I've got your back...

Just before Christmas, my youngest son (whose birth led me to create this blog) was taken ill with bronchiolitis.

In the early stages, it doesn't look that much different from a cold, so when my wife first took him to the doctor it was purely as a precaution, just to reassure ourselves that our son's snuffles weren't anything more serious. Unfortunately, they were, but throughout his illness, having NHS staff on hand to offer support and advice was, as always, invaluable.

It started with what I always suspected would come along - the first indication I've seen first hand that NHS reforms aren't improving the service. We called NHS Direct, only to be told that in our area, we now have to use the 111 service. There are few things more reassuring than a professional nurse. Their compassion and experience have always put me at ease in the past when calling NHS Direct. Sadly the person we got through to was not a nurse, but a call handler with a checklist to go through. In fairness, we got what we needed, an appointment at the hospital walk in centre, but something valuable has been lost in the search for reduced cost.

When she arrived at the hospital, my wife was seen immediately. There's nothing you can do about bronchiolitis, other than wait for the illness to run it's course; and it's a horrible illness. My little boy was breathing from his belly rather than his chest, and sleeping constantly as he wasn't getting the oxygen needed to stay awake. He stayed in the hospital for five hours in his own room for observation. During that time, staff checked in regularly, and on occasion stopped to chat to my wife to put her at ease.

After he was discharged, we were given the ward number to call 24/7 if his condition took a turn for the worse. With the health visitor also on the other end of the phone, help and advice were constantly at hand. Even though medical treatment wasn't possible, and we had to let his Iillness run its course. Several nervous days of watching our exhausted little boy struggle to breathe followed. This was made bearable by the knowledge that we could speak to a professional at any minute.

He's better now, putting weight back on and is a chunky chap. As ever, I just hope one day he'll be able to rely on the same support his mother and I took as our birthright.