Just checking if iabu before I kick off...

[TheSnootiestFox]

Is 4 and a half hours in an urgent treatment centre without being seen even for triage unreasonable for a 12 year old with a suspected broken foot? No pain relief, nothing and he's been crying and begging me for help for hours.....my blood is boiling but I just need a reality check before I decide whether to say something or not. Opinions please!

It was minor injuries so I hope not! The A and E dept is in the next City. They deal with all that! Thanks to everyone else for their support, it just wasn't good enough last night however you dress it up.

It’s not acceptable. But neither is it the nurses fault. They are trying to not help they are doing their job as they have been told to do by management.

This.

That’s terrible. Glad he’s sorted now.

I didn't actually vote, not that its any of your business actually, but very unlike me because as a woman I'm aware other women died for me to have the privilege. I don't like what the Tories have done to the Nation but there was no way that Labour was a credible option at the time either. Currently worrying about the next election as I feel the same now!

Also, I am one of the few in the UK that have lived in the US and due to a no fault road accident experienced quite a lot of the American health care system. I'm not sure where the fear of people paying for insurance comes from but I'd be more than willing, I already have basic private health care here but of course there's no private a and e provision apart from that one mentioned up thread. The NHS can't go on as it is, so let those of us willing to pay our way do so!

It’s horrendous that so many of you think that this was acceptable.

I would have gone and bought him painkillers from the hospital shop. Ridiculous to leave a child on that sort of pain for so long

Thank you 😊 but there was no hospital shop. The 'shop' the nurse alluded to was the petrol station a mile away!

Agreed x

Extremely frustrating for you OP and I get why you're annoyed at being told they couldn't give pain relief until after triage. However I'm just wondering if the reason for that is, any pain relief meds given could mask symptoms and therefore impact the accuracy of the assessment during triage? I'm not a medic so I might be wrong, but I just wondered.

In either case, 4 hours waiting in pain is insane. Glad you've got sorted now.

Just to add, for example if they gave a child with a temperature paracetamol before being see , it might bring the temp down and then their assessment wouldn't be an accurate reflection of what is potentially wrong. Although probably less relevant in the case of a fracture, so I definitely see your frustration!

I think the way to go is to vote for a government who support our health service rather than kicking off at front line staff.

Hi, thank you but no, eventually I was told that if I was that bothered 'there's a shop up the road and he's got two parents'.

Yes, two parents that haven't lived together since 2018 🤣 but I agree, I thought I was doing the right thing not giving him pain relief due to potential contraindications actually!

@WonderingWanda ,

i won’t keep posting as not my thread but…

You are partially right. The NHS does need more money but that is only a part of it. It is appallingly managed and prioritises badly.

What I was more shocked at, judging by my own experience, was the lack of compassion towards a child in a lot of pain for a prolonged period, especially from the nurses.

compassion costs nothing. The idea that a mother with a child in pain has to provide her own painkillers when she is in a medical setting is absurd. I can’t believe people have normalised this, it is like a national Stockholm syndrome.

Glad it got sorted.

Our minor injuries unit is brilliant. It clearly states the wait time (often upto 6 hours), but they do see urgent cases earlier, and will let you know if you're unlikely to get seen, and instead will tell you to come back the next day, or go to A&E if more urgent.

A 4 hour wait isn't unreasonable for something that is not life threatening. I've waited over 4 hours for a broken foot with my DS1 when he was 11. I gave him painkillers before we went out to help with the pain then told him to take a good book to read whilst we were there. They tend to prioritise younger kids.

Are you even a human being?

No 12 year old child deserves to be left crying and in pain for hours.

The parents politics are not relevant.

I don't think you should be blaming the entire NHS for one apparently lousy UTC .

Well, to be fair I could write a book about it's incompetence hence I have private insurance despite only working part time. The fact the NHS has completely ruined my life is not relevant to my son's foot though 😉 so no need to mention it really.

Of course it’s not acceptable as a country but “kicking off” with the staff there would also be totally unacceptable.

Exactly! Zero empathy and zero candour.

Tbh for a broken foot I'd have gone straight to A&E not a treatment centre.

Glad your son got seen at A&E OP. I agree w a PP that I would have probably have just gone straight to a&e though!

Well, yes.

Compassion fatigue is sadly one of the effects of burnout and stress in a workforce

That was after 15 years of investment in the NHS though, as opposed to the 13 years of real terms cuts we've had now.

I can't believe pain relief wasn't offered though, there's no excuse for that.

Yes-but wouldn't it have been nice if Op had been told that they likely couldn't do anything & to go to A&E?

Why though? Fractures are within the remit of urgent care centres. Most have the appropriate facilities, eg x-rays, fracture clinics.

This is possibly one of the reasons for delays if people aren't seeking the right level of service, ie, seeking a GP instead of a pharmacist, urgent care centre instead of GP, A&E instead of urgent care centre...

(Disclaimer, I realise not all areas have urgent care centres, they have limited hours, 111 advise certain things etc etc)