Children with ‘green’ features and none of the ‘amber’ or ‘red’ features can be managed at home with appropriate advice for parents and carers, always including advice on when to seek further attention from the healthcare services.
The concept of safety-netting is not a new one but its importance cannot be overstated. It has been shown to significantly
decrease the rate of re-presentation in the incidence of a febrile child, but more importantly, it gives parents the information to recognise that their child’s illness has deteriorated and the need to seek further medical help.
Going through the list of ‘red’ features is helpful. The quality of the information given and whether or not written information is given also impacts on how well parents retain the information.