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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to expect an out of an hours doctor to coma and see my doctor when...

160 replies

pinkdolly · 10/01/2009 14:12

My dh is serving away with the forces. I dont drive and even if I did, I am ill with bad flu and a chest infection and 27 weeks pg so cant take anything for it (I haven't slept for 3 days!). I have 2 other young children, 1 of which also has flu.

My poor dd1 (6) has blood coming out her ear and is crying in pain despite having calpol and nurophen. She has flu and I think (tho I am not a doctor myself) she may have perforated her ear drum. She hardly slept all night due to the pain.

Now I know it's not life threatening stuff, but come on you'd think they'd come out and see her. Nope, I have to ring around trying to to find someone to drag her out for me while I stay here looking after myself and my other sick dd. Grrr...!

OP posts:
sarah293 · 10/01/2009 16:35

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

27 · 10/01/2009 16:35

But whether or not the GP does a home visit will be decided by the extent to which you are housebound.
It is not a measure of how ill you are.

YeahBut · 10/01/2009 16:41

Back to the OP's daughter - try children's nurofen for the pain and swelling in the ear. As a veteran nurse of children's ear infections after my 3 children, it is by far and away the best pain relief for earache.

HelenBurns · 10/01/2009 16:43

Sorry you're feeling so awful. The dr came out to us a few weeks ago in similar situation, in fact less serious, but that's cos he is very friendly and also we live right by the OOH so it was on his way.

It's a nightmare and I feel really sorry for you.

Btw ignore Moondog, she is like this to everyone - if she had her way we'd all f*ck off and get over ourselves, and she'd be all alone on a website without anyone to be rude to

All together now: Ahhhhhhhhh

(though I didn't realise this the other week and she made me cry! Cow)

compo · 10/01/2009 16:52

I agree with ggirl and Roisin - yes, it's knackering but if your child needs to go, the need to go. Glad you find someone to take her.

moondog · 10/01/2009 18:12

Well HB I am very sorry i made you cry. As has been said here, ignore me if warranted.I ignore all posters whose comments are not warranted or helpful.

Sympathy is in order yes, if someone posts something under a title like 'I am so ill and having a shit time.Please sympathise'. What irks me (and does so every time I come on MN) is use of the AIBU section in which anyone who does not offer unconditional agreement is treated like a hardened criminal.
Really weird.

moondog · 10/01/2009 18:13

This disclaimer (as seen directly above my post) puts it quite nicely

''Note: This topic, as you might guess from its title, encourages posters to take sides. This means that posters tend to express their opinions. If you don't want to read posts from people who might strongly disagree with you, you might prefer to post in a different topic area on our site.
"

unfitmother · 10/01/2009 18:19

I have found you being equally unpleasant in other topic areas though, moondog.

HelenBurns · 10/01/2009 18:22

Thankyou Moony.

Apology accepted.

I agree it's fair enough to post an opinion but there are polite and civil ways of doing so, don't you reckon? People do get hurt by aggressive language, and there's no real need for it usually.

naturalbornmum · 10/01/2009 20:05

But Moondog - you just go out of your way to be nasty and regardless of what you say now I ignore you because of this and I think many others will be doing the same. If you have an opinion try expressing it in a nicer way instead of the vile way you do.

naturalbornmum · 10/01/2009 20:05

But Moondog - you just go out of your way to be nasty and regardless of what you say now I ignore you because of this and I think many others will be doing the same. If you have an opinion try expressing it in a nicer way instead of the vile way you do.

Ronaldinhio · 10/01/2009 20:21

I personally wouldn't call out the doctor for an earache but that's just me
Try calpol and calprofen together

BTW I didn't think moondog was all that harsh... sorry to fly in the face of opinion and she has apologised, which is more than most would do, so perhaps accepting the apology might be in order imo

TheCrackFox · 10/01/2009 20:29

Doctor wouldn't even give anti-biotics when DS1 had a perforated eardrum. I was 39 weeks pregnant and seriously sleep deprived. Oh, and had the in-laws visiting. That was a fun week

However, pales into comparison that it is practically impossible to get an appointment at my GPs practice. To the extent that DH and I have both had to pay to see a private GP on occassion (and no, we couldn't really afford it).

