[Vicky.]

Originally Posted by the truth

wouldnt she have phoned to book the appointment? in which case wouldnt she have described the symptoms over the phone? if she did whydidnt the receptionist either put her through to speak to the doctor or tell her to go to a and e?

Depends, some people just turn up at the docs and expect to be seen without an appointment.

Originally Posted by Ammi

...I see your point Vicky..but I do think that if you're in a medical environment and a child or anyone's condition suddenly deteriorates quickly, you would expect trained medical staff to intervene as it's quite easy for a parent to panic in situations..whereas the doctor would know exactly what to do...had the reception informed him.....

...also it could have been too late when the amulance arrived...which obviously it was anyway...

Of course, however when it became clear that the receptionist (who sounds like an utter cow btw, bit like the one in our surgery) was not willing to let them see a doctor, I would imagine most parents next option would be to phone 999...especially if their childs lips were blue. Its not clear if it would have been too late for an ambulance, as the story says that after speaking to the receptionist, the father 'eventually' threatened to ring an ambulance. This could mean he was arguing with her for 2 mins or half an hour, or more.



This receptionist should be sacked. In short. But the parents should also have rang an ambulance. Anyway, besides all of this, the story is so sad. RIP little one