We all know kids are prone to bumps and falls... how to deal with these?
Member 1:
On Saturday, 08/05/2021, my 5 yr old son was outside riding his balance bike. He was going at quite a speed when he suddenly flipped over the handle bars and went face first into the tar.
The impact was so hard he knocked his front tooth out, smashed his little nose and battered his top lip... needless to say it wasn't a pretty site. Luckily he didn't get knocked out but I was very concerned about a head injury as he wasn't wearing a helmet and he'd hit his head really hard. It was 17:30 so the doctors were closed and I didn't have a car so I called 999. The line didn't even ring!!! Someone answered straight away and after giving a few details an ambulance was dispatched. The person on the line was so helpful and reassuring.
Now we live in a small town without a big hospital so the ambulance was dispatched from Clonmel which is a good 30/40 min away. Within 20 min we had a first response vehicle arrive to assess my son. He was amazing and so friendly and helpful. Explained everything and administered pain medication. 20 min later the ambulance arrived and we were off to University hospital in Waterford. Once there we went through triage to evaluate the seriousness of Elijah's injury and we then waited for 2 hours to be seen by an emergency doctor. I wasn't worried about the wait as there were more serious injuries ahead of us and we were constantly checked on and reassured that we hadn't been forgotten about. The doctor checked him from head to toe and we were given the all clear to head home, all be it toothless!
All in all an incredibly positive experience from the 999 call to the first response, to the ambulance crew to the hospital staff. I can't fault them at all. We don't have a private medical aid so this kind of emergency had always worried me but after double checking with the paramedics and hospital staff I was reassured that this was all free which to me is just mind blowing.
I just wanted to share my experience and hope it will set a few minds at ease when it comes to the HSE and the public health service.
Member 2:
Our daughter rode her scooter into a lamp post and broke her nose.
Called our GP who confirmed DO NOT go to A&E at the hospital as nothing can be done about a broken nose until the swelling goes down
They did all the concussion checks over the phone as it was during Covid and min-social distancing happening
The GP had us in a week later and confirmed indeed her nose was broken, however it would heal and that there was no damage to the breathing parts of the nose
The only fee was GP fees.
IF we chose to have the nose straightened, because the nose was working properly, it would be considered cosmetic surgery.
The GP said we could go to a ENT but we would pay as it is not an emergency or a vital situation
If we chose surgery we would be looking in excess of EUR2500
We do not have private medical and we (and our daughter) did not see it as a major issue, she has a tiny kink in her nose, bit of character we would say.
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