"Toddler unwell"

My little boy had been poorly for over a week. We had seen our GP regularly and he was started on antibiotics. On Friday he became really unwell and not able to drink or pass urine. I contacted NHS24 who were amazing. There was a delay of over an hour for a clinician however I appreciate how busy the service is at this time of the year. They asked us to take our son to ED and would send our notes on.

Once we arrived at ED, we were advised there was an 8hour wait, which then increased to 12.5 hours. We were triaged quickly and my son was found to have a low blood sugar. He was given milk which he was unable to take and we were told to return to the waiting room and this would be rechecked in one hour. After 2.5 hours this was rechecked and still found to be low. A call was made to a doctor and a medication was advised. I was then told that there were no doctors on in ED who see children, despite this comment we were seen by 2 doctors who made the decision to admit after discussion with paediatrics. 

The main issuers we had:

* A 9 hour wait for a young child seemed extremely excessive. There were 3 other young children (aged months - 3) in the waiting room and they were the same. There must be a better process for assessing and treating children.

* There was no clear plan for review. We were seen 3 times by the triage nurse and a doctor and each time sent back to the waiting room for hours at a time. 

* Our son was having loose stools and being incontinent - we advised the nurse and hoped there would be a more private space to nurse him, instead we had to look after him in a busy waiting room. This was not dignified or hygienic.

* Communication was really poor - there was no clear plan discussed with us and we just set for hours at a time unsure of the next steps

* Being advised there was no doctor to look after children. This was alarming for a busy acute hospital.

I appreciate how pressed NHS services are however I think there needs to be a better process for patients being referred in from NHS 24. We followed all the correct pathways ( GP, NHS24) to avoid attending ED and even after doing this, we were still presented with a 9 hour wait. It was clear that ED had no record of the call with NHS24.

We felt very vulnerable with a 3 year old in a busy waiting room full of ill adults aswell as a few patients who were clearly under the influence and their behaviour was appalling.

Our son was very poorly and wanted to lie down, but instead we had to look after him on our knee for 9 hours.

The staff that we all met in ED were lovely and none of the above is their fault, it’s just a reflection of our current NHS pressures however I feel it’s important to reflect on the above with a view to exploring improvements.

I also think it would be helpful to have leadership present at exceptionally busy times within the waiting room. A lot of frustration is due to lack of information and just hearing how busy the department is and the waiting time. I think if a senior nurse was able to update patients and empathise with them, this would help patients feel safe, valued and cared for aswell as informed.

Once transferred to the children’s ward, the care was excellent and our son was discharged after 24 hours and is making a good recovery.