"Children's Care"

My 2 year old daughter had a very high fever for 3 days and fell very unwell on Sunday. The out of hours GP we saw advised us to bring her in to the hospital to see a paediatrician.

After checking in, we were taken briskly to the childrens A&E and were greeted with friendly staff. The staff were very thorough and kind and made us feel reassured. The staff nurse looking after us (cannot remember her name! ) was lovely and caring.

We were then taken to the childrens assessment unit and what a difference in care. We felt like a nuisance to the staff and we were not kept informed about what was going on. We were admitted by a nurse who clearly did not want to be there, who then went on to tell me that I have been giving my daughter the wrong dose of painkiller for her weight despite the painkiller bottle clearly stating age 1-4 years, 5mls. This made me feel inadequate as a mother going through a very anxious time with very little sleep!

We saw a paediatrician who was very professional, she ordered a chest x-ray after listening to my daughters chest and hearing some changes.

The x-ray had shown an infection, the Dr wrote a prescription for some antibiotics at 3. 59pm and informed us that the pharmacy closed at 4pm and we had to run! At the pharmacy we bumped into the same Dr who asked us if we had to go back to the ward or not! It seemed unorganised and there was a lack of communication between staff.

We were in the hospital for 7 hours and during this time my daughter had not been offered a drink or anything to eat.

As a staff nurse in the trust, I was disappointed with the care that we received and the attitude of some of the staff.

During an anxious time a smile goes a long way!