Does any one know how to get an appointment with the NHS sooner

[ymenik21]

We were told get our little one shown by a pediatrician after all since she is a bit slow in her motor skills.She is 13 months and cant still push her self up and the HV are concerned that her little toes are slightly turned out.So I got a referral letter from the GP and the appointment I was given is for the 12th of March?

Since I heard this toe thing from the HV I ve being feeling S**t , depressed to be honest and I do not know how to wait till the 29 the of march since that is the appointment I was given after all since we are going to Aussi for a holiday on the 13 Feb bla bla.

Does anyone know how to a get an appointment quicker ? sorry may be there is no way ,I have not bing thinking straight for the past few days.

Help please

Sam X

[Pickle]

Sam, I know it's hard, but try not to worry too much, especially if it's a HV that's shown concern.

I can't offer any assistance with speeding up the appointment, but can relate - my son couldn't even move until he was 14 months, at which point he started shuffling round on his bottom. He didn't start pulling himself to standing until he was 19 months, at finally walked at 21 months. He rolled once when he was 7 months old, but then didn't do it again until he was 18 months! Thankfully we had a family history of late walking, so I knew not to stress about it too much, but everyone around me drove me mad telling me I should get him seen by someone.

His feet and ankles were very weak so we did get a referral to Kings (with a long wait, like you), but they took one look at him and said not to worry, things would improve once he walked.

He's now nearly 3 and you wouldn't know he was so far behind his peers as he keeps up no problem and is a typical little boy. His ankles are still a bit wonky, but improving every day without intervention.

On the plus side, while all his friends were concentrating on walking, he was focussing on talking, and was a long way ahead of his peers in terms of speech and language.

Try to relax, the appointment will come round before you know it (and chances are by then there will be nothing to worry about).

P x

[lorraineliyanage]

Would you consider going to see a private paediatrician? I know it's awful having to wait!

[ymenik21]

If I cant get a cancellation before we fly to Aussie I think I might Lorraine.Do you know of any one good?

[redjam]

I'd second Pickle's post in that please try not to worry too much about it (easier said than done I know). My oldest daughter was referred to a specialist physiotherapist when she was about 14 months as she could barely do ANYTHING - she couldn't even get up to sitting from lying down. I had to go and see this physio every couple of weeks to 'monitor her progress' for a couple of months. I was relatively laid back about it as I knew my brother and I were slow physical developers as babies, but my husband worried himself sick, googling every ghastly developmental illness and convincing himself our daughter would never walk.

Needless to say, fast forward a few months and we were discharged as my daughter was up and walking fine, and now she's a perfectly 'normal' healthy little girl. So please do try not to think the worst - health visitors have to cover their own backsides by mentioning anything they think is even vaguely not 'normal' but they are NOT physios/paediatricians and generally you are a better judge of your child than they are. Go private for peace of mind if you can afford it but either way PLEASE don't assume it will be bad news - health visitors have all sorts of boxes to tick and I've met many mums who have been sent down worrying medical paths because of HVs which turned out to be nothing.

[Pickle]

Redjam, my son couldn't get from lying down to sitting up either - he first did it when he was 19 months (we still had his cot at the "newborn" highest level as there was no chance of him escaping)!! Benefit of hindsight makes me realise just how easy I had it (having just heard my super-mobile daughter shouting "look at meeeeeee" I went to investigate and found her standing on the kitchen table, aaaaaaargh).

I agree that HV's have boxes to tick, and will be super cautious about anything they don't deem to be the norm. Hence I stopped going to see them ;-)

[redjam]

Ha, yes we never bothered lowering the cot for our first daughter too - and had a similar rude awakening when our second, much more active child came along! And don't get me started on HVs - I also ended up having loads of (in retrospect, unnecessary) trips to hospital for my second child as she wasn't gaining weight well as a baby. Obviously I appreciate HVs have a job to do, and I'm sure they serve their purpose for many, but in both of our cases we wasted a lot of time, energy and worry stressing about issues that turned out to be nothing, simply because our kids didn't quite fit the 'normal' curve. I think if I ever had another kid (god help me, no), I'd give HVs a miss altogether and save myself the stress...

[dairymilkfiend]

I agree with all the comments about not worrying if possible - most people with kids have had some well meaning person who has scared the living daylights out of them by suggesting something is not right. If you have the paediatrician's name you could always try ringing his/her secretary and asking if there is any way it could be brought forward. No harm in asking. Otherwise if you really are worried a private opinion might help ( prob about ?150 ish for a consultation) but it could end up expensive if you need any tests.

Hope and expect that it will all be a storm in a teacup.