Parents with ill children not going to hospital as scared of Covid-19

Parents whose children are seriously ill are not bringing them to hospital because they are afraid they will catch coronavirus, warns leading doctor

  • Dr Sanjay Patel, of Southampton Children’s Hospital, said fewer children going in
  • He said some parents were assuming all illnesses were being caused by Covid-19
  • He has now helped to develop national guidance on children’s health for parents
  • It is a red, amber, green system for which symptoms need urgent medical advice
  • Learn more about how to help people impacted by COVID

Parents of children with serious illnesses are failing to bring them to hospital out of fear their youngsters will catch Covid-19, according to a leading doctor.

Dr Sanjay Patel, a consultant in paediatric infectious diseases at Southampton Children’s Hospital, said fewer severely sick children were being brought to its emergency department with conditions such as appendicitis, dehydration and sepsis.

He said some parents were assuming all illnesses were being caused by coronavirus or were not seeking healthcare due to fears over catching the deadly bug.


Dr Sanjay Patel (left), a consultant in paediatric infectious diseases at Southampton Children’s Hospital (right), said fewer severely sick children were being brought to its emergency department with conditions such as appendicitis, dehydration and sepsis

He has now helped develop national guidance on children’s health to enable parents to assess when they should be seeking help.

It consists of a red, amber and green traffic light system advising parents of which symptoms require them to seek urgent medical advice and the options available to them.

Dr Patel said: ‘These are extremely challenging and worrying times for families and I can’t stress how important it is to follow the Government advice about social distancing in order to slow down the speed of Covid-19.

He has now helped develop national guidance on children’s health to enable parents to assess when they should be seeking help. It consists of a red, amber and green traffic light system

‘However, I’m really worried there is a very real risk that some children with illnesses such as appendicitis, dehydration or even sepsis are not being brought to see healthcare professionals as quickly as they would be normally.

‘We are seeing fewer children than we would expect to see at this time of year, particularly through our emergency department, and those we are seeing who do not have Covid-19 are more severely unwell.

‘We’ve seen evidence of this in Hampshire as well as across the country.’

Dr Patel said: ‘I’m really worried there is a very real risk that some children with illnesses such as appendicitis, dehydration or even sepsis are not being brought to see healthcare professionals as quickly as they would be normally.’ Pictured: A paramedic in Manchester

He continued: ‘We know that the message about Covid-19 is so powerful and parents are putting most children’s illnesses down to this.

‘The other issue is that they are just too scared to bring their child to see a healthcare professional because they are worried that they might pick up Covid-19.

‘Therefore, it is really important for parents to recognise that Covid-19 is not causing severe infection and illness in most children.’

He added: ‘If your child is unwell don’t assume they have Covid-19, please take a look at the resources we’ve developed and if your child has any of the red or amber features seek help urgently.’

Source: Read Full Article