nhs direct

ouchy2012

So my baby hit his head rang nhs as always feel its better to be safe than sorry but the nurse I spoke to made me feel so bad and was speaking as though she didn't believe me that it was an accident.

They told me although everything seems fine he needs to be checked over and that I needed to take him to a&e straight away. I told them I do not drive and that I could get there in around an hour but they said I shouldn't wait and that they suggest i get a taxi and not wait..surely taking a baby in a car with no seat is dangerous? ! They seemed to think not.

SmallL

Compared to the consequences of a head injury, holding the baby in a taxi is very safe.
I would of rang a cab just to be on the safe side as time is of the essence if there is further injury to the babies head.

Gordon_Hose

I would never travel in a taxi with a small child on my lap in all honesty. Whether it's within the law, safe or acceptable. However, I believe some taxi companies have child seats at the office that can be used, the driver arrives with it ready to go. You just need to ring a few to find out.

If I was that worried I'd have called an Ambulance.

ouchy2012

They went through all the safety checks to rule out an emergency. Checking for fluid in ears and nose/swelling etc and assured me it was not an emergency had it been then I would have rang an ambulance.

They also told me I would need to wait around an hour for a call back

To be honest I don't think taxi's allow you without a car seat as last time I used one when other son was 4 they refused take us without a booster.

ouchy2012

SmallL wrote: »

Compared to the consequences of a head injury, holding the baby in a taxi is very safe.
I would of rang a cab just to be on the safe side as time is of the essence if there is further injury to the babies head.

I agree time is of the essence but after going through the safety checks they said it was not an emergency and that they would call back in an hour.

Big_Tiger_2

NHSD nurses are super-sensitive about child protection calls. The Nurse have watched their colleagues being harshly treated by Management for having failed to spot the signs( even though they can't see the child and have no way of knowing, except from what they pick up from your responses) and so have no wish to fall foul in this way. They can't see your Child and so they often tend to react as though it is a child protection call, until proved otherwise. Please be aware and tolerant of this intolerance from their management...

Gordon_Hose

ouchy2012 wrote: »

To be honest I don't think taxi's allow you without a car seat as last time I used one when other son was 4 they refused take us without a booster.

That is a local policy, introduced by the taxi company, I would have thought.

As a parent, I would never risk it. Last time we were at a family party and had to get a taxi home, we made sure we brought a child seat. The taxi driver had no issue with us fitting it. Really nice guy actually.

POPPYOSCAR

Could you not have gone to your GP?

When my daughter was a toddler she fell over and banged her head, a lump came up the size of a large egg.

I took her straight to the GP and they saw her straight away. They told me to keep an eye on her and watch out for drowsiness etc.

And no I would not take my child in a taxi with no child seat.

ouchy2012

POPPYOSCAR wrote: »

Could you not have gone to your GP?

When my daughter was a toddler she fell over and banged her head, a lump came up the size of a large egg.

I took her straight to the GP and they saw her straight away. They told me to keep an eye on her and watch out for drowsiness etc.

And no I would not take my child in a taxi with no child seat.

I did end up taking him to GP although according to nhs direct it had to be a&e as a full body examination was requird (doctor said that wasn't necessary)

Dukesy

ouchy2012 wrote: »

I did end up taking him to GP although according to nhs direct it had to be a&e as a full body examination was requird (doctor said that wasn't necessary)

I work in paediatrics and I can pretty confidently say that the recommendation to visit a&e for a full body exam is to satisfy child protection malarkies. Unfortunately, due to a few terrible cases in the past, a lot of our work in paeds involves child protection. The attitude is that it's better to be safe than sorry. A few parents may be offended by this attitude, and indeed it has led to serious misjudgements in some cases, but child protection is a major issue and if we miss something, we have a big problem on our hands.

ouchy2012

Dukesy wrote: »

I work in paediatrics and I can pretty confidently say that the recommendation to visit a&e for a full body exam is to satisfy child protection malarkies. Unfortunately, due to a few terrible cases in the past, a lot of our work in paeds involves child protection. The attitude is that it's better to be safe than sorry. A few parents may be offended by this attitude, and indeed it has led to serious misjudgements in some cases, but child protection is a major issue and if we miss something, we have a big problem on our hands.

I can understand that but to be honest I think they need to be a bit more discreet and not sound as if they are accusing us. I'm surprised it doesn't put some people of ringing them through fear of social services being informed.