We went to a friends birthday party last night in Chippenham. We booked a nice hotel for the night and managed to arrange sleepovers for our three children at various friends. We thought that we could take advantage of some of the facilities and have a pleasant and chilled out time. I can't remember the last time we went away as a childless couple. We arrived in Chippenham at around 4 pm, had a cup of tea, a bite to eat and then went around to our friends for a drink at 6pm as a prelude to the main party at Chippenham Sports Club at 7.30.
At around 8.30pm, after we'd had a few drinks each (too many to drive), the phone went. It was our friend who was looking after one of our daughters for the night. They'd been at a roller skating party and our daughter had fallen and broken her wrist. Not only that but she needed an operation to fix it. Now if we'd been local we could have given our consent and it would have been done there and then. As it was they wouldn't take consent by phone. They needed a signature. We were stuck, over the drink driving limit, 100 miles away. As a result my daughter was patched up and given pain killers. We agreed that we'd drive back first thing.
On arrival at the hospital, we were told that the theatre was in use, treating people with life threatening conditions. The earliest they could treat her was 7pm, assuming no one else came in with a more urgent need. So for want of a piece of paper with my name on, my daughter has now had to wait 24 hours to be fixed up. What would have happened if she'd been the person with the "life threatening condition"? Would they still have withheld treatment. What sort of parent would refuse consent? I am completely bemused by the situation.
The friends who were looking after her, have a daughter who we took to Barcelona earlier this year. What would have happened if she'd broken her wrist in Spain. I asked how this could this situation be avoided? I was told that if we'd signed a piece of paper making our friends the official Guardians for our daughter for the night, they could have authorised the operation.
It was explained to me that this bureaucracy is to protect my daughter. From what? She's had 24 hours of pain as a result of this "child protection" procedure. I must be insane, because I cannot for the life of me see any benefit in this for her. Just suppose the doctor advised me that she needed the operation and I'd said no. In my opinion, that would make me unfit to have responsibility for a child. It would be grounds to take my children into care, as I was clearly negligent in my role. I asked the doctor to assess the risk of the procedure. He said that it was one of the more straightforward procedures they could do. The risks he outlined were neglegible (various minor complications no greater than 4%).
I believe that this is an example of a madness which has taken over our society. The Cambridge Online Dictionary describes Madness as "stupid or dangerous behaviour". Is it stupid? Well it's consigned a 12 year old girl to needless pain and stress for 24 hours. That seems stupid to me. Is it dangerous? I'm not a doctor, but I was under the impression that the quicker injuries are treated, the greater the prospects of success. As such it strikes me as dangerous. If you need treatment and they can treat you, they should do it there and then.
Of course, we all know the real reason for this form. It's not child protection at all. It's to protect the Hospital trust, in case they cock up. You see the form is also a disclaimer. It makes it harder for me to sue them. That is the society we live in, one where children are denied treatment to protect organisations. I happen to believe that my daughters medical needs should be the paramount consideration in this whole business. I don't believe they were. I will be writing to the chief of Barnet General Hospital to explain to me how her medical needs were served by this sorry episode. I have no issue at all with the clinical staff or her treatment. I thank God every day for making me lucky enough to be born in Great Britain and live with the NHS. That doesn't mean that I don't think we should challenge bad bureaucracy when we find it.
If anyone can persuade me that what has happened benefitted my daughter, I will most certainly post it on this blog so you can all rest sound. Oh, you may ask what I learned today. That if a hospital trust has the choice between treating a little girl who is in a lot of pain or covering it's arse, I learned what their choice is.
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