Leo9 · 10/01/2009 20:41

but there's a difference between earache and an ear infection - I would personally think terrible pain and blood discharging is an infection; and afaik it pays to be very careful with kids and get them to the dr for this; whenever I've had those symptoms (crying with pain, blood) it's been an infection and treated with anti bots.

and moondog you are being totally disingenuous - what you said was rude and nasty, that's what people took issue with; you didn't just not agree. Not being in full agreement would have been saying "well on balance I think you're being unreasonable and should go to the doctor yourself" what you actually said was FGS get over yourself.....and yes you're quite right it is a public forum and yes you can be nasty if you want. It's just a shame you want to, really.

RiaParkinson · 10/01/2009 20:47

moondog - voice of reason

Leo9 · 10/01/2009 20:52

really?

wintercitylover · 10/01/2009 21:01

TBH if it's anything I thought was serious I would bypass my GP/outof hours service. I had one very bad experience with DS2 when he was 7 months old with an out of hours service - never again.

And ring NHS direct (as to clarify whether or not it was serous) and then go to A&E.

But I agree that it is a nightmare if either you are ill or you have other DCs and need to seek medical attention. Health care professionals ime could not care less what your circumstances are in terms of whether it is practical to visit out of hours etc and it's sods law that kids will get worse during evenings and weekends

I have sort of got used to it and have adapted but I found it shocking to begin with.

Ultimately I think you have to get very selfish over your DCs care and needs. There is no room for worrying whether you are putting people out. If you feel something warrants attention then go with gut feeling!!

wintercitylover · 10/01/2009 21:08

Just to clarify I am not serial user of medical services can't remember when my DCs (12 and 7) last needed medical attention (thank god) including routine GP appt.

BUT when they were little they were often quite ill with breathing problems usually and in the end I did not dither around. This was usually vindicated by medical staff ie they usually needed nebuliser, adrenalin, steroid etc

I think you have to get quite single minded and not apologetic as might be the natural tendency. IME the hospital staff don't mind esp if it is something unusual - which I would say blood coming out of ear would be.

As for Moondog - have noticed your posts on other threads. what is that all about?

naturalbornmum · 10/01/2009 21:26

OP - I hope everything is ok.

LucyEllensmummy · 10/01/2009 21:55

Moondog made me cry once - but only because she gave me some very harsh home truths that i needed to here. I like her.

BUT, moondog, you do seem to have hardened up a lot lately - are you ok?

LucyEllensmummy · 10/01/2009 21:56

needed to hear

auntypurple · 10/01/2009 21:59

Have just seen this, I am Pinkdolly's sister and I took her dd to the doctor. We sat for an hour and a half before being seen even though we had a booked time to go in. My niece bless her was ever so good, but had blood coming out of her ear, I had to keep getting damp tissue to clean it up. She was very shaky on her legs and almost fell when she stood up. I felt so sorry for her, she has been put on strong antibiotics. DN didn't moan or complain once, despite been kept waiting for so long. TBH I think she should not have had to leave the house the way she was, but I didn't mind taking her and will do again if she needs to go.

loobylu3 · 10/01/2009 22:01

OP- I hope that you and your DC will start to feel better soon.
I do, however, feel that some of the comments made on here about GPs sitting on their arses and not caring, etc are unjustified. During the Winter months, the GP OOH system is very stretched and all calls are triaged so that the most serious can be seen first. It takes far longer for a doctor (and their driver) to perform a home visit than for the patient to attend to see the doctor. Therefore, more patients can be seen in the same period of time if they can attend. There is usually no specific reason why a child with an ear infection/ perforation cannot attend from a medical perspective. As a GP, we see a lot of these infections within normal surgery times.
I am not trying to pretend that the OOH system is without flaws (no system dealing with huge numbers of people works perfectly 100% of the time) but the reasons are not laziness, etc as some of the pps are suggesting.

saggyhairyarse · 10/01/2009 22:05

I really sympathise because my eardrum perforated and it is agony!

I actually went to A & E with mine as was a weekend, the out of hours Drs wouldn't see me as it was not a middle ear infection because adults don't get them so at 4 in the morning when I had not slept for 2 days and was crying in agony, I took myself off to hospital.

They were really great and I was given IV painkillers and antibiotics.

naturalbornmum · 10/01/2009 22:06

I don't think it is laziness on the medics end but a very flawed system.

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