"Treatment of scarlet fever"

I called 111 in June as I was concerned about my young son..

He started having fever of around 100 degree Fahrenheit from the Friday night. On Saturday morning, we noticed extensive rash on neck, chest, back, face. He had a fever of 100 degree Fahrenheit at that time as well. I spoke to the nurse and they advised me to continue giving paracetamol and said they did not see the need to attend out of hours GP services. The Nurse also gave the option of taking him to the pharmacist to check the rash. The pharmacist said that they were not sure of the type of rash but advised us to attend out of hours GP.

My son had about 102 degree Fahrenheit temperature when he was seen by the doctor and gave him ibuprofen immediately. He was then prescribed with penicillin and a diagnosis of scarlet fever and tonsillitis was made.

The Doctor said that it was good that he has been diagnosed at an early stage. I understand that the scarlet fever can have various complications with long term effects.

On hindsight, I feel that we should have been advised to attend out of hours GP services immediately because of the combination of the typical rash and high fever.

 I think it is important that the triage nurses should be made aware of these clinical signs and symptoms to avoid potential complications and risks to young children. My child could have potentially been put to risk and harm if he was left with this for a few days.