To be furious

[Threelittleduck]

How has the NHS come to this? My DD had a seizure in the summer. We went to hospital but discharged later.
Nothing has happened but today she had two seizures. One at around 9 and one an hour ago. Called ambulance after her seizure at 9, they said it would be hours for an ambulance but 4 hours? After she's had a second seizure? I can't drive her as had a Covid jab yesterday and am feeling sick and dizzy and DH has been drinking.
I mean thank fuck it's not life threatening! (I know she'd be higher priority before anyone takes that seriously).
She's asleep on the sofa now and I'm sat with her, feeling tired, ill and worried about DD
Is this what the country has come to? Is that government actually going to do anything to help our healthcare system and support those who work in it.

It’s truly awful when you’re at a loss what to do for the best especially when we are not the experts and just want to do the right thing. I was so tempted to drive to the hospital recently called 999 told hours nearly cancelled and drove thank goodness I didn’t ambulance arrived early and had to blue light my DC to hospital. Sympathies OP. Hope your DD gets the treatment they need and deserve now.

It does seem odd to me too. People frequently become unwell after jabs. You plan for that, which doesn't involve the other parent drinking so much alcohol they're over the limit to drive. I'd be having very strong words with DH about drinking in this scenario.

The OP's dd is 16. Are all 16 year olds meant to be accompanied by a competent driver iunder the legal limit 24 hours a day? My dh doesn't drive, does that mean he can't be left in charge of his own kids? Stop berating OP for not having a crystal ball. I agree taxis are a thing, and that is how I get to hospital if I need to, but I'd also expect ambulances to be available in an emergency. It's shocking how many people will defend the absolutely catastrophic decline in public services and blame the user for everything.

Hope your daughter is OK but if you were that worried you'd have got a taxi not stayed at home lamenting the NHS on mumsnet out of principle.

I'm sorry you were in a very unfamiliar situation where your daughter was experiencing a number of seizures but why was your DH drinking if you weren't feeling 100% following your Covid jabs meaning that there was no one in the house who could drive to the hospital should it be required?

I do think there should be ambulances a plenty for situations that people find themselves in but even if there was a properly funded NHS, I seriously don't believe that there would be an ambulance for each and every call that comes in to the Emergency Services number so they would still have to prioritise calls as they receive them.

I do hope that your daughter is being seen to and that someone finds out why she had seizures last night and how to treat them going forwards.

A family member had a first seizure recently and they were kept in hospital for a week as they broke their shoulder as they fell and needed surgery. They had a prompt MRI the next day and saw a neurologist. I can’t knock the NHS in my area.

I hope you get to the bottom of it.

Of course the OP should have called an ambulance, FFS I know you would all walk to A & E with your leg hanging off but I'd have waited for an ambulance too.

In the case of a seizure an ambulance could definitely be needed - say for example she fits for over 5 minutes and needs oxygen etc. So putting people off ordering an ambulance isn’t helpful.

@Threelittleduck I hope your daughter got seen quickly and hope you have a plan moving forward that will enable her to get treatment and the scan she needs.
its so scary when your child has a seizure - especially a grand mal tonic clinic seizure.
For those saying it’s not the fault of the NHS - it literally is! Before the system changed, even small market towns had their own ambulance stations - where wait times had to be under 14 mins.
14 years ago, I was told by a paramedic when my own little boy was having seizures and needed oxygen before reaching hospital, that the whole of Suffolk (very rural county) had only 5 ambulances!

Parts of the NHS system are ok but in general it needs getting rid of completely or at the very least, the biggest overhaul ever!

Nobody is going to crash because they feel a bit dizzy and sick after a jab. This OP has the word “entitled” running right through it like a stick of rock.

But having been told the ambulance will be 4 hours you take a decision and mine would be we get a cab now.

The state of the NHS is of course a whole other debate but in the here and now you make a decision based on the here and now and not what it would be nice to have.

I wouldn't be on mumsnet moaning about the NHS and arguing with strangers. I would have been straight in a cab and on my way to the hospital however drunk my husband was and however dizzy I felt

i wouldn't want to take a child having seizures in a taxi.

Isn’t that up to the emergency services to decide.
An ambulance will only come out if it’s deemed necessary and they prioritise, who’s in most need.(not like years ago) Also the call handler will be advising what to do.Having seizures is not straight forward, the person is meant to stay in the recovery position.
OP did have an ambulance and her daughter is now in hospital.

Bloody hell!

What a nasty post

And you are wrong. Driving while dizzy is potentially dangerous.

Someone posts, worried about their DD and you think it is OK to stick the boot in. It says a lot about you. Are you always this unpleasant?

Just blaming NHS over this when you don’t know context is wrongly placing blame. Maybe there’s a multi vehicle serious accident they are attending, people bleeding on the road.

Your own issues - your jab, drunk partner, fear of taxi, fear of urine are the issue. You want someone else to transport …

Call a taxi, get some towels for your daughter to sit on.

If you think your child is a priority, treat her as priority and don’t focus on your “dizzy”, what if she fits in taxi. Just get her to the hospital and stop with MN complaining. Not afraid to post on MN, but can’t get dressed?

You need to pull yourself together to help your child.

And yes, I have a child with multiple heath problems, including seizure. I’ve never had an ambulance come, I drive or taxi. I have a waterproof mat for travel or use towels.

Maybe if your husband wasn't drunk he could drive her to hospital. Ambulances are not taxis - the long wait isn't because they are sitting around doing nothing; they will be attending heart attacks and strokes etc. Call a taxi.

Is she okay?

I am aghast at people who think that @Threelittleduck should have driven, despite her knowing she wasn't safe to drive!

I hope your dd feels better soon, and you all get the answers and solutions you need, @Threelittleduck.

This is what people should be really asking

Sorry you've had to go through this.
I'm epileptic, it's not controlled and I don't go to hospital after seizures. I got discharged 4 times in one day after having several seizures and they can't do alot for you at all so it's just easier and less stressful to recover at home. It can take me days to recover and feel myself again.
Sending strength to your daughter and family x

I hope your DD is okay. Ignore the posters who think you were wrong to call an ambulance. You were worried about your DD, you did the right thing.

Also being over the limit to drive doesn't mean her DH was falling down drunk.

Don't expect the service to be any different under the new government. The service will be just the same. They will just blame the last government for the state it is in.

Who continues drinking after your daughter has had a seizure, and your wife is presumably laid out ill in bed / on sofa?! Husband needs to be read the riot act.

I remember your earlier thread - I hope she's been seen now and is feeling better. How scary for you all. The wait must have been agony.

Can’t believe what I have read…

Why was your husband drinking or continued to drink after your daughter had her first seizure.

Your reason for not getting a taxi is poor, you could have got one after her first seizure at 9!

So you felt dizzy so couldn’t drive… but too worried to get a taxi. Bizarre.
your husband was drunk. Poor all round.

Well that's fine, but my post was more addressed at those berating the OP for having been irresponsible for no one being able to drive. In fact it wouldn't just be 16yos needing a DES chaperone at all times. Even if she was 18 she couldn't have driven herself while having seizures, and it's very entitled to think an ambulance might be a possibility.