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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to have NOT called an ambulance?

134 replies

LaaDeDa · 23/04/2009 12:48

DS, aged 14 months, fell down the stairs from the very top on Tuesday eve. He rolled over 3 times, landed on his back, cried immediately, had blood coming from his mouth and nose and got up.
I was out but dp sorted out the bleeding and checked him all over and then observed him playing, laughing etc for about an hour until he became tired and went to bed (he'd been on his way to bed when the original accident happened). By the time i came in he was asleep but able to be woken so we kept checking him through the night.
The next morning he vomited so i took him to local minor injuries who asked why we hadn't called an ambulance the night before.
My reasons for not were - how he'd responded following the fall basically. If i'd have felt he was non-responsive or vomiting through the night i would have done (and at the first bout of sickness did go to the hospital) so i was quite surprised they expected the emergency service to be used in that circumstance.
I really thought we'd done the right things and attended hospital at the right point so am genuinely surprised that the use of an ambulance at that moment would have not been wasting the resources.

So - in those circumstances would you have phoned an ambulance? Or am i the meanest, stupidest mummy going - as you can tell i am thinking that yes, i am :-(

OP posts:
Original poster
LaaDeDa · 23/04/2009 13:23

Dp said he was unsure where the bleeding was coming from - wasn't sure if it was just bitten tongue or lip and the fact his nose had taken a bit of the impact. He said it stopped quite quickly though and there were marks on his lips and a swollen top lip so he thought it was from that.

OP posts:
morningsun · 23/04/2009 13:25

Its horrid when someone says that [the nurse] when its too late isn't it?But she was correct.
We all make mistakes because we don't have full knowledge in every situation~ also men can be less proactive sometimes.
But lower your threshold of seeking help for next time~ if you do call an ambulance and then he is ok,they do not always take the patient in.
Head injuries are not just about level of consciousness,also have to worry about bumps and any bleeding from head/nose/ears/mouth and pain.

MadamAnt · 23/04/2009 13:28

I would have taken him to a&e tbh. I did actually call an ambulance for DD when she dived off a chest of drawers and landed straight on her head/neck. I was terrified that she'd broken her neck (it twisted horribly in the landing) and I didn't want to move her to the car. I was a bit about it though.

Northernlurker · 23/04/2009 13:28

Two or three steps - I would wait and see but a 14 month old falling the full height of the stairs would have me at A&E. Even if your dp was sure he didn't hit his head, a fall of that type could have caused broken bones or internal bleeding elsewhere.

Don't beat yourself up - what's done is done and he's fine - but you need to be using stairgates (as I'm sure you know).

QSthevampireslayer · 23/04/2009 13:30

He could have broken any number of soft little bones from a fall like that!

My son fell down from a chair at 13 month, and broke his wrist.

Original poster
LaaDeDa · 23/04/2009 13:33

We were very concerned he could have an internal injury hence checking him through the night and going to the hopsital as soon as he was sick.
Dp has basic first aid training and felt for bumps on the head and checked his body over to see if he reacted in pain anywhere (tummy, neck etc).

OP posts:
jellybeans · 23/04/2009 13:35

I would have taken him to A&E

Ledodgy · 23/04/2009 13:37

I'd have taken him to A&E the nose bleeding would have panicked me.

rubyslippers · 23/04/2009 13:37

i actually think i would have called an ambulance but then i am 35 minutes form the nearest A& E and with a fall like that i would have been calling 999

Sassybeast · 23/04/2009 13:37

www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/help/bodykey/Questions/Index.aspx?nodes=F6gxRMyIMAvBzqJHnAsejw%3d%3d#pos 1992

Sorry but basic first aid training SHOULD tell your DP that any bleeding from the moth or nose after a head injury is potentially serious. He had no way of knowing if he's injured his neck so he should have been seen urgently. It's great with the benefit of hindsight but it would concern me that anyone else reading this thread might do the same as you did with dire consequences.

Original poster
LaaDeDa · 23/04/2009 13:38

Stairgates would have made no difference unfortunately as he was with dp and they were going upstairs. They had both reached the top and ds was in front - we always go a stair behind him to catch him if should fall - and as dp went to his side and reached for his hand ds pulled away from him and fell backwards.

With hindsight i should have got him up and into a+e that night but felt with what information we had to go on and how he had/was responding we were ok doing as we did.

