Page 18 | Just checking if iabu before I kick off...

TheSnootiestFox · 2023-03-29T21:59:37+00:00

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!

Original poster

TheSnootiestFox · 07/04/2023 21:48

YouWithoutEnd · 07/04/2023 21:39

For future reference, giving paracetamol and ibuprofen pre-hospital isn’t going to cause any problems at all for medical staff, in fact they will be absolutely thrilled that you’ve already got them optimised on analgesia and they can follow on with the next doses when they’re due. For a more serious injury/illness requiring anything stronger, I can’t honestly think of anything that would be contraindicated by previous paracetamol and ibuprofen, and usually those children needing extra drugs for pain or sedation will require admission anyway.

The only time I’d hold off on Ibuprofen is with Chicken Pox or abdominal pain.

I know it’s a horrible state of affairs at the moment, I work in it, and I’m frantically fumbling for my exit plan from the NHS, but the more we can all do to take some personal responsibility during this times of what is essentially war zone medicine, the better. So if that means taking your own pain relief with you and just telling the nursing staff that times that you gave it, then so be it. Nobody is ever going to tell you off for managing your child’s pain with appropriate medication.

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Thank you for your guidance, that's actually really useful. With not being a medical professional I don't know if I'm doing right for wrong, but what we experienced the other night was awful and they made me feel like I was part of the problem. Had he been comfortable I wouldn't have batted an eyelid at a wait of many hours as I know how stretched everyone is. I'll know in future 😉 I wish you well with your escape plan - I escaped state education several years ago now and used to refer to the exit years as digging my tunnel!

OP posts:

T1Dmama · 08/04/2023 01:32

When we were in A&E a short time ago, someone was actually being told off for not giving their child pain relief. The nurses in A&E took quite a time with the father, as if to say ‘why the hell wouldn’t you give your child that in pain, pain relief… I get you go to hospital for treatment, however if someone was burnt or bleeding you wouldn’t just leave it to the hospital to treat, you would cool the burn at home, or apply pressure to the bleed. Why is pain relief any different.

ancientgran · 08/04/2023 10:55

Last time I was in A&E I was offered paracetamol but told I'd get a bill and it would be cheaper to go to the local 24 hr supermarket to buy some.

T1Dmama · 08/04/2023 11:33

Sorry misunderstood your OP.
I wouldn’t bother with wherever you were sent the other day again. With something serious like a break/fracture I would go straight to A&E. Sorry I thought that’s where you were.
triage should be done soon after admission and treatments / patients prioritised by that assessment. Waiting any length of time for assessment is unacceptable and I’d have wheeled him out and straight into A&E.
glad he’s ok now and hopefully enjoying the rest of his Easter holidays.

Original poster

TheSnootiestFox · 08/04/2023 19:56

T1Dmama · 08/04/2023 11:33

Sorry misunderstood your OP.
I wouldn’t bother with wherever you were sent the other day again. With something serious like a break/fracture I would go straight to A&E. Sorry I thought that’s where you were.
triage should be done soon after admission and treatments / patients prioritised by that assessment. Waiting any length of time for assessment is unacceptable and I’d have wheeled him out and straight into A&E.
glad he’s ok now and hopefully enjoying the rest of his Easter holidays.

Thank you x yes he's much better now!

OP posts:

YouWithoutEnd · 08/04/2023 20:51

ancientgran · 08/04/2023 10:55

Last time I was in A&E I was offered paracetamol but told I'd get a bill and it would be cheaper to go to the local 24 hr supermarket to buy some.

You won’t get a dose for a single STAT dose of paracetamol given in the department, but for take home medications, some hospitals do enforce the normal prescription charges! So yes, if they were prescribing Paracetamol as a TTO then technically prescription charges could apply. It creates a lot of admin though, so some hospitals don’t enforce it.

YouWithoutEnd · 08/04/2023 20:52

YouWithoutEnd · 08/04/2023 20:51

You won’t get a dose for a single STAT dose of paracetamol given in the department, but for take home medications, some hospitals do enforce the normal prescription charges! So yes, if they were prescribing Paracetamol as a TTO then technically prescription charges could apply. It creates a lot of admin though, so some hospitals don’t enforce it.

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*you won’t get a CHARGE for a STAT dose of Paracetamol.

ancientgran · 09/04/2023 09:30

YouWithoutEnd · 08/04/2023 20:51

You won’t get a dose for a single STAT dose of paracetamol given in the department, but for take home medications, some hospitals do enforce the normal prescription charges! So yes, if they were prescribing Paracetamol as a TTO then technically prescription charges could apply. It creates a lot of admin though, so some hospitals don’t enforce it.

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Well she lied then as she offered me 2 paracetamol and said if I took them I'd get a charge. Thinking about it I don't even pay for prescriptions so would I get charged even if I had a packet of them?

I didn't take them so I'll never know. I don't generally take painkillers, they make me feel ill and don't really do much for the pain. I used to take special med for migraines but thanks to the menopause that is a thing of the past. Hallelujah.

Strictlyfanoftenyears · 11/04/2023 09:42

Rosula · 31/03/2023 23:06

How can it not be the Tories' fault, given that they are in charge of the NHS and in charge of funding it, and they have been in power for 13 years? It really cannot be blamed on any other party.

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As I said, all the parties are the same. That is the point I was making.

DotAndCarryOne2 · 11/04/2023 12:43

Strictlyfanoftenyears · 11/04/2023 09:42

As I said, all the parties are the same. That is the point I was making.

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I don’t remember any government in my lifetime being so hell bent on the deliberate destruction of the NHS and community health/care services. Starved of cash and give over to the private sector bit by bit.