"Accident and Emergency admission for sons..."

we bought our teenage son into QA A&E department early Friday evening and i would like to thank all the staff that helped look after my son as they were fantastic. He was seen within minutes of arriving, administered pain killers as soon as they could get a line in (which was proving difficult due to my sons veins, not the staff!), had x-rays done and a team ready and waiting for after the x-rays so they could get the elbow back into position and into a temporary cast. All the staff were great, kept us informed at all times and my son was kept a close eye on from the moment he came in until the moment he was discharged. From start to finish was around 3 and a half hours which was impressive and we are so grateful, thankyou!

Unfortunately, the follow up appointment service has been rather more painful! The orthopedic consultant we saw at A&E wanted our son to be seen 7 days later to allow what they had done to settle and so they could then look at scans for any further damage which the consultant was certain there was but the only appointment i could get was for 3 and a half days after the injury as no appointments available for the 7 days! This i am hoping is not going to negate all the hard work of the A&E staff as i am pretty sure this appointment is going to be too soon after the injury and will not have had time to settle. I'm concerned my son will now be put through the pain of having a cast removed after only 3 and a half days which contravenes the guidance of the orthopedic consultant. Surely appointments should be made to meet the requirements of the injury, not the times of an appointment book?

I will wait and see what happens at my sons appointment but i will be taking the matter further if his health and recovery have been jeopadised due to appointment number restrictions within a clinic!!

On a positive note though, i would like to reitterate what a great A&E department at QA hospital is but maybe advise going private for follow up appointments as it all seems to go downhill from the moment you are discharged!!