My dd nearly died waiting for an emergency ambulance... the nhs is broken!

[finallyahappygirl]

Last Saturday my dd 8 woke up extremely poorly. She had a temperature of 39c and was complaining of a sore throat, I rang nhs 111 at 7:30am and was told I would be called by a nurse and I should not take her to a walk in centre or A&E due to the risk of her being infected with covid-19. Fast forward 12 hours my dd tried to get out of bed but collapses straight on the floor, she could not bear bright lights she couldn't not move her neck and everytime she spoke or cried she was screaming in total agony with the pain in her head. Her temperature had risen to 41c and she began losing consciousness.... I rang 999 and was advised that it sounded like meningitis and I was to strip her clothes off and try and cool her down. 5 minutes later I was rang back by a first responder who talked me through what to do and how to keep her safe, he then told me she was top priority and they were coming blues and twos but.... there were no available ambulances and he didn't know when one would become available. I totally lost it at this point sobbing down the phone that my baby is dying I don't know how to save her. He apologised profusely but said she is top priority and they will be with us when they can.... 5 minutes later she lost consciousness completely and we couldn't wake her at all even nipping her ear she didn't come round. I frantically dialed 999 only to be told very rudely there was still no ambulances and what were they meant to do. I said I would take her in my own car and they said that was too dangerous due to the state I was in and the likely medical treatment she needed immediately. 1hour and 20 minutes later the ambulance turned up my daughter still unconscious my eldest dd in hysterics thinking her baby sister had died. My partner in complete shock!!! My daughter has meningitis and thankfully is now on the mend but the outcome could have been so different it does bear thinking about really.
I totally appreciate we're in a pandemic but surely the nhs shouldn't be this broken where children's lives are being put at risk!!! Wtf has happened to this countries priorities?? Why have the government let things get to this point??

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/mar/21/coronavirus-new-york-disaster-ventilators

Instead of bashing the NHS and tory underfunding the United States has the same issue with ventilators and emergency equipment.

The supremely expensive health care and insurance system.

Maybe layoff how shit our NHS is when the most expensive healthcare system in the world can't cope

People are.oblivious to the problems faced by the NHS and this was prior to COVID19. We have an ageing population and a number of others who have an ’I can do what I want and it's everyone else responsibility to sort it’ attitude. We have a huge population and not enough of anything. Now people are listening but still only some. This is going to get far worse. I just hope it makes people think about abusing the system in the future so that people like your daughter get the help they need.

I think people are being unduly harsh. My DMs friend couldn’t drive and, although it was 50 years ago, she phoned her GP for her ill child. He refused to come out. He said ring again in the morning. She didn’t have a car and she didn’t ring 999. Unfortunately you can guess the outcome. She now has MH problems that have followed her into old age. Let no one say the NHS had a rosy past! It most certainly didn’t. The Dr refused to take her concerns seriously and she believed his judgement.

I don’t see why we couldn’t move to a Germany model. We need to review what we offer and how it’s funded. Obviously this model isn’t good enough. Neither is our social care model. We need ring fenced insurance. Specific funding for this care and we all need to contribute! All of us!

She could of drove and he could of monitored her

And say she stops breathing. Then what do you do? I am presuming you are fully trained in child CPR? And are aware that CPR really needs two people to be delivered effectively? And no doubt you know exactly how much pressure to put on the chest to avoid harm? Tell me, is it one hand or two?

There is fuck all point in having someone monitoring breathing if you don't know EXACTLY what to do when it stops. But you clearly DO know exactly what to do in that scenario. So please.....how deep should the compressions be, how many hands, how many rescue breaths.....we could all learn from your expertise.

And if people DONT actually know (which people clearly don't or they wouldn't have made statements which shows zero bloody knowledge) then how about they possibly SHUT THE FUCK UP telling the OP that the advice she was given was wrong.

Maybe layoff how shit our NHS is when the most expensive healthcare system in the world can't cope

It’s expensive because it’s effectively privatised.

The NHS has been under funded and running on a shoe strong for years.

The coronavirus is showing it up in quite a stark light

It’s not the Governments fault. We are st the start of a horrific pandemic and no one could anticipate that or the volume of calls the centres will now be getting because people are not doing as they were asked and going online if they think they have coronavirus symptoms, leaving the lines free for people like you

Blame the people who are not following advice to social distance, who then catch it, blame those who are not following the governments advice, that’s who is to blame

I think we can all guess who HowIrresponsible voted for

I didn't actually insult Tory voters. Unlike your very unpleasant comments about Labour voters, of whom the OP is one. I think your insults are more a reflection on you than on others.

