AIBU to think this is not on

The surgery should have been able to ask the right sort of questions very quickly and then say to ring 999. Anyway glad it all worked out well - it must have been very frightening.

Thank you all for your wise words. My niece does have first aid skills but I think she was so distraught she couldn’t think straight. The lovely neighbour did exactly the right thing and got his temperature down. Now she knows that it was a febrile convulsion she will be better prepared. It was just so frightening for her as it was the first one.

Living in a rural area we are a long way from hospitals and paremedics, hence the delay. Your comments have made me think I should take a first aid course too.

Always lots of lovely common sense available on grans net!

Febrile seizures are very frightening though usually benign. The GP surgery should not have wasted time explaining about not being registered but simply told her to ring 999.

No one is thinking straight in a situation like this, especially the first time it happens. Everyone needs to learn baby resuscitation just in case.

Always 999 .Basic first course at the minimal. Sorry about the scare pleased its all settled now.

GPs/ Surgeries are not the places for situations such as this. They are not trained in an appropriate way and, more importantly, know nothing about the child and could easily have done more harm than good in their inexperienced efforts.
It's a bit like expecting a nurse to step in and administer first aid at an incident - most are trained for situations where equipment is available - not the open field.

Nearest paramedic is 20 miles away? That's awful.

I always think the worst so would have bypassed the doctors and gone straight to the emergency services. When I phone my surgery for either an apt or repeat prescription I first hear a message that tells me to dial emergency if I am experiencing any of the following etc etc.

My husband suffered a horrific nosebleed and staggered into the Health Centre for help. The nurses went into a total meltdown. They were not used to dealing with blood!

I'm sure the first question that's asked when you phone for an ambulance is "Is the casualty breathing?"
Then you'll be given step by step instructions on how to deal with it.

Having been in an emergency situation with my GS in an isolated place with very difficult communications- no phone signal etc. I would say ring the emergency services every time. The operators are trained to discuss symptoms and to talk you through what to do. My DS was sent to a nearby village to get the defibrillator just in case it was needed (it wasn't), we were told what to do and all the time an ambulance was on its way. You were lucky the neighbour came, but the emergency service would have given you the same advice and possibly more quickly. We have an incredible service which saves lives.

Surely they should have rung 999 first? I feel that all new parents should know basic CPR for children and infants as the techniques are different for babies and toddlers than for older children and adults

I would add that if you ring 999 in an emergency your phone will pick up what ever the best signal is, even if not your network (and your phone is showing no signal), so hopefully most areas covered by this

Epipens should be a given where so many children and adults suffer allergies . They're about £50 but definitely worth having. Easy to administer and could save someone's life. There are different strengths for children and adults.

Hm999 that may well have been the nearest available paramedic

I was coming home from the shops with my (at the time) 4 children, just about to unlock the door, when my son aged 3 suddenly went floppy, collapsed and limbs felt rubbery, like a bendy toy.
I went a few doors away where a nursing sister lived with her paramedic son whose car I spied on the driveway.
He stripped him, lay him on towels and his mum got ice, bowls of cold water and soaked them before swaddling him. Son rang ambulance station and he went in vehicle with him while I followed in car. Halfway through journey the ambo diverted to another hospital to stabilise him. In an ante-theatre he was laid out and some tests were done to see if co-ordination was returning. They decided to take him to Alder Hey by air ambulance, more than 150 miles away.
The paramedic and a doctor from the hospital went in the helicopter, I drove with children and, incredibly, a police escort (those were the days).
Son was kept in for a week, lumbar puncture was clear, diagnosis was otitis media.
The only sign of him being unwell had been earlier in the bank when he said he was hot and wanted to take his jacket off.
Luckily, my then DH was abroad, otherwise he would have had a complete meltdown.

All this advice is correct, but surely somebody at the surgery should have had some compassion - forms could be completed later. This is 'rules gone mad'.

Have you not an Out of Hours Surgery number? Baby is well so no worries there then.

The first thing a gp would have done was to phone an ambulance, though.
They aren't equipped to deal with it, should the convulsions go on for too long, or God forbid something more serious happen.

I agree it is important to learn CPR for everyone, it can save lives.

If anyone wants to do a first aid course the St John’s Ambulance service runs them. All my children were members and all passed their first sided exams every year and would then go out to events where cover was needed,very good organisation to belong to,there is badgers for the younger ones as well

So relieved to hear that the baby is ok. My Mum would have lived if the neighbour had phoned 999 for an ambulance and not rung the surgery who sent out a doctor 2 hours later. He rang for an ambulance and she died on the way to hospital.

I would say always ring 999 regarding babies and the elderly.

Goodness, GabriellaG what a terrifying experience for you!

Thank goodness the baby was fine, eventually. Scary stuff!

When you phone our surgery, the very first message asks if it's a medical emergency. If it is, it then defaults to telling you what to do next. I thought all surgeries had this format but obviously not.

I'd always phone 999 in such a situation the OP describes. We are also rural and if no ambulance is available, a First Responder with resus equipment will attend until such times an ambulance can get there.

Yes indeed Sparklefizz but I had to keep myself together as I was driving with my other 3 children aged 10, 5 and 18 months. I had to stop for petrol before we got on the motorway and I got a few funny looks as one of the police officers stood by my car while I paid and bought drinks for the children. My oldest daughter (10) was just fantastic and amused the others. She is still wonderful.