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

It is not a lie, there have been huge issues ar least 20y
my mum had heart attack missed 20y ago.
it took years of issues before that too.
my dp had a migraine around then too. Vomited blood. I think there may have been an ambulance but once there hours and hours wait. Probably overnight so more vomiting. Couldnt manage a drip/anti emetic/pain relief

10y ago mum taken very ill holiday in devon called gp. Hours to get into hospital probably all day. Mum stayed a week. On o2.
20+ y ago my dsis had asthma attack we managed to walk to hospital as was next door.
again waited hours in a&e. She was kept in at least a week.
14yo i slipped downstairs pg went to a&e they couldnt do anything as they have no scans. So i sorted going to other hospital but although they did a trace i couldnt get anti D injection.
dds ear issues were over 10y ago. She ended up in hospital via ambulance as lips turned blue due to untreated by gp ear infections. Both ear drums burst as even a&e couldnt see issue. And she developed a heart murmur.

Successive tory governments bleeding our services.

If you don't agree with me, dig out the statistics. The last time the NHS was under good control was when Gordon Brown was the Chancellor and Tony Blair the PM.

Stop voting in a party that wants to break up. The NHS and has almost succeeded. Cos once the NHS has gone, we are all cannon fodder flbetween pharmaceutical and insurance companies just like people in the USA are.

Hope you get to see a doc soon OP .
But you are still doing better than we are in North Wales! My 2 year old had a serious head bump, then vomited after and was hazy. Knowing how bad all the hospitals are here (the health boards have been in special measures forever), we took him straight to our (luckily reasonably good/quick with kids) GP’s, where DS promptly vomited again and GP said he needed to go to A & E right away.

We had to wait 2 hours to be even triaged in A & E. Then another 7 hour wait on a chair in the waiting room of children’s A&E to see a doctor. And this was in the middle of the afternoon on a weekday 😱, not a weekend or an evening (although it was gone midnight before we were eventually seen). Apparently there were no doctors for the childrens A &E and only one in the entire main children’s ward!

The state of the NHS is really scary, I knew it was bad for adults but I hadn’t realised just how bad the children’s departments were too until then. And the Welsh Senedd has been under Labour control for over 25 years and we supposedly receive more health funding per person than in England. So I’m not sure what the answer to this crisis is, it’s truly frightening.

Had a very similar situation when my eldest DD was 11. Almost identical symptoms. Sat in A and E for 4 hours, the doctor finally saw her, glanced over her (did no tests). Said it was a virus and packed us off home

Very long story short it wasn't a virus. It was meningitis. And because the meningococcal bacteria (neisseria meningitidis) spread through her body due to no treatment, she ended up with sepsis (it infected her blood), cellulitis (it infected her skin) and septic arthritis (it infected her hip joint).

By the time I got them to actually listen to me and admit her, she couldn't walk at all, use her arm, and was very very unwell.

Even when they finally listened the fourth time I took her for medical help, we still had to wait 5 hours in A and E with DD in a wheelchair.

Ultimately turned out she didn't just have meningitis (and the other stuff) but she had (what was classified at the time as) the most deadly form of meningitis.

Just a virus though.

Please, please listen to your mammy instincts.

Also sorry I meant to say, DD never got a rash. It never developed. It was the only one out of the "typical" meningitis symptoms that she didn't develop (she had the stiff neck, headache, vomiting, couldn't look at light etc).

Just something to be mindful of OP

We are A&E regulars and are always seen right away as it’s a priority. In my experience, when it’s a genuine emergency, they are on it. When it’s something that could have been managed by a GP or just needs review by a doctor and there are no big red flags, it’s a long wait.

As frustrating as it is, it’s a good sign that you’re not seen as a priority.

In any event, hope you are seen soon, your DD is well and you are back home very soon!

ETA - my post was trying to bring you comfort during a stressful time. Based on the other posts on this thread, not at all trying to dismiss the possibility your daughter could be unwell.

Yanbu

Oh but the NHS blah blah bullshit

My daughter sat in emergency for 10 hours with a cut to the bone while she was terrified she was going to bleed out after being transported there by ambulance (she wasn't going to bleed out, the ambos bandaged it up to hold it as best they could before getting her to hospital).
It kind of is the norm these days. 5 hours is a lot 10 was excessive.

'can’t put chin to her neck as it hurts'

This along with her other symptoms suggest this could potentially be quite serious.

Apologies for my ignorance I don't know how things work in A&E atm...has your child been triaged yet?

I hope your DD is being seen OP

My friend’s mum was in A & E for 30 hours. She went because she was struggling to breathe. They wanted to admit her but there were no beds, so they sent her home. She’s evidently caught something nasty and is back there waiting.

I was in A&E yesterday, called 111 and they had me in an ambulance within 20 minutes I have just been diagnosed with angina. But I had a very severe reaction to one of the drugs that’s I had been taking for just 2 days and had spent 14 hours vomiting bile and couldn’t even keep a tiny sip of water down. I did also have chest pains that couldn’t be controlled by my GTN spray. I had 2 ECG, bloods, saw cardiologist, slept in a bed for 2 hours, IV anti nausea drugs, IV fluids, morphine, and a new prescription, discharged after 8 hours. The staff said it was unusually quiet so I got lucky,

Just spoke to a friend of mine in America and he said without insurance that trip would be at least $20,000.

Hope your DD is ok

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

It’s terrible @IAmADancer Your poor dc.

What a shambles the NHS is now

As it doesn't sound like either an "accident" or "emergency", you're probably low priority.

Suspected meningitis is an emergency.

You’re right to get her checked. Shame there isn’t a children’s section. There is at my local hospital and even if the wait is the same, it’s a much nicer environment to wait in. 5hr wait is probably what i’d expect really at this time of year. It’s not ideal but definitely good to get her checked than wait until the morning. Especially if a doctor is advising that. Hope she is ok OP.

This is a result of years of political decisions.

the rich elite want you to pay that’s why, and then the public have consistently voted for tax cuts rather than public services.

Hope your DD is ( or soon will be) ok OP 💐💐💐

Hope she is seen soon

How are you getting on OP? I’ve had blood taken, and CT scan done. I’m now just waiting for a bed to open up on a ward. I’m also going to be given antibiotics as a precaution.

I hope you’re ok

This I’m afraid. Countries that have great public services pay for them. And hope things are a bit better now.

Hope your child has now been seen and has had treatment that is started to help get her well again.

As to the how we got here, 14 years of Tory government. As to whether it is seen as acceptable, well those who don't vote, support the Tories or Reform, they think it is or of lesser priority than other things, or it does not affect them as they have no children who are not now adults.

I think this started prior to the Tories being in government when Tony Blair changed all the GP contracts meaning that GPs no longer had to provide a round the clock service.

The problem we have now is that there are three gateways to treatment, the GP. 111 and A and E.
it can be very difficult to get a GP appointment,111 can be helpful but will often just send you off to A and E. Years ago those sitting in A and E would probably have had a home visit for the duty doctor.

It’s awful isn’t it. My 1 year old DS had a history of Bronchiolitis last year, the worst experience we had was waiting to be moved up to a ward for 9 hours. The poor thing had to sleep in his pram all night hooked up to obs monitor 😢

I hope your DD is feeling better asap