My comment was actually lighthearted although I should probably have said LIGHTHEARTED or put some kind of emoji - although I'm sure some people would still take offence. That is the point of AIBU after all! 🙄

Sorry you had such a terrifying experience @finallyahappygirl

@Chloemol I know what you're saying and those things definitely don't help. But all us HCPs have been saying for years to the government that we won't be able to cope in a crisis. And science has also been predicting a pandemic for years, we were overdue one. The government knew and chose to run the NHS and ambulance service down anyway, and the public voted for them to do that. Now, people will die. It's awful but it was predictable.

OP, I just wanted to say that I'm so sorry that this happened. Of course it made sense for you to listen to medical advice. I'm very glad your daughter is, if not well, then better.

And everyone who's decided to shame or chide a terrified parent can fuck right off.

@AnotherEmma Don't worry, it's nothing that doesn't get said behind closed doors by the vast majority of NHS staff.

This is 100% the government's fault but we get what we vote for OP.

@bemoreeverything and @todayisnottuesday, thank you both for the flowers.

It’s not that I think his problems aren’t valid, but it was his drunken aggression which caused two crews to be there. He hadn’t really tried to cut his wrists- I could see that they were only scratched. He’d had a drunken row with his equally sweary girlfriend, who’d phoned the ambulance. He took up a few hours of seven people’s time, plus the staff in A&E. I’m still so angry that one person could stop another from receiving treatment because they are drunk and aggressive.

My dad was sitting on the floor with his wife of 48 years, who had been sick and wet herself, not knowing when help was coming because another person couldn’t control himself. He wasn’t in any danger from his injuries, but the staff were threatened by him.

I work with vulnerable families - I get it, but when shitty behaviour puts others lives at risk, it’s not on.

FFS - the OP didn't know how long it was going to take for the ambulance to arrive.

I once took my severely asthmatic DD to hospital after the GP called the ambulance and told it would be at least an hour, and agreed it was faster for me to take her.

He ended up with a severe reprimand from the Local Health Authority as she was safe at the GP Treatment room on oxygen and monitored by nurses/doctors, whereas in the back of the car, she could have gone into unconsciousness.

This would not ordinarily happen - we all know that. It is happening because we are in the midst of a worldwide pandemic with thousands of seriously ill people all needing help at the same time.

"Why have the government let things get to this point??"

People voted for this shambles of a government.

Those bitching about why didn't the op take her child to A&E herself can all go and fuck right off, hope you're never in the position she was in to have to make such a decision and then get bitched about for making the wrong one!
Op, so glad your daughter is OK!

For those interested, St John's Ambulance run courses of a few hours long on child first aid. The courses are run by ex paramedics and are about £10 from memory.

It covers things like baby and child CPR (which is very different to adult CPR), burns, breaks etc.

This would not ordinarily happen - we all know that. It is happening because we are in the midst of a worldwide pandemic with thousands of seriously ill people all needing help at the same time.

Where have you been? Up and down the country people have been approaching their local newspapers with stories like this for the last couple of years.

I posted this very week about how long I had to wait with a child having an asthma attack last year, because he had it at peak pub-let-out time. We couldn't get it under control, and in between wheezes, he begged me to call an ambulance, and then kept asking when it was going to come, because he couldn't breathe. I had to say I didn't know.

It's easy for people to say "I would've drove her myself" or "you should've taken her", but having dealt with medical emergencies myself, I can easily say people dont react in the most obvious way or in a way we would've normally in a panic. I've seen brilliant parents make seeming confusing judgement calls while in a panic over their child, even when theyve been medically trained themselves. Often when in a huge panic we have to rely on the advice of medical professionals we deem to be more knowledgeable then ourselves in these situations, as it's not usual to just act on their advice.

So please dont be so judgemental to the OP, as I'm sure until your in the same situation you dont know how youd react or what you would do, especially when faced with medical advice from people who assume to know what they are doing.

Exactly

@PotholeParadise

Cross post I was responding to Pothole

Is there not a vaccine for meningitis?

Stories like these are not helpful at the minute and do not help to quell general anxiety.

The NHS has been underfunded by the government this country voted for.

But as a member of staff - it is not broken. People would like you to think so - mainly so it can be chopped up and privatised/a new 'health charge' can be pushed in.

Frankly would I have waited 12 hours with a rapidly deteriorating child before doing something more that waiting on a return phone call?
Im glad she's on the mend and i'm sure you've had a horrible scare but please this post doesn't help at the moment.