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?

beesonmummyshead:

You mean like thiswww.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/901.aspx?CategoryID=72&SubCategoryID=72 ?

"Some myths about GP services
Your doctor has to visit you at home.

FALSE

If a home visit is appropriate, the doctor or nurse will arrange it. Doctors decide whether or not to visit a patient at home, based on your medical need. Only patients who cannot reasonably come into the surgery are visited at home.

You will be seen more quickly if you ask for a home visit.

FALSE

During surgery hours, most doctors visit patients later in the day. It may be quicker for you to go into the surgery during normal surgery hours and out-of-hours. If you do the travelling, it means that the doctor can see more patients rather than spending time travelling themselves and delaying your consultation."

I don't understand why it's okay for NHS direct to give advice over the phone but too difficult for a doctor as a previous post suggests. I called NHS direct a few weeks ago when my ds was ill and they gave completely different advice to my GP when I rang. I think it's very easy to dismiss childhood illness as easily solved but it's very worrying when it's your first experience of it.

I agree that GP services should not be mis-used but I am shocked that people think they only reasons for not being able to attend a GP's surgery is because of being near death. As I mentioned in a previous post by ds had explosive sickness and diarrhoea a few weeks ago and my GP surgery does not have changing facilities so I would have had to wash him down in the middle of a very busy waiting area. Not very good for infection control really is it?

OP, I've used NHS Direct a couple of times for bad V&D illnesses - their advice has been really good on each occasion. Can see that you panicked (and so YAposs B a bit U) but in future would def recommend NHS Direct as a first port of call. They will tell you if you need to see a GP or get the hospital so you'll feel more confident if you do demand a home visit on their advice.

Soapboxqueen - see your point that GPs are not just there fore emergencies but I do think NHS Direct has the facilities and set up to better deal with phone calls. GPs have to squeeze these in between surgery appts and might not be as well trained to deal with over the phone consultations (which are quite different to seeing someone in person).

chiccadee- I agree that NHS direct is an excellent resource and I usually use it as a first point of call. I have to say though that my GP's office has a rather unusual triage system. They have a doctor doing phone calls only and you can't make any appointments without speaking to the triage doctor first. I haven't heard of any other surgeries following this model but it's excellent if you just want some advice.

Our surgery has a triage nurse, who assesses your call when you ring to make an appointment (unless you want to make one in advance).

I've often wondered about that Riven, because when we thought that our dds had swine flu, the doctor told us to come in, which surprised me. I also bumped into a friend whose little boy had very obvious scarlet fever in the waiting room, and that is very infectious.

At the drs in the village where I used to live I was always advised to wait in a seperate room, or come at the end of surgery when waiting room was empty, because I was on chemotherapy and so imunosuppressed.

Your OP definitely said that you requested a home visit and then your mum conplained, implying you moaned to your mum about not getting a home visit. You also said you phoned because you were concerned about dehydration. Assessing dehydration over the phone is near impossible, especially with panicking parent so doc asking you to bring her in which seems sensible. Agree if only 20 min walk I'd have strapped her in a bugy. The cooling walk often helps anyway.
If she was stripped right down to pants it seems a comprehensive examination for D&V. He was brusque because a home visit for a portable child is unnecessary. Ill old grannies and hallucinating teenagers are more difficult to transport.

I've not heard of the dr-led triage system before, SBQ - sounds good and I can see why you called if that is how you usually get advice. We have a nurse/receptionist-led system which is rubbish!

PixieOnaLeaf just so you know, it was malaria and she is now fine, but playing the 'i was very sick' for all she's worth!!