to expect there to be a service in between caring for my sick child at home or phoning for an ambulance?

[beesonmummyshead]

dd is 2.7. For 48 hours she has vomited everything she has eaten or drunk. She now has diarrhoea and is crying/sleeping a lot. I phoned my doctors to speak to the doctor as I'm worried about dehydration.

The duty doctor called back and after a couple of questions sid he'd like to see my dd to ensure she is not dehydrated and asked I take her to the surgery. I have no transport and am about 20 mins walk away, and besides dd is not well enough to be moved, so I requested a home visit. Doctor refused on the grounds that I should get a taxi. I have never had a home visit before btw.

My mum intervenes and complains. Doctor gets told to attend asap, which he does. He walks in, tells me to strip dd to her nappy (which she doesnt have as she is toilet trained) then pinches her toes, fingers and ribs, then, without asking her, tries to prise open her mouth . He doesn't check her for a rash, check her breathing or tell me how to treat her. He told me to bring her down to the surgery if she is the same tomorrow

TBH I am minded never to use the home visit service again . If dd stays the same, I can care for her, if she is worse I will call for an ambulance. Why is there no service available for worried mothers with small children who shouldn't be dragged across town to sit and wait to see a doctor?

the service you want is NHS direct 0945 46 47

hth

0845 4647

I am a bit confused as in your first post you say that you're worried about dehydration, but this seems to have changed to 'you were only asking for advice'.

Also, you have been asking for advice about entertainment - couldn't you have used the same forum for health worries?

www.mumsnet.com/Talk?topicid=5313&threadid=941624&o=1270575812701#19183978

sorry but i have an 8 year old with a temp of 41.9 there is no doctor or medical centre here and i have to wait until TOMORROW MORNING to catch a plane (planes cannot land or take off at night here), it is an hours drive to the airport, a 45 minute flight and then another hours drive to the nearest doctor and you can't take a taxi? Get a grip

id use a taxi the ambulance could be needed by somone who really needs it eg heart attack ,etc

Oh for goodness sake woman - you obviously have access to a PC and the web - you could have actually done a little research yourself and realised you were being quite unreasonable demanding a home visit.

here

So the gp had to come out to see your child as you didnt want to walk 20 minutes with child in a pushchair or get a taxi for a 5 minute drive. No wonder he was a little off. It would never have occured to me to expect a home visit.

I live on Mafia Island, its off the coast of tanzania. due to it being the rainy season i suspected malaria, but have done skin prick test and it is negative, bloody worried though. the kids take anti malarials and i keep a supply of co arinate (malaria cure) which i dosed her with anyway just in case, am suspecting guardia or thyphoid now though.

I am OP

I had exactly the same problem with my 19mth DS last week - sickness/diarrohea and refusing fluid.

It is also a 20min walk to my surgery and I was so grateful to get an emergency appt with DR at 5pm on a Friday it didn't enter my head to demand a home visit.

I was so worried and so happy to be seen that I walked I think YABU to demand a home visit.

I hope your daughter gets well soon, my DS was poorly for 5 days before making a full recovery.

assume you are giving paracetomal and ibuprofen and stripped off under a fan and giving drinks

poor you

Of course you should have taken a taxi. What you have there is a poorly but basically ok child (who is of an age where she can very easily be carried from car to building) and what you and your mum have managed to do is take the doctors time away from people who cannot physically leave their homes.

GPs do home visits for the elderly, the dying - not you and your daughter.

If you need advice then ring NHS direct.

Titch - hope your little one is ok.

I have just realised the surgery was 20 mins walk away not drive as I first said

Lord luv-a-duck woman - shove her in a buggy and walk it

My dd (2.3) is currently recovering from D&V which started on Friday evening. By Sunday morning she was severely dehydrated and has spent the last two days in hospital on a drip. Please don't underestimate how quickly little ones can become very ill, it doesn't have to take 48 hours as someone said.

We called NHS direct for advice and were told to take her to the out-of-hours service who then got us admitted straight onto the paediatric ward as she was in shock by the time we got there. Excellent service as far as I'm concerned. We took her ourselves and wouldn't have dreamed of demanding someone came to see her, even though she was obviously very ill. But only you know your circumstances so you can only do what you think is best at the time.

Wih dds in the past I have

a) called nhs direct - dd1 about 13 months at the time, had d+v, was pale and v.quiet, temp - they called an ambulance, she was starting to get dehydrated we were at the hospital for a few hours syringing dioralyte into her.

b) phoned out of hours dr - last week when dd1, now 4, had temp, bright red rash, sore throat and very miserable - we called dh who came back from work to drive her to local hospital which runs out of hours service - she had scarlet fever

c) phoned gps (- dd1 again!) wheezy, laboured breathing, dr said to bring her straight in so put her in pushchair with dd2, stopping several times to give inhaler, walked the 20 minutes to the surgery where she was nebulised and given liquid steroids then taken to hospital.

we have never had the offer of a home visit, I didn't even realise they still did them! I think in the situation you describe ringing nhs direct would have been the best course to take - we have it on speed dial here, we seem to spend a lot of time at the hospital!

I agree with many of the above that you should have taken a taxi. As dehydration is the main worry with these type of bugs it was important for the doctor to take a look at her - pity he wasn't more reassuring /pleasant with you though.

Titch - sounds like it could be typhoid, if def not malaria (I've had both and they felt pretty similar). If so, she'll improve rapidly with the correct treatment. Has she been vaccinated for typhoid? If yes, that's good cause it will slow the progression of the illness (if that is what it is).

all 3 have been vaccinated against EVERYTHING possible! in 4 yrs this is only the 2nd time i have been seriously worried about illness. it could still be malaria as the skin prick test (even lab test) not 100%, which is why i have dosed her, will get plane first thing if no improvement, have already secured seats

The latter is a good reason for home visits though, Riven (I've had home visits myself/waited hours for ambulances due to having no other way of getting to hospital myself).

LMAO at " I am minded never to use the home visiting service again"
There is no home visiting service - hence your GP being so pissed off at being sent out to look at your daughter, when a quick look at the NHS Choices website or ringing NHS direct would have given you the information you needed. YABU

well, thank you for all of your replies. I know AIBU is asking for a difference of opinions, but I do think some of you could have been a lot politer. Do you really speak to people like this in RL? Because I certainly don't, and I wouldn't expect to have many friends if I did.

I also speak to people on forums in the same way that I would in RL, because they are, after all, people.

Some of you have upset me with your attitudes. You know nothing about me, my life or what may or may not be going on with my family right now.

I am a fairly strong, optimistic kind of person - but some of you (and you'll know who you are) might want to think about the effect some of your words would have on more vulnerable people who really just want a rant and a debate rather than made to feel like they are truly ridiculous.

Maybe post in chat next time, rather than AIBU?

Of course we know nothing else about you! You really can't expect a perfectly pitched reply that's based on a myriad of information we don't have

If you want your hand held - talk to your mum or your mates. If you want to know how your behaviour appears to strangers ask on here. Just don't confuse the two.

Riven - disabled people without access to a car should definately get home visits. Do you get them for dd?