Incorrectly told to go to A&E with newborn
My daughter was born on the 19th August, she started to develop some yellow discharge in one of her eyes, but she had no other symptoms. My midwives didn’t seem concerned and advised to bathe in cool boiled water, and if it didn’t go away, then to contact my GP. A few weeks later it still hadn’t gone, so thought it best to get checked out. My first challenge was to get her registered at the doctors. Without being able to go to the surgery I had to complete an online form, with very little guidance. I was being asked to provide proof of ID on the form, my child was 3 weeks old, she had no ID or utility bill. I chanced it and submitted it with nothing attached and I waited to hear from them. By the following Wednesday, I was fed up of waiting, so I submitted an online consult form under my own name. At which point the practice said I needed to do it under my daughter’s name, to which I responded, that I had no idea if she was registered. They checked and she was, and they apologised for not letting me know. I resubmitted a form under my daughter’s name and was subsequently told I would receive a call on the Friday morning. I finally received a call at 6pm on the Friday evening, we discussed the issue and I submitted a picture via text. At this point the doctor said she thought it would be ok to wait until the Monday to see my daughter face to face, and booked in an appointment. She did say she wanted to double check with a paediatric specialist. I then received another call at 7.30pm, saying that the specialist had advised my daughter needs to be seen urgently. And as the surgery was now closed, that I would have to take my daughter to A&E. I asked if it had to be Birmingham children’s hospital, and the doctor said ideally but if I had to I could take her to Solihull. As you can imagine at this point, I was quite frustrated and upset. I could not understand why I was in this situation at 7.30pm at night, with the prospect of having to take my newborn baby to A&E immediately. I asked why I had not been called in the morning when I should have been, and the doctor said she had called several times. I had however not received any missed calls or voicemails to that effect. I had no choice but to go to A&E, as if a doctor says your newborn needs immediate attention, you do whatever you have to do. I made my way to Solihull hospital, only to find out it is closed. So then went to Birmingham Children’s Hospital, where I had to wait several hours, to see a doctor who then proceeded to tell me that he had no idea why we had been sent. In the process putting both myself and my newborn baby at risk unnecessarily, at the height of the pandemic. If only they had called me in the morning when they said they would. If only they had prioritised vulnerable people for appointments. If only they had seen us for a face to face appointment. And if only they had known about the availability of services in their local area…my upsetting and stressful experience could have been completely avoided.