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our daughter complicated appendicitis

Posted By Rucki

"our daughter complicated appendicitis"

About: General practices in Lothian NHS 24 / NHS 24 (111 service)

(as a parent/guardian),

Our daughter, age 12 and autistic, displayed initial vomiting, then ongoing extremely high temperature and abdominal pain for a week. During this time she was seen by two different GPs  (and we had also phoned NHS 24 in between the two GP visits). We were told it was gastroenteritis. It was only the third time we contacted GP/NHS services that the GP suspected it might be appendicitis and advised us to get our daughter seen at hospital. 

I am writing this story to make the relevant GPs aware that it turns out that she indeed had appendicitis - and not only that - the condition had developed into complicated appendicitis and severe sepsis by the time we got her to hospital and we nearly lost her.

She had to be treated for 3 weeks in total as a hospital in-patient, has required two operations and several blood transfusions and had to endure a further 2 weeks of antibiotics treatment. As you can imagine - with my daughter being autistic especially - the prolonged hospital stay was highly traumatic for her and for all of the family (luckily, she is now well again and back at school ). 

I am aware that appendicitis is also called the great mimic and for a reason - however, given that we had gone to great lengths to describe the severity of her symptoms - (repeated and ongoing high fever episodes with trembling and SEVERE abdominal pain from the start) we feel that hospital should have been advised sooner.  

I am writing this story in the hope that in future, the GPs will be more careful when making a diagnosis and rule out any alternative explanations. 

We thought we were doing the right thing getting her seen at the GP (to  lessen the burden on A&E ) but as it turns out, it was the wrong thing to do and it has shaken our confidence. 

Very luckily all is well that ends well - but we feel that it has come at a very high cost which could have been avoided. She has now suffered severe trauma and we - her parents - are at our wits end after having to support her in hospital. 

I would appreciate if the GPs took some time to reflect on what has happened.


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Responses

Response from Helen Taylor, Team Leader, Patient Experience Team, NHS Lothian about a year and a half ago
Helen Taylor
Team Leader, Patient Experience Team,
NHS Lothian

Submitted on 02/11/2022 at 15:12
Published on Care Opinion at 15:14

Dear Rucki,

My name is Helen and I work within NHS Lothians' Patient Experience Team.

I am saddened to read about your daughter’s experience and the difficulty in diagnosing appendicitis, which resulted in a prolonged hospital stay for treatment. I am so sorry that your daughter has had to go through such a frightening experience.

As a parent, this must have been such a difficult and stressful time for you, to watch your child unwell and experience the symptoms you have clearly described. It is great to read that your daughter is now well again and back at school with her friends.

The majority of GP Practices within Lothian are independent practices.

I would encourage you, if you feel able, to contact your GP Practice directly, to share your daughters’ experience. This will enable staff to reflect on the care your daughter received and identify any areas for improvement.

Finally, I would like to thank you for taking the time to share this experience via Care Opinion and hope your daughter continues to remain well.

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Response from Shona Lawrence, Clinical Governance Lead, Nursing and Care, NHS 24 about a year and a half ago
Shona Lawrence
Clinical Governance Lead, Nursing and Care,
NHS 24

Submitted on 02/11/2022 at 16:47
Published on Care Opinion on 03/11/2022 at 08:42

picture of Shona Lawrence

Hi Rucki

Thanks so much for sharing your story on Care Opinion. This sounds like a hugely traumatic time for you all and I am sorry to learn of your experience. I am pleased however to read your daughter is now doing well. I hope her recovery continues, and you all take time to heal from such a worrying event.

Yours is such a detailed and heartfelt story. You have clearly described what a profound effect this has had on your confidence and I totally understand why, in current times, you were trying to avoid attending at A&E. I note my colleague Helen, from the NHS Lothian Patient Experience Team, has already responded to you, which I hope is helpful.

Given the detail you have shared, it would be good if we could have an opportunity to review the contact you had with NHS 24. This would enable us to understand if there is anything our service could have done differently. I would welcome further contact from you if you feel ready to do so. You can call me on 07814 299944 or email me at Patient.Experience@nhs24.scot.nhs.uk

I do hope to hear from you.

Thanks again for sharing such heartfelt feedback and best wishes to you all.

Shona

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