Left A&E, Not sure I've done the right thing

[Perfect28]

My 17mo fell out of his pushchair head first on to concrete. about a minute before I said we don't need to strap him in he will be fine. Well he got excited and rocked forward. A massive bump and bruise came up quickly, we called 999 who said to go to hospital. We went and we were not even triaged in nearly two hours. Child seems normal, responsive, alert, no longer in obvious pain. We left and he is now asleep. I will sleep next to him and keep a close eye. Have read all the things to watch out for. Now lying here feeling awful. First it was my fault he wasn't strapped in (lesson well and truly learnt!!) But secondly for leaving before being seen. Advice welcome, and stories of bumped heads too!

The guilt is awful and I feel really anxious.

He seems fine this morning, a grazed up face and a nasty bruise but the lump has gone down significantly. Will continue to monitor closely, of course. I need to stop playing it over and over in my head 😔

I do think the receptionist should have told us before leaving if there would be an ss referral (again as below I'm not worried about this regardless). In fact she just asked if he would like a teddy.

For those bemoaning the 2 hour thing, that was before triage.the wait after triage was an estimated 4 hours at the time which would have likely got longer given that he perked up, showed no worrying signs and I'm sure that more serious cases would have arrived after us.

It is contradictory to call 999 and not wait 2 hours. Your time is more precious than the A&E staff and paramedics. Ridiculous. 111 next time.

The problem you have now is safeguarding. It will be flagged on your records now and you may get a visit.

This

@smartiesnskittles

It is contradictory to call 999 and not wait 2 hours. Your time is more precious than the A&E staff and paramedics. Ridiculous. 111 next time.

People make mistakes. People react. People then have time to reflect and observe. People are allowed to change their minds if they think these have over reacted initially.

The problem you have now is safeguarding. It will be flagged on your records now and you may get a visit.

Urgh. Another one. Ok, let's go with it...

What exactly is the problem? OP has done nothing wrong by taking a healthy child home, what do you think the conclusion of the 'visit' would be?

I think you’ve missed the fact many people have already said they are not going to do an X-ray or anything particular. Just tell the Op to monitor at home.

Ive been told the same for a child with a much more serious fall where I thought he might need stitches in his face.

OP what I did get after attending A&E was a call from the health visitor just to check everything was ok. Apparently this is standard and they are notified when a child attends A&E. I would expect you will get a call then if they had any concerns they might make a safeguarding referral. I would be very surprised if SS turned up at your door. I would just tell anyone professional who asks that you felt it wasnt in your child's best interests to stay at A&E given the wait time and lack of triage already and that you were aware and vigilant for signs of an issue and would have gone straight back if you felt you needed to.

@mattressspring totally agree with you. This SS pile-on is doing nothing for a mum who is already stressed out and worried.

We left A&E once with DD2. She had severe stomach pains and couldn't stand up because they were that intense. Sat there for three hours, she went to the loo, did the most gigantic poo you have ever seen and skipped out singing! SS didn't hunt us down...

Try not to worry OP. These things happen. Just keep an eye on him I'm sure he will be fine.
As for social services - your son wasn't admitted or anything and usually there have to be a few visits to the hospital to raise concern. This is just typical of mumsnet to be alarmist and extreme. It's so annoying.

People are being awfully dramatic here. A&E visits are often referred on to health visitors etc but they may not do anything about it.
I possibly would have done the same thing OP, don't worry too much. I'm a first aider and prob wouldn't have waited that long if child was otherwise fine.

Is there a huge backstory to this because that isn't something typically advised when you call 111?

2 hours? The NHS national target TL be seen and treated is within 4 hours...you were clearly concerned enough to call out an Ambulance so why not actually follow their advice and stay at the hospital. We know from media coverage they are busy. I suggest you go back today and actually get him checked out. If something bad was to have occurred internally, where does the blame lie it went unchecked?

Nope was just told that once someone has called about a head injury in a child they have to follow the advice given or they will be reported. I was surprised at the time, I had no intention of ignoring the advice but it did feel very threatening.

They will contact your health visitor who will probably be in touch because he's a baby. Every a&e visit is always referred to the child's health visitor

Maybe social services

You know he is a perfectly healthy baby so there are no actual concerns though, right?

@mattressspring every child who attends a&e is referred to their health visitor for a check in call or it is noted by the HV

The mechanism of injury and the fact she left would flag as a safeguarding concern. A&e don't know he's 'perfectly healthy' they left without seeing anyone

The mechanism of injury and the fact she left would flag as a safeguarding concern. A&e don't know he's 'perfectly healthy' they left without seeing anyone

That's ok. You are allowed to leave. It's even encouraged in some places (there was a huge thread not so long ago about just that) there are no rules that state you cannot observe your child and relate after a couple of hours that they are ok. The child had no signs of concussion, that would have been noted upon arrival, so there wouldn't be a huge 'omg they left' moment. It happens more than you would imagine and nobody is sending SS round for this

The word safeguarding should be banned from mumsnet.

Thanks for your update, glad he seems OK now.
If you do get a tel call, it really is nothing to worry about. Just explain that you were initially worried and took him to hospital but he soon seemed much better, and in your opinion it was in his best interests to get him home and settled.
Have a quiet day and please don't worry.

Jeez, lots of people on here clearly trying to make the OP feel even worse.

Please don't beat yourself up OP. Accidents happen. It doesn't make you a bad parent.

My DS fell off a trampoline onto a concrete driveway when he was a toddler - through the unzipped enclosure! Like you, I panicked and though he'd have a fractured skull, brain haemorrhage, etc. Within 15 minutes of arriving at A&E he was happily playing with their toys and smiling at the nurses. Subsequently we were sent home with head advice.

It's understandable that you'd leave A&E once you've assessed that your child is ok and no longer needs medical attention. I think you're right to just follow the nhs advice for head injuries.

I'm another one who wouldnt have called 999 or gone to a and e. If he displayed no symptoms of concussion then all the hospital would do would be to tell you to go home and keep an eye on them. They wouldnt scan their head or anything else needing a hospital stay for. Also 111 would have survived not 999.

Lol at these replies trying to make op feel bad for leaving. If a and e were that concerned about the child they wouldn't have let him wait 2 hours without even being triaged. Maybe someone should call social services on the NHS.

I think on these threads the first couple of replies can set the tone.

OP

Took my dd a few years ago when she fell
Over and she had a wrist x ray. The x ray tech said it was all clear (as was obvious in the 5 hour wait! 😂) and we could go - crossed wires as we though she meant we could go home and she'd meant go back to the waiting room for a doctor to officially sign us off! An hour later we got a phone call from a very cross sister who had flagged the fact we'd left as a safeguarding concern even though the X-ray was clear.
Did you tell them you were leaving?

@Perfect28

Good to hear you've had a reasonable night.

It is worth having a 'quiet' day, especially given the heat - that way if he does develop symptoms you can separate them out from heat issues, which present in similar ways.

OP not sure where you are but if you did that where we live in England, you would have police at your front door 😡 You cannot just leave emergency, you have to be discharged. We normally have a six hour or longer wait! Ring the hospital now!