Out of hours GP services

I went to Birmingham yesterday for an EO meeting. I was supposed to catch the 18.14 train to come home but got to the station in time to get the 17.14 instead.

I thought I'd phone Theo before the train arrived to let him know what time I'd be home, he sounded awful when he answered the phone so I asked what was wrong. He told me he had a really bad headache and had been about to go down the stairs when he'd gotten really dizzy and fallen down them. This had happened at lunchtime and he hadn't bothered to tell anyone!

I told him to get straight back into bed and then I phoned my mum and asked her to go straight over. I then got on the train and spent the whole time worrying about what was happening as my phone signal always dies as soon as I get on the train.

I eventually got to speak to my mum who told me that Theo had a really high temperature and a very sore throat. She said he was fine and that he'd gone to sleep so she'd left him to it and gone home.

I finally got home at 21.40 and went straight up to check on him. He was really burning up so I made him get in the bath and gave him some paracetamol. I started asking him questions while I changed his bed and he told me he'd fallen from the very top of the stairs and hit his head several times. He said he hadn't blacked out when he fell but he was unable to get up for a few minutes and afterwards was violently shaking, seeing double and feeling sick.

I then got quite worried so I phoned the out of hours doctor. I called at 22.10 and when I explained what had happened the woman said she'd have to call an ambulance. I said I wasn't really sure that was necessary and would prefer just to talk to a doctor. I said that I would be happy to have an ambulance if the doctor thought it was necessary. She was quite insistant that she'd have to call an ambulance but eventually she gave in and said a doctor would call me as a matter of urgency.

When they still hadn't called at 00.45 I phoned back. I was again told someone would phone me which they did at 01.25.

You've got to laugh haven't you, one minute it's so urgent they're insisting on sending an ambulance and the next they're leaving you for three and a quarter hours before they call you back.

It's a good job it wasn't anything urgent!