'My worst nightmares came true when my son got Strep A'

It was when I couldn’t wake my three-year-old son I panicked. His eyes were wide open and in a fixed stare, but there was no response when I called his name or gently stroked the side of his face. In a panic, I picked him up and ran to my husband who decided to call 999.

By the time the paramedics arrived, he had come around but was burning up with a temperature of 40C. The paramedics were great but told us not to even think about going to A&E as it was too manic and instead phoned our GP surgery to book an appointment.

A few hours later I sat in front of the GP holding what I felt was a very poorly three-year-old. I outlined the symptoms - a very high temperature, very sore throat - and explained how unresponsive my son had been in the morning. I also pointed out that he had strange blisters on his chest and stomach. I told him my fear was strep A as scarlet fever had been circulating in his nursery. Despite this, the GP waved us all away saying it was probably a virus and said he didn’t want to just hand out antibiotics. He said he wanted to do a “watch and wait” approach. This approach and failure to take Strep A seriously led my son ending up in hospital.

By the evening, not even Calpol or ibuprofen could lower my son’s high temperature. His skin started to appear mottled and I was increasingly panicked. By this stage, he hadn’t eaten, drunk anything or passed urine for 11 hours. I called 111 who said they would send an ambulance. But 20 minutes later, the ambulance service rang to say there were no ambulances available - they were under huge pressure and the only option was for me to drive him to A&E.

You think you will be ok once at A&E - you imagine you will see a doctor quickly with a three-year-old desperately ill child - but this wasn’t the case. At the hospital we waited five hours that night to see a doctor. The place was full of small children with high temperatures and it was clear staff were overwhelmed and couldn’t cope. We were placed on a small hard chair, the only space available. My child was desperate to sleep but there was simply nowhere to lie down and he struggled to settle on my lap. We sat there for hours through the night and all that time I felt nothing but fear as I watched my child get progressively worse with his temperature and heart rate both rising.

The doctor in A&E decided to give antibiotics as a precaution - only my child was now so ill, so exhausted and in so much pain with his throat that he refused to take it. A nurse tried to pin him down and force the medicine down his throat - leaving both my son and I traumatised and in tears - and still, my son refused to take it.

Finally, we were finally admitted to paediatrics but, 11 hours after arriving at the hospital and still with a high fever, I saw my son’s eyes roll. Fearing he was about to have a seizure I ran into the corridor asking for help. Finally, a senior doctor took charge and my child was put on a drip and given antibiotics intravenously - something I felt could have been done hours earlier. It had felt like a terrifying wait to get to this point but as soon as he was given the medicine he needed, his temperature and heart rate dropped within a couple of hours and we were discharged the next day.

Three days later the hospital rang to say the swab had come back positive for Strep A - but unbelievably the hospital had sent us home with no antibiotics when the advice is for a 10-day course of penicillin. Faced with another medical failure we had to return to the hospital to pick up this life-saving medicine - which the pharmacist told us was becoming increasingly scarce.

A day later the GP called to say my husband also had Strep A and we quickly realised my five-year-old was displaying symptoms too. But now we were fighting against a very real antibiotic shortage. We drove to four pharmacies in two different towns until we found one that had the antibiotics in stock. We took the last two bottles they had, relieved our child would get his medicine but concerned for those who may not.

This experience has made me realise first-hand how under pressure the NHS is and how it only takes an outbreak of illness for the NHS emergency service to fall apart. We were met with misdiagnosis, no ambulances and lengthy waits to treat a very poorly little boy. Then when a diagnosis arrived, we were told we could have difficulty accessing the medicine. As a mother - this is my worst nightmare.

The advice to parents is to trust your instinct. As a mother, I knew my child was very ill with something that wasn’t your typical virus. But there’s only so far your instinct will take you. What is really needed is for medical professionals to listen to your instinct too and to act on it.

I look back and question how a GP could fail to notice the severity of my son’s condition and dismiss us so quickly. I think of the hospital doctors and nurses who watched my son deteriorate and showed no sense of urgency. And I wonder how much longer we would have waited if I hadn’t run out to a corridor saying I needed help. The fact we were sent home without medication is another huge error on the part of the medical team. And as for the lack of antibiotics? I just despair at the situation and ask how can we be failing the youngest and most vulnerable members of society by not even having basic medicine available to them

Thankfully everyone has now recovered, but as Strep A continues to spread, my advice to any parent is trust your instinct and keep pushing until you get the help you need.

What are the main symptoms of Strep A?

Strep A bacteria can cause different illnesses, but usually begins with these typical symptoms:

• A rash

• Sore throat

• Flushed cheeks

• A swollen tongue

• Severe muscle aches

• High fever

• Localised muscle tenderness

• Redness at the site of a wound

What are the symptoms of scarlet fever?

• Sore throat

• Headache

• Fever

• A pink or red rash with a fine, sandpaper-like texture

• Red face, but pale around the mouth with a white or red tongue

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