Doctors - your thoughts please.

[bhgardeners]

Long story.

At daughter's docs you are guaranteed an emergency appointment that day if you contact/go there before 12.00.  Routine appointments are 3 weeks ahead.

Sproglet has been throwing out temperatures and becomes listless and unco-operative but not that bad if you know what I meanand won't take calpol or anything else.

Daughter has seen the Docs who can find nothing wrong. 

Anyhows there she is on Tuesday, Sproglet a temp up to 40 and rising again so she bundles her into pushchair and goes round the Docs(it's only round the corner) where the receptionist says there's no appointments and she isn't being seen.  Daughter goes home and rings 111 who say it's not out of hours go to her Doctor. She rings us in tears.  OH phones the receptionist, interrupts her spiel, addresses her as Madam and  tells her that NOBODY has the right to turn a child with a temperature away without being seen.  She was seen!!! Nothing obvious but maybe a urine infection, do a wee sample bring her back if she gets worse and be assured your child will always be seen.

Cue today.  Sproglet nearly tore her nail off the weekend before last.  Until Tuesday it had been poorly and bruised but not infected.  Tuesday it was healing nicely, though the nail looked ready to fall off.  Anyway today had a look and the poor finger is hot and red and Sproglet is gently kissing it better!. Off to Docs, you are too late, it would have to be a real emergency(Sproglet is running riot!) to be seen and this isn't you need to make a routine appointment(3 weeks with infected digit?)When daughter insisted she was told to come back at 2 and wait.  Daughter went back at 2 only to be told "she wasn't on the list" and so couldn't be seen.  Daughter calmly(I am rather proud of her) told them she would be seen and that the Doctor had told her so.  Well she was seen, was taken seriously, Sproglet is now on nasty antibs for a serious infection. 

Daughter is now wanting to change Doctors but they have a monopoly and the next Doctors(all 3 surgeries full of them) are a good mile and a half away.  I am tempted to complain, she just wants to move. 

Now since she lives on an estate full of single Mums, old folks and benefit scroungers(even though most of them seem to go out to work) I think the receptionists feel they are better than their customers, better educated than their customers and know better than their customers and everybody gets tarred with the same brush.  The doctors according to daughter are all very good and take the time and effort to explain things clearly.

What should she do?

Oh and she know has a toddler asleep, medecine running down the wall and stuck in her hair.  Takes me back LOL.

[bhgardeners]

Whoops sorry.  Forgot to sign out, in and out and in. It is Guardpig.

[johnsmeccparts]

I don't have anything to say about the doctors, but I do have a suggestion for your daughter.

Buy a medicine syringe, these magical devices squirt the calpol down the back of the throat and there is no way the child can spit it out.

I have six children and when they were small the little syringe was my best friend!

[bhgardeners]

She's been there, done that and got the faceful. Syringe is now kaput. 2 year olds are good at refusing, especially when they don't throw a tantrum about it.  One can see the cogs a-whirling round Sproglet's brain as she sets out to best Mummy. Think daughter needs to work on her bribery skills.   She is not the vicious, nasty, evil mommy I was, she takes after her father who always left the forcibly medicating to me.  Though I must admit i spent more time fending off which ever one wasn't ill as both mine loved medecine - now eyedrops/ointment was a very different ball game.

[johnsmeccparts]

Take a large towel

wrap sproglet really tightly so arms and legs cannot move

lay across lap head lower than body

get someone else to place syringe in mouth and squirt.

Never failed!

[aernethril]

She could ask for an appointment with the Practice Manager and explain her position and concerns about the way things are being handled.

If she gets her points down in writing first, goes over them to make sure they're not too confrontational but still make the firm points and how she would like the Practice to address these, and if she can, take someone else along with her for support, then she should see an improvement.

If not, she can contact the local PALS - Patient Advisory Liaison Service - to discuss what is wrong and how to move things along
.

[saasher2012]

Good advise as it seems as though your problem is with the receptionists rather than the doctors!

[bitsnknots]

Is it possible for your daughter to take her little one to the walk in centre?  Failing that, try A&E.  I'd worry about the doctors later.  Something needs to be done about them.  I must admit that we are lucky with the receptionists at our doctor's but this not always the case obviously.

[soppysofty]

If your daughter takes her little one to A & E two things will happen.

1. She will be seen and assessed by a qualified peadiatric doctor and all issues will be resolved - may involve a day or two as an inpatient but worth it.

2. Your surgery will be charged £250.00 for the pleasure of your visit to A & E.

If your daughter then explains to the receptionist next time that, if she is not seen then she will go to A & E you will find a rapid change in their attitude.

Had the same problem with our daughter and grand-daughter and it worked a treat.  She now gets the red carpet treatment every time.

[bhgardeners]

They shut the walk in centre near me.  They closed the one nearer her, not on a bus route, except for evenings and weekends the website says but daughter said all the windows were boarded up.  There is a minor injuries one in the City Centre but  one would not go there alone on a bus, especially in the evening.  A&E is over an hour on multiple buses.  The flip side about her choosing to move the other side of town where there's a beach and open space on the doorstep but not a lot else apart from Co-op.

Meccano:  The problem is she is on her own.  . So much easier when there are 2 of you.  She will work it out in her own way, eventually.

[bhgardeners]

Ah Soppy - might have to try that. Money talks.

Will admit I have been spoilt.  Our receptionists are lovely, go out of their way to help you. Everybody gets the red carpet treatment.

[stroppy*cow]

---

@mecannoman wrote:

Take a large towel

wrap sproglet really tightly so arms and legs cannot move

lay across lap head lower than body

get someone else to place syringe in mouth and squirt.

Never failed!

---

Well, you could get medication in by that method, but both of mine would vomit within the next 5 minutes, and not only would the medicine come back, but also a quantity of fluid that I had only got them to drink with considerable difficulty - when mine were ill dehydration was a real problem.

Grandaughter is the same, she is 19 months old and will vomit back medication that has been administered forcibly.

The only way that I found to administer medication was to mix it with something like yoghurt, fromage frais,  porridge etc. I have even been known to mix medication into jelly.

I would endorse the suggestion of a meeting with the practice manager, but would advise taking someone along who can take notes, and to write up those notes later and send a copy to the practice.

[leoleoleo123]

I do not think anyone should use A&E unless it is a bad accident or emergency.... however, I think it is a good idea to stand your ground at the doctors surgery, yes, they are overworked too, but a child or elderly person should always be seen... surgeries seem to employ receptionists that morph into monsters... I think a complaint should be made about the receptionists attitude....