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"Poor support for my child"

About: General practices in Greater Glasgow & Clyde Lanarkshire Community Services / GP Out of Hours service NHS 24 / NHS 24 (111 service) Royal Hospital for Children (Glasgow) / Accident & Emergency

(as a parent/guardian),

I have a young  daughter who has been unwell since mid June with high fever.  Her temperature was reading up to 40. I gave her paracetamol that evening and she was okay and we went to bed. Exactly 12:02 on Friday she was having fever again and shivering,

I called the NHS 24 and we were able to get her appointment with the out of hours in Hamilton. The doctor was very efficient and eventually we found out she's having tonsillitis which has equally affected her left ear. She was prescribed Penicillin which we started as soon as we got home around 3:00am. The temperature reduced that morning and after few hours spiked up again, I started to switch between ibuprofen and paracetamol because either of those singly wasn't helping. There was no improvement and on Sunday afternoon,

I called NHS 24.  While on the phone, she slept off and was not responding. The call handler connected us with 999 but she eventually woke up and the 999 attendant informed us that it might take time to get an ambulance, she suggested that if we have a means of transport, we should get her to the hospital.

We took her to Children Hospital A and E.  As I had administered ibuprofen before leaving for the hospital, her temperature was normal the whole time we were there. However as soon as we got home, the fever kicked in again.  I continued with the paracetamol and ibuprofen. In the early hours of Monday, she was hot again and shivering. I called NHS 24, a doctor called me from the out of hours and said that they do not have any appointments available until around 5:00. They advised that since my daughter is sleeping, I should rather let her sleep and call the GP practice in the morning.

The GP practice was called and the receptionist told me that I will only get a telephone appointment. The doctor called and I explained to him, he only said we should continue the paracetamol and ibuprofen. This morning again I have called the NHS 24.  This time the nurse didn't speak to me.  The call handler was the one that was sent to talk to me that I should keep managing her symptoms. My daughter was shivering, vomiting and grinding teeth as I was on the call. When I burst into tears about her condition, the nurse then took the phone and said GPs are the ones responsible for her care so I should wait until they open. I am shocked to say the least. Now, my questions are:

1. I want to understand why it feels like everyone seems to be  trivialising my daughter's illness. As an adult, I have experienced tonsillitis and I went through hell before I got better. A child that can not talk, I stay with her, I know that she's going through pain. Doesn't her case deserve attention?

2. I don't understand why we have to wait until a case becomes life threatening before everyone starts to run around. She has been on antibiotics for over 72 hours, no improvement whatsoever, yet it doesn't deserve been checked out. 

3. The health care services are seemingly available but cannot be accessed because it appears someone thought I am just raising a false alarm. If you are projecting to the public that they could call NHS 24 and GP practice yet this services is not available except at the discretion of someone. As a mom, I feel like I am disturbing these people when I call, that is the feedback I get. If this is something about me, I would have stopped calling, but it is for my little one.  Each time I feel like I don't have a job and I am making those calls for fun. If my daughter is ok, why would  I continue to call? If I need entertainment, won't I go to the appropriate places?

I am putting this out here for the record and as an evidence for myself in case anything happens. 

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Responses

Response from Pamela Buddy, Service Manager, Out of Hours Service, NHS Lanarkshire nearly 2 years ago
Pamela Buddy
Service Manager, Out of Hours Service,
NHS Lanarkshire
Submitted on 23/06/2022 at 12:41
Published on Care Opinion at 13:14


picture of Pamela Buddy

Thank you for taking the time to write about your experience you had when your daughter was unwell. I will pass on your positive comments to the doctor who reviewed your daughter in the OOH service and I hope she is now recovering well.

Regards, Pamela.

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Response from Andrew Cassidy, Patient Experience Officer, Nursing & Care, NHS 24 nearly 2 years ago
Andrew Cassidy
Patient Experience Officer, Nursing & Care,
NHS 24

I manage Patient and Service User Feedback

Submitted on 23/06/2022 at 13:46
Published on Care Opinion at 13:46


picture of Andrew Cassidy

Dear Fantastic favour,

Thank you for sharing your story on Care Opinion. I was sorry to read that your daughter had been so unwell. It sounds as though she, and, of course, you as her mother, have been through a difficult time. I hope your daughter starts to feel better soon. I appreciate how worrying and frustrating this will have been for you and your family.

I was pleased to read that, on your first call to 111, your daughter was assessed and referred on to the team from NHS Lanarkshire for further assessment and ongoing care.

I was sorry to read that your second call to NHS 24 resulted in a 999 call. This must have been very worrying for you. I was sorry to learn that you had to make two further calls to NHS 24, and would be keen to understand what happened on those calls to ensure that they were managed appropriately and to determine if we can learn from your experience.

Regarding the questions you raise, I can absolutely assure you that by contacting NHS24 you are in no way "disturbing" our staff when you call. I was sorry to read that you were made to feel that way. I was also sorry to learn that you felt that your daughter's illness was being trivialised. NHS 24 strives to provide safe, effective, person-centred care to all of our callers, and I am sorry that your experience of calling made you feel that way.

NHS 24 are committed to learning from feedback, and your story is extremely valuable to us. As I mentioned, I would welcome the opportunity for us to review your daughter's care from NHS 24 in order to answer the specific questions you raise, and to identify any areas where we could improve the service we provide. To allow me to do this, I would be very grateful if you would contact me directly and provide me with your details, as well as your daughter's name, date of birth, and the approximate dates and times of your calls to the service. You can contact me by email at patient.experience@nhs24.scot.nhs.uk or by telephone on 0300 020 4846.

I note that colleagues from NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and NHS Lanarkshire have been tagged in this story. This will allow them to respond to the issues you have raised concerning care provided to your daughter by their respective teams.

Once again, please accept my sincere apology that this has been your experience. I hope that your daughter feels much better soon.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Best wishes,

Andrew

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Response from Lewis Doult, Senior Charge Nurse, NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde nearly 2 years ago
Lewis Doult
Senior Charge Nurse,
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde
Submitted on 24/06/2022 at 08:55
Published on Care Opinion at 08:55


picture of Lewis Doult

Hi Fantastic Favour,

I am the Lead Nurse for the Emergency Department at the Royal Hospital for Children, Glasgow.

I am sorry to hear your daughter was unwell and needed to attend our Emergency Department. It must have been a very worrying time for you and I hope she is feeling better.

I can see that my colleagues have responded for their departments to address your concerns. If you'd like to discuss your experience when you attended our Emergency Department please contact me on lewis.doult@ggc.scot.nhs.uk so that I can address these for you.

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