Broken arm - can’t get seen by NHS - help please

[BrokenarmbrokenNHS]

I don’t know how to get my dd help - please could anyone advise?

My dd has an accident at school last week (Thursday). I took her for an xray at minor injuries and they said they didn’t think it was broken. A day later we had a phone call to say it was indeed broken and dd is in a lot of pain. I think it’s the radius bone as it goes into the elbow. They said they would refer to the fracture clinic and we had a choice of 2 hospitals as we are between hospitals. So I chose the more convenient one. This was on Friday on the phone.

My DD’s elbow has now been broken for 5 days. We have been referred to the wrong hospital, but I thought I will not worry about that, I will just go to it even though it’s an hour from her school. But they will not give me an appointment. I was supposed to wait to hear from them, they haven’t called. I’ve called them directly and they say she’s on some bloody list.

meanwhile my y13 dd has a broken elbow with nothing other than a sling and is shitting herself about buggering her A levels up this summer due to not being able to write and being in loads of pain.

What am I supposed to do? Why can’t we get help? This is crazy to leave a fracture for 5 days with nobody giving a shit. I foolishly thought the NHS still dealt with emergencies. I have no idea what to do. Please help.

Go to A&E.

I had a broken elbow as a kid - I needed surgery same day, then a cast, then six weeks it hadn't healed properly so rebroken under GA and pins put in. Really hope it heals up cleanly but it does need to be seen, urgently.

Second this. It totally depends on the break but my son broke his elbow and had multiple surgeries. A and E for sure.

This.
Its common sense.
Straight to A&E job done.
I dont get all the difficulties, faffing around and making a thread on MN around something that can be sorted,should have been sorted days ago.
Whats wrong with parents this day and age.

One would think that given the large battalions of admin staff that seem to populate British hospitals, that SOMEONE could have managed to refer a patient to the correct hospital. Maybe its just me being over optimistic 😔

I hope you're DD is ok OP she must be in a lot of pain and discomfort.
Please ignore all the posts slating you not going to A&E before now. I understand you have clearly tried to allow them time to get an appt in place etc.

However, seen as the Hospital don't seem to want to listen to you I would certainly be taking your DD back to have your minds put at ease if nothing more. I hope she's ok and all is sorted soon.

What's the point of her going to A and E? She has the diagnosis. She's waiting for fracture clinic.
When my son broke his elbow a and e just confirmed the break, fracture clinic actually set it a couple of days later.

Go to A&E and wait, I broke my elbow and forearm in 5 places and was discharged from A&E with just a sling and told I’d be called back in the morning for surgery. The message wasn’t passed on to orthopaedics the next day and they then couldn’t fit me in for a further 8 days due to other emergencies. I eventually got surgery / pins / screws / plates but the wait has left me with a pretty weak and permanently damaged arm. We called the hospital every day but there was just no availability for surgery. You need to get her seen

Go back to ANY a+e … ANY!!

Another for A&E here, they should've spotted and sorted it on the day had an xray. Now they're just putting you off because you're out of sight.

I know it's a royal pain, but sit in A&E again and try and get some real help. Best of luck, need it with the NHS these days.

But this is now 5 days later, OP has no idea if the severity of the fracture or how it will be treated. She has had no luck in 5 days trying to get this sorted. A&E is exactly the place she should be going.

You will get medical support if you TAKE HER TO A&E. You dont need a referral or an appointment for that.

I hope you are right, but I think A and E will just say "you need to attend fracture clinic".

You are right. My DH broke his radius where it enters the elbow and ended up needing two rounds of surgery a radial head prosthesis a year of physiotherapy and then ultimately a second surgery to remove the prosthesis because it wasn’t settling. Your daughter’s injury will hopefully be nowhere near as complicated as that but the point is no-one knows.

if it was me personally, I would either go to A&E or phone 111 and ask them to make me an appointment to A&E which you can do local to us.

Pardon my of ignorance but what does 'scribe' mean in this context?

I need her seen by a doctor

Why are you ignoring all the posters saying go back to A&E?

Surely at this point it's the fastest way to get her seen by a Dr?

Speaking from experience: it's best to go to a&e. What normally happens is you go to a&e or urgent care first, they realign the bone/s and put on a temporary cast (backslab), and then indeed, unless you require surgery or it's an emergency, you wait for an appointment at a fracture clinic. Fracture clinics are by appointment only so I'm not surprised there is a list.

In your case, minor injuries messed up, didn’t see the fracture (maybe it was a nurse not a doctor) so the whole first step has been missed. So unfortunately you might need to start again at a&e. She might also need blood thinning meds.

Just take her to A&E

She doesn’t need to start paying! She can go to any a&e and they will get things moving.

My husband had surgery the same day for a broken elbow. He still has the screw they put in and the scar to match.

Is there a children's A&E near you? I'd take her to that.

A person who sits with you and writes what you tell them to as your answers, as you’re unable to write yourself.

I’m not sure a&e is the fastest route to being seen. Physically going to the ortho clinic and standing in front of the receptionist is likely to be effective. You don’t need to drag your daughter down there. You are just trying to get an appt.

If its a fracture then A and E/minor injuries should be able to put it in a cast

When I had a break a couple of years ago it was put in a cast and then had to be operated on a couple of weeks later and then back in a cast

As has been said, X-ray was reviewed, fracture noted and the outcome was fracture clinic. Referral has gone in and she’s on the list for fracture clinic. The outcome of the review of the X-ray could have been that she was asked to present at the hospital immediately or given advice that she needed to be seen quickly. The reviewer has determined that sling + appropriate review at clinic is the outcome and that’s what is being done. If you are concerned about the application of the sling you could go back to the minor injuries unit and ask for it to be checked and reapplied while you wait. Wait for fracture clinic is often 7-14 days for undisplaced fractures, sometimes less.

If she is in a lot of pain you could ask your gp to see her and ask for pain relief to support her?

I'd head to the nearest A&E right now and then get onto the school to enquire about a scribe for her exams. I have scribed numerous times and loved it. There can also be extra time granted in some subjects, or there was when I did it. There should be a chance for her to practice in class beforehand, so she can get used to it. The exam board is always told that a scribe has been necessary.