"Prescription issued to toddler without being seen by a professional"

My 2 year old daughter woke one morning recently with one of her eyes so swollen to the point she was unable to open it.

I immediately cancel all other plans (including preparation before we travel the next day) to try and get through to our GP.

I eventually get through to a receptionist who tells me at this point I will receive a call back. My daughter who is just starting to talk is able to communicate “Mummy, eyes hurting”.

I get call back from a nurse and I explain that my daughter has woken with one eye swollen and she is unable to open it. She asks if there is any gunk, to which I reply some she tells me to use a warm cloth to clean it and that she will issue some drops. I ask is she safe to travel she said yes and I can pick up prescription for drops in an hour to which point I then ask won’t she actually be seen and I am told they eye drops will clear it up. The nurse has issued conjectivitis eye drops for a 2 year old without having seen the patient!

At this point I am in disbelief, who prescribes drugs to a patient that hasn’t been seen! Especially a toddler who is unable to express how they are feeling and therefore the importance to see the patient is paramount! They have started to push back on giving appointments but I was truly shocked at this.

Nevertheless, I picked up the prescription for drops from GP then drove straight to St. John & Elizabeth Hospital to see a private GP in order for my daughters eye to actually be seen by a professional!

The Dr who saw her said the discharge is minimal in comparison to the swelling that had rendered her unable to open here eye. The doctor expressed that the conjunctivitis drops they’ve prescribed will make no difference, it’s a bacterial infection that needs 7 day oral antibiotics treatment!

At this point I became even more disappointed and angered by the fact that my daughter was not actually seen by a professional at our GP before being issued a prescription that wouldn’t have made much difference!

I checked on whether it was safe to travel with the Dr at St John and Elizabeth and she advised that as her eye is so bad we may want to postpone our trip for few days to see how my daughters eyes improve upon starting the course of antibiotics.

All this further re-iterated the lack of care from my GP service and that the practice of issuing a prescription to anyone and especially a toddler is highly irresponsible, negligible and very bad practice!

I am highly dissatisfied and disappointed.