5hr Wait to see a Dr with sick child - how are we at this point

[IAmADancer]

Just that really. Called 111 as my DD is poorly, very high temp, vomiting, lethargic, can’t put chin to her neck as it hurts. Was told she had to attend A&E.

She is currently sat on a plastic chair, looking horrendously pale and feeling so unwell. Seen the nurse and been told it’s a 5 hr wait for a dr.

Why do we accept this as the norm, it’s awful. I feel so frustrated that this is the best we can expect and that a small child who is obviously poorly is left to wait this long

Is this children’s A and E? I’ve taken my kids yearly pretty much for things much less urgent than that, and I think the longest wait was 2 hours. Last month we were in and out in 20 minutes.

it sounds awful, I’m sorry. I hope you are seen soon.

@Xmasbaby11 yes children’s A&E. Cannot believe it’s a Monday night and a 5 hr wait.

No, this is not acceptable but, this is how the NHS has reduced. I hope your baby is seen quickly.x

It's completely unacceptable, but we've been conditioned to accept 'it'll do' in the NHS, rather than a reasonable standard of care.

If she shows any sign whatsoever of deterioration, don't hesitate to go to the nurses and keep telling them.

Hope she's seen sooner than they've said.

I also have a specialist children’s A&E. There are so many children there and they will prioritise accordingly.

111 will generally always tell you to go to A&E with a child. I’ve unfortunately had the case where they sent someone to our house immediately.

Hang in there, I know it’s tough as a parent, but they will see you and I know it’s crap to wait. I hope you don’t have to wait too long.

Thats awful. I'm so sorry for your daughter. It isn't normal or right, nor should it be.
Hoping you get seen ASAP.

How busy is it? Can you lie her across a few chairs?..

My son had anaphylaxis recently and had an ambulance in minutes and excellent care

I know a&e is a horrible place to wait though

I really hope she feels better soon. My experience with A&E has always been excellent with my children - never more than 2 hours and normally much quicker, especially recently.
It does sound unusually excessive.

Just keep an eye out for a non blanching rash. looks like little needle pricks. My dd was sat with me in A&E with meningitis and they were not fussed about seeing her till the rash came up while we were waiting. Once that appeared they jumped about scary fast.

Hope your lo is ok xx

That’s bloody awful, op. The NHS is really no longer fit for purpose.
Hope she’s ok.

14 hour wait for us at Barnsley A&E last Wednesday. Daughter had sudden onset neurological symptoms, couldn’t walk or talk. Sent home and advised an urgent referral to the children’s hospital has been made. Urgent being 3-4 weeks. It’s just disgraceful at the moment.

Part of the problem is lack of primary care services. There were A LOT of poorly children, many with RSV and croup symptoms. But it was 7pm when I got there. Primary care services are closed. Parents have no alternative but to pile up to A&E.

It’s horrific! I spent 10 hours in A&E and SDEC only to come out with no help. I ended up calling the GP today and had a new prescription straight away. I was crying in pain. Animals are treated better.

I hope your DD is seen quickly x

And as others have said, if you need to, be pushy as sometimes it’s the only way

In the next room there could be a child having a cardiac arrest, a victim of a car accident, a compound fracture, not breathing, in anaphylactic shock...or many more
Your child was not life threatening at this present time so had to wait. That is how triage works.
The NHS is at capacity. We don't have enough hospitals. But that doesn't make YOU a priority.

It's complicated. Some people And company's don't want to pay their taxes, so look for ways not to. Others don't want to pay more taxes, so vote against it.

Some politicians tell us we can "have it all" and not pay for it. We cannot.

Some politicians tell us that giving tax breaks to the rich will, somehow, benefit ordinary folk. It wont.

some people think wrapping themselves in the flag makes them a patriot. It doesnt.

I hope very much your child is fine now.

but please remember that if we want a functioning health service, ( and armed forces that can protect us, and library's that can educate us and schools that can really care for our children ect) we have to pay and vote for it.

I am keeping an eye out for a rash. She had a very high temp but nurofen has meant it’s gone down in the last hour or so. She has some weird marks on her clavicle which I told the nurse about but they didn’t say much or seem to be bothered about it. I had a call with a dr who said I needed to bring her in but I don’t see how sleeping on a chair is better than her being in her own bed.

she’s asleep on a chair at the moment.

Obviously impossible to tell over the Internet but all those symptoms sound like it could be meningitis. Rash does not always appear straight away. Has she been triaged? Ask could it be meningitis.

@QuickPeachPoet the kids A&E is tiny. There are children that are perfectly well who are currently in ph’s sat watching on iPhones. There are only 3 bays and only 1 child was in them. There are no children having cardiac arrests.

from what I have been told there aren’t any dr’s in A&E and they need to bring them down from the wards, hence the 5 hr wait.

This sounds terrifying sending hugs

This is my concern @Cathod and why I brought her In. Because her temp and heart rate were ok when she was triaged, I don’t think they were overly fussed.

But if she has been triaged then they have her ranked against other patients so if other patients are more urgent or life threatening then they will be seen first. I have only been to Aand E a tiny number of times and each time. Triaged and then treated within an hour. I think it does depend on the medics assessment. It bodes well for your child that they are not fast tracking them to a bed and surgery etc as they think it is not too serious to need that. I hope they make a swift recovery.

RSV lands a lot of children in hospital/HDU
My son was bouncing around the waiting room when we took him in ages 3. A few hours later he was in HDU and teetering on the edge of needing ICU

Sorry I just have to say I have had meningitis and never had a rash so this isn’t always the case and isn’t the main indicator always.

It doesn’t sound like your daughter has this. Yes absolutely vomiting, but in my case it felt like someone poured tar in my hair and the headache was unbearable and I would move and the movement caused extreme nausea. No high fever, no other symptoms except fatigue and ridiculous neck pain.

Unfortunately as others have said they always say go to A &E and this is what everyone does /

How long has she been like this?

@Pussygaloregalapagos quite often meningitis is missed because of how it presents. I have explained to the nurse that she was also acting strangely, saying odd things and very agitated. They said it was because she had a sore throat

If she suddenly gets worse you are in the right place. Keep her as comfortable as possible and know that Doctors are near if she suddenly gets more poorly. Best place to be… even with a wait.