NHS told me I wasted my time taking my child to hospital.

[Lililoox]

Yesterday afternoon I called 111 for some advice as my daughter was slightly struggling to breathe and she had a bad cough similar to what she had in December when she had RSV and Bronchiolitis and had a 2 night hospital stay. I was told to take her to a urgent treatment centre which I did and the doctor who saw her said they would like her to go back to the hospital and he confirmed it was Bronchiolitis most likely caused by RSV again but the hospital would be able to do the swab to confirm. Fast forward upon arrival to the hospital the nurse at triage was lovely, she said my daughters ribs were sucking in and to take her round to paediatrician ward. They done her observations and her SATS were sitting at 95 which they were happy with. They said to go back to the waiting room for the doctor. My daughter then had a feed and vomited it back up pretty much straight away which again, is what she was doing in December when she was admitted. She is such a smiley playful baby even when she’s poorly. She was even happy with an NG tube in her throat in December, it’s just how she is. The doctor came round, her SATS were now at 93/94 which is apparently ‘very good’ and listened to her chest. He confirmed Bronchiolitis and said RSV swab is only done if child is admitted. My daughter was happy and smiling at the doctor and he said ‘I’m happy with how she is, she is happy and playful which shows she’s healthy so I have no concerns, to be honest it was a waste of time you coming here, there was no need”. I was completely taken back! My daughter had vomited after her feed, struggling with her breathing, and belching when coughing, and they think that’s wasting their time? They said to come back if she presented further symptoms but to be honest I’d rather drive the extra and take her elsewhere next time. Am I stupid to feel she’s been neglected or am I taking it the wrong way as she’s my baby? Thankyou if you got this far

The doctor was a twat saying you'd wasted time. Ffs what a nob.

was he saying it to mean that they didn’t need to treat her rather than how dare you waste our time? Poorly phrased but possible?

Maybe he meant to say it reassuringly, like you were managing things fine here on your own. If he'd have accused you of wasting his time, that would definitely land differently.

The man sounds like he needs some extra training in how to talk to people.

Are SATS at that level really OK? I was told that was worrying when I have an asthma attack.

I think he meant that you were given false information about going in for a swab.

I really don't like the whole 'she seems happy so she's not poorly'. My daughter was seen multiple times by drs who kept dismissing anything serious going on as she was 'too happy' (despite her having other symptoms that indicated a specific serious illness). Eventually pushed for a hospital referral and she was diagnosed with the illness I thought she had. She needed emergency surgery and we spent days in hospital with IV antibiotics.

You're not being unreasonable OP. Hope she's ok now

Her symptoms are very similar today and I wouldn’t personally say she’s ‘absolutely fine’ but I’m not a doctor

If my baby was 100% fine I wouldn’t have taken her to the hospital. I’m safe but I’m not stupid. I thought SATS at 93/94. I have photos of the monitors and videos of her breathing which I don’t know how to insert

Tbh I was so taken back I didn’t really know how to take it at the time. I just feel like no matter what was meant by it, it wasn’t necessary if that makes sense? Whether they needed to treat her or not I wouldn’t ever say to someone you’ve wasted time on something that was important to you to get checked. I’d 100% rather have been safe than sorry. I feel like that comment could stop a mum taking a poorly baby to hospital because they’d feel stupid.

It's very simple. Doctors have much more medical knowledge than the general public. The child was fine, and the doctor was trying to reassure. Don't take offence, OP, at a person just doing their job.

Get a pulse oximeter to keep an eye at home

Did you lead with something along the line of ‘the other doctor said you’d swab for RSV’? Because if they misunderstood and thought that’s why you were there then it was a waste of time. Obviously you were there because you were worried about your child and have been reassured so not a waste of time.

I was only asking for a second opinion on how to take it. No need for the sarcasm about starting a thread. I just wanted to know for the sake of my baby if being told she was healthy with SATS of 93 and vomiting after feeds was ok and a waste of time.

My friend was told they’d wasted their time. They went back and their baby was admitted and transferred to another hospital and ended up very poorly with tubes etc.

It’s never a waste of time.

But OP didn’t go directly to the ward, She had been through at least three ‘professionals’, who felt the child was poorly.

The doctor clearly has an awful bedside manner. Unfortunately, some are more medical than empathetic.

Keep an eye on her at home but go back to A and E if she is struggling for breath. Being a weekend, I’d put money on it being a different doctor.

I think you’ve taken offence where there is none intended. RSV can be managed well at home for most children and that’s probably what the Dr meant in terms of wasting time. Yours! As in a diagnosis could have been made at the first appt and you could have gone home with “worsening advice” (come back if this changes). If she’s generally happy and not worsening, she can be cared for at home. If she gets worse- call them back. Hopefully as she’s older and has had it once she will fight it off easier and remain at home to do so. But I don’t see anything wrong with what the Dr said. Her sats were 95% and yes they can fluctuate a bit too- personally I’d have wanted to see them back at 95 again before sending home. But he’s also right to consider overall presentation as well.

The conversation was led by her SATS, breathing, and her vomiting after feeds. I didn’t actually bring up the RSV swab first it was them, I told them after they mentioned it the UTC mentioned it. They said that Bronchiolitis is usually caused by a viral infection, such as RSV, but we only swab for that when a child is admitted to a ward. But yes I would rather be safe than sorry. She was admitted with it back on Christmas Eve so wanted to get on top of it the second I noticed similar symptoms before it got too bad

Both my kids suffered a lot from bronchiolitis and viral induced wheeze when younger and we’ve had a few overnight stays in hospital with it. Sometimes I’ve taken them and they’ve been happy and we’ve gone home. It’s never a waste of time to take a baby who is struggling to breathe into hospital to be checked out. Maybe he worded it poorly but you did the right thing to get her checked out, especially as you’d been advised to take her and she’d been admitted previously with similar symptoms.

on one occasion when one of mine was admitted he was the happiest smiliest toddler who was playing with the toys. I thought they’d send us straight home but as he was working so hard to breathe they told me he had to be admitted. They said children can suddenly become exhausted and dip when they’re working hard to breathe

There are many time wasters in A&E, you weren’t one of them. Just let it go and move on.