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

If her stats were going down (even if they were in the ok range) surely some more observation was needed

How far do the stats have to fall before they will admit something is wrong

That was shocking advice. You did exactly the right thing. I would also be worried about having a child under his care.

As a non medic, I would never sit at home with a child whose ribs were sucking in unless I had a clear protocol for what treatment to give and when to make a move.

My son was thrilled to go to hospital because he was a frequent flier (specialised in post viral wheeze following repeated bronchiolitis) and adored the male paediatrician there. He would suggest going to the hospital at the first sign of a wheeze and beam at the doctor when he made it to the children's ward. He was still chugging away and in need of the nebulizer. Children are strange little creatures.

You did the right thing imo.

I received the same attitude when I took my son to A&E for an injury to his eye. I was treated with sighs and eye rolls for not knowing that bleeding from the eye wasn’t a cause for concern because it wasn’t from his pupil.

When my DS was 18 months old he had bronchiolitis. He was waving at nurses in the a&e waiting room and eating a bread roll but his sats were 89. With happy babies you can’t always tell how ill they are, esp with breathing stuff. You did the right thing getting her seen - please don’t take what this doctor said to heart.

As a nurse the doctor was a twat and no I wouldn't be happy with oxygen saturations at 93% and I would have sent you up to the hospital as she was sucking in her ribs and struggling to feed.

I would take her back or to another A&E if there is any slight change in her condition.
Hope she's better soon OP xx

I saw a TikTok recently of a poor mum who had been fobbed off by the GP over her 2 yo, turned had she had a severe chest infection which turned to pneumonia. By the time she took her to A&E she had sepsis and passed away. It’s never a waste of time if you’re worried

Did you actually READ the OP? The mum was told by 2 other professionals to take her child, and was then told by the Dr 'it was a waste of time you coming here, there was no need'. Whilst I agree this could be interpreted as a waste of the mum's time, that is the less likely interpretation and FFS she was following NHS advice! I would want this Dr to be rapped over the knuckles and forced to take some more advice on bedside manner and common sense!

Did I hit a nerve? Are you an NHS professional who routinely tells patients they are wasting time for following advice given by your colleagues?

The doctor said that AFTER he did all of the checks and made sure the daughter was ok.

He never said she was wasting his or anyone else’s time.

If he thought she was wasting his time, he wouldn’t have bothered checking the child over and would have said it beforehand.

What would it matter to him if OP wasted her own time?

It’s just something people say.

If I called an ambulance and it turned out it wasn’t necessary, my first thought would be to apologise that they had wasted their time.
I wouldn’t have regretted ringing them because it’s always better to be safe than sorry but I would acknowledge that their time had been wasted, as it’s just a phrase people say.

And no I’m not NHS and I never could be because of people like you who admit they regularly complain.

Why would you want a doctor to be pulled up by their boss to have a meeting and extra training, all because you’ve misunderstood what they said.

Some people love to try and find things to complain about.

I guess making complaints just makes people feel big and good about themselves, which is sad really.

Ribs being sucked in is a sign of respiratory distress, referred to as intercostal recession. You did the right thing getting her seen. She may have improved by the time the dr came around, regardless they shouldn’t have spoken to you like that.. it’s that type of attitude that would discourage people coming in again when their child is sick..

@Cucy As the very next poster says (as well as many previously) 'they shouldn’t have spoken to you like that.. it’s that type of attitude that would discourage people coming in again when their child is sick..'

This doctor (or possibly PA or similar) needs more training. How is that making me feel big or good about myself? I work to improve customer liaison in my day job, and stupid remarks like the this NHS person made make my blood boil!

As a parent trust your instincts, a child's health can deteriorate quickly, a parents guilt of not doing anything, is a he'll of a lot worse than being cautious

You know your baby better than anyone else. They tried that "hes happy so not sick" with me when my son was 4 months, i refused to take him home tg , because following an xray the next day they discovered he had pneumonia.x

i read what you've written originally as the final doc said it was a waste of YOUR time not HIS :) so i wouldn't be offended or more importantly feel that you shouldn't take her again if the need arises. they'd always rather see children and babies and send you away reassured, but I think this was a communication issue

Maybe he meant a waste of your time as he wasn't concerned 🤔? I'm a peads nurse though and I'd always recommend parents get increased work of breathing and not keeping feeds down checked! Hope she's feeling better and you're all getting some rest

That's a disgusting way to speak to a parent. I would've been fuming. Obviously you weren't there because how you like to spend you're time! It's already traumatic enough having to take your child to a&e and then to be essentially gaslighted by a doctor. This makes me sick honestly.

You know your baby the best of all. If you are worried about your child you should never be made to feel that you are wasting their time. I hope your little one is feeling much better now. 😊

Everyone has a very different oxygen saturation that is normal for them. While some people can be totally fine at 88 other may struggle at 95! Unless you know the persons healthy value you can not say it’s normal just because the average for it’s dangerously low is 85 that was done on a far too small sample of heathy people, that were most likely only men, as women were not included in health studies for ‘general health stuff’!

Nurse here. Sats of 93% is not good and you should have not been sent home

Hi everyone! Thanks for all of your replies 😊 I took her back to a different hospital (extra 30 minutes away) and she was admitted! The team were so lovely and re-assuring and were not happy with the SATS at 93/94! Wish I put my foot down but it’s done now and my baby is all good which is all that matters. We came home this evening and she seems to be on the mend now❤️

@Lililoox I'm glad you have trusted your gut and took your child to the other hospital. Hope she is better soon!
As pp and myself has said previously, I wouldn't be happy with sats of 93% in the community and would refer you to hospital especially when there were other signs that she was struggling.

@Platypuslover a healthy person with no respiratory conditions should have sats greater than 95%. I see and treat a lot of respiratory illnesses and often people have lower oxygen levels as their normal. A healthy child shouldn't have sats that low even with an infection and need some extra monitoring and assistance.

There are always people at ED that shouldn’t really be there op. But babies can deteriorate pretty quickly. If you were concerned about your baby and 111 said to take her there then worry no more. You did what you were told.