This advice page will guide you on how to care safely for your child at home if you leave before being seen or discharged by the hospital clinician.
Before leaving the Children’s Emergency Department please make sure that you have given the Receptionist an up-to-date telephone number and address in case we need to contact you.
Once home, please keep a close eye on your child and seek advice if you think they are getting worse. Further down the page there are some key points on when to get them checked by a health care professional.
Useful resources
Got a mobile? Great! There is lots of information available through your smartphone on the Healthier Together NHS app. You can even access your preferred language.
Follow up
Children who leave before being seen or discharged by a clinician may need follow up to ensure they remain well at home. This could be by your Community Nurse, Health visitor, School nurse or a Doctor.
Red symptoms
You need urgent help. Please attend your local Emergency Department or call 999.
- Too breathless to talk, eat or drink
- Working hard to breathe, drawing in the muscles between/below the ribs or noisy breathing
- Breathing that pauses or stops
- Pale, blue mottled and/or unusually cold to touch
- Difficult to wake, very drowsy or confused
- Weak, high pitched continuous cry, or cannot be settled
- Seizure
- Rash that does not disappear when pressed – think glass test
- If your child is less than 3 months of age with a temperature above 38°C or below 36°C, unless the fever is within 48 hours of vaccinations and there are no other red or amber symptoms.
Amber symptoms
Please ring you GP or 111 for advice.
- Temperature above 38°C for more than 5 days or shivering with fevers
- Temperature below 36°C
- Breathing slightly faster than usual or working a bit harder to breathe
- Dry skin, lips or tongue
- Not passed urine in previous 8 hours
- Poor feeding in babies – taking less than half their usual amount
- Irritable or unable to settle
- Swelling of a limb or joint.
- Not using or putting weight on an arm, leg or foot
- Severe pain not improving with painkillers
- Has had chicken pox in the last few days and is now getting worse with high fever or spreading red rash
- Getting worse or you are worried about them
- If your child is 3 to 6 months old with a temperature above 39, unless the fever is within 48 hours of vaccinations and there are no other red or amber symptoms
Green symptoms
If your child has none of the above then watch closely at home and continue to monitor for amber and red symptoms.
If you have any concerns, contact 111, your GP or your local pharmacist