redorbreak]

I suppose when we read headlines it's A&E waiting times and often focused on adults

But I'm here to give a personal account of how dangerous it is for children, something we haven't shone the light on as much as adult care and waiting times being horrible right now.

DD was born very prematurely and she had some awful breathing this morning, which then worsened into sucking in a lot at the rib cage (not that unusual for her but it seemed worse than usual). She couldn't stay awake much

I knew an ambulance would take a long time and needed the car, so I was going to drive her myself. I went to put her into her car seat and she went floppy, like a rag doll. Limp and floppy. I screamed and luckily H was there who phoned an ambulance

I explained calmly but seriously on the phone what was going on. The phone operator said 5 hour wait. I said please, she's gone floppy. Please help us. She said sorry, but 5 hour wait times. Can I take her myself?

I explained I could take her myself but I wouldn't be able to see if she was okay or not? I'd be driving. She said that was safer than waiting for an ambulance

I put the phone down and took her in, frightened, petrified for her life. I got there after 25 minutes and rushed to her. She was still not responding. She was triaged straight away. Her Sats were sitting at 69/70.

She is currently in PICU (intensive care) and I don't know when she will wake up. Nobody seems to be straight with me. I'm not getting a clear picture here. My H is on his way up now and hopefully they will tell me straight what this means for her now

The NHS is fucked.

OdeToBarney I hoped it was fairly obvious that I was demonstrating how gross things can get when you start talking about economic or future contribution based arguments for prioritising children over anyone else in need of urgent healthcare. No, I don't believe parents can just make a new baby and boom, baby replaced, problem totally solved 🙄

I left the thread quite early, but pro-prioritising-children posters just wouldn't let it go, with a few of them giving justifications with unpleasant implications, so eventually I posted to back up others posters in favour of fair prioritisation (where age is relevant insofar as it affects factors used in prioritisation, but a child isn't considered intrinsically more valuable than an adult), and show how some of the unpleasant economic arguments could work in the other direction.

Also, it's an AIBU post with a political slant, as well as a support thread, which invites discussion and debate. There are many places on MN where you will get warm empathetic support, and can reasonably expect that people won't take ideas from your post or from others' responses and debate them. AIBU isn't that place, and I assume from where and how OP posted that she wanted a discussion about how the NHS is failing children, and what can or should be done about that. Whether children should take priority over adults is a part of that.

@FurryDandelionSeekingMissile I'd like to think it was fairly obvious the OP didn't ask whether she was BU, that she was posting for traffic and in her own words, "to shine a light" on how fucked the NHS is.

Admonishing the OP for posting in AIBU to defend yours and others awful bickering and derailing of the thread is equally gross.

I won't say anything further for fear of another thread derailment so don't even bother replying, as I shan't be.

Can't believe what I'm reading on this thread. OP I really hope you're too busy cuddling your little one to check back in. I hope you're all doing okay.

Op, another one thinking of you and hoping your precious baby is well on the road to recovery 💕

Fucking hell @dollymixtured
2 more pages you’ve argued for since this post and the OP hasn’t returned. To a post where she posted her baby was on life support.
@redorbreak I’m so sorry this has happened to you and your babyand this thread has descended to this. I hope you are getting the support you need. Please start another thread if you haven’t already.

Oh my! So sorry Op. Was trying to post on a different thread but had yours open as have been thinking about you and your little one and wondered whether an update.

I hope you are ok and I hope little one is too 💐