OP posts:
diplodocus · 23/04/2009 13:39

I would have done exactly what you did (and I'm a nurse, by the way).
You appropriately assessed him, and he was obviously lucky and wasn't hurt. He wasn't in pain (from the sounds of it), was using all four limbs and hasd absolutely no sign of a head injury. Minor nose bleeds are par for the course with small kids (assuming it was just a trickle), and a bang on the mouth will make their gums bleed (assume it was just a bit of bloody saliva rather than gushing!). He showed no sign of a head injury at the time.

fanjoforthemammaries7850 · 23/04/2009 13:39

I have to agree with QS, I think it is something that should have been taken seriously, and I don't think basic first aid training can replace a doctor's opinion, but I think people who think you should have called the ambulance won't be posting here as they think they would make you feel worse and more guilty.

Anyway it all worked out for the best, and you didn't do anything out of lack of care for him, you did what you thought was right at the time.

QSthevampireslayer · 23/04/2009 13:40

"appropriately assessed him"

with what? basic first aid training?
from the perspective of a nurse/doctor/ layman?

MmeLindt · 23/04/2009 13:40

I don't think that beating yourself up about it (or being flamed from MNetters) helps anyone.

Yes, most of us have stated that we would have sought out medical advice but we are not infallible and we do make mistakes.

Luckily for you and your DS it turned out ok, and you have learned a lesson for the future.

I would say that I have become more aware about the dangers of head injuries since the death of Natasha Richardson. There was a doc on the radio who stated the danger signs, when to seek medical assistance. She actually said that children under 5yo should always be taken to the doctor, which I have never heard before.

FelineFine · 23/04/2009 13:40

1992sassyslink

fourkids · 23/04/2009 13:40

I would have done esactly what you did (assuming I could see where the blood was coming from, from his mouth and nose).

Don't feel bad. In fact, as it turns out, you were right weren't you? He doesn't have concussion/broken bones/anything lasting at all? (Just a tummy bug, which now won't have been caught by an ambulance driver and passed onto subsequent real emergencies! )

pinkmagic1 · 23/04/2009 13:41

I would have called NHS direct for advice but wouldn't have called a ambulance unless they told me too.

FAQinglovely · 23/04/2009 13:42

both DS1 and 2 had several falls downstairs when younger (and yes we had stairgates).

I never took them to A&E or called an ambulance, although on one or two occasions I did get an emergency appointment at the Drs surgery.

However, the worst "visible" injury they had was swollen lips.

If they'd bled from the nose or mouth I'd have been straight to A&E with them.

FelineFine · 23/04/2009 13:43

Oh Dear, it's going to be one of those threads

You are no doubt beating youself up about this but these things happen and I have to agree with the poster regarding men not being the brightest when it comes to situations like this. I may have changed the content slightly there....

He is fine. That's the main thing.

Sassybeast · 23/04/2009 13:44

Diplodocus - I'm very wary of not sounding as if I'm having a go at the OP as I'm not - her little lad is okay and that's great but I'm also a nurse and I think suggesting that a nosebleed after a tumble down a full flight of stairs is 'par for the course' is dangerous. In most cases it probably IS due to localised trauma but in the cases when it's not, the results could be catastrophic if it's not assessed properly.

Again OP - please don't feel like I'm having a go at you. We all learn from experiences and hopefully your little one WON'T put you to the test agin!

fourkids · 23/04/2009 13:46

The thing that would put me off calling NHS direct in these circumstances (apart from waiting 2 hours till a receptionist or something calls me back...then another 2 hours for a nurse to call me back...then another 2 hours for a doctor to call me back - even though everyone is always very nice and professional ) is that if you are going to do that, you may as well head straight for a&e, don't you find? because unless you say 'Actually I'm absolutely fine, haven't been ill for at least 5 years, don't know why I've called really' they ALWAYS say you should seek medical advice!

I know they have to cover their back, but in that case surely they may as well simply run the OOH service?

Or maybe that's only my experience...

diplodocus · 23/04/2009 13:46

Yes, she assessed him appropriately as a parent. It's what we all do.
He fell down some (presumably carpeted) stairs.
Any child can be hurt in any situation - a friend's child broke hhis leg severely by slipping on something in the lounge. If we panicked about every accident we'd be forever at A and E. We need to make sensible decisions, and she did.
As fourkids said, you were right anyway!

fanjoforthemammaries7850 · 23/04/2009 13:47

FelineFine - that link was for children over 5

Original poster
LaaDeDa · 23/04/2009 13:47

Really i was so unaware that it would have been ok to ring for an ambulance in that situation that i am totally open for people telling me they would - it has really opened my eyes.
I would certainly urge anyone else in the situation to get it checked asap and i would do so if a next time occurs.

OP posts: