To share ways to make A&E more bareable

I don’t feel I’ve been defensive at all.

As far as others clogging the system. Maybe that’s because they can’t get treatment elsewhere?

Even your example is poor. Clearly your neighbour had been to see a GP, why couldn’t they prescribe and treat?

But then your weren’t the patient so would be able to leave A and E to get yourself water etc.

Of course you can throw some stuff in a bag and it still be an emergency (I’m a nurse with previous A&E and MIU experience), I did a cover shift with the district nursing team and had to call an ambulance for a patient with clear evidence of serious illness requiring emergency treatment. During the 25 min wait for the ambulance, I had time to pack him a bag with his medications, phone charger, pyjamas and pants, feed his cat and phone his son!

I also don’t believe the ‘clinical manager’ story above as it’s just not something I can ever imagine saying, or hearing a colleague say. Someone in a hypertensive crisis, for example, would probably be able to stand without pain, but they really ought to be there.

People can and should use their own judgement to decide whether they need A&E, and still go even if they are unsure! That’s what triage is for. I’d much rather have a horrendously busy A&E shift and see all the people who need to be there than have a fairly quiet shift at a MIU and suddenly have a patient turn up with chest pain that they didn’t want to go to A&E with and it quickly become apparent that they’re actually having a STEMI 😬

And then they lost their job?

That’s a very unorthodox approach to managing health anxiety. The lack of beds in A&E generally doesn’t impact the thought processes which cause your anxiety and dictate your responses to it.

You have enough experience of A&E to know what you need to take and I’d gently suggest that this thread is not so that you get ideas and inspiration from other people. Perhaps sharing it with your therapist would be useful?

Oh God.

You say that, but recently I was knocked over, hit my head and dislocated and broke two fingers, one an avulsive fracture. Standing up made no difference to the pain, but there’s a post on another thread about how uncomfortable A & Es are, which said hands and fingers needed to be dealt with straightaway (words to that effect).

Also, DH is supposed to go, when his angina spray doesn’t work - standing up makes no difference to his breathlessness, left arm pain, tight chest, etc.

This! People that don't need to go there shouldn't be clogging it up

A road traffic accident my DH was in, most recently.

I’ve been in A&E with various excruciatingly painful gynaecology issues that needed emergency treatment including a missed miscarriage. Personally I find reading a book or listening to one distracts me from the pain and the fear too.

Really? You can't fathom it?

The last time I was in A&E was with DD2. She was 6 weeks old at the time and ended up being admitted on IV antibiotics for a few days. She hadn't seemed massively ill but I was worried enough to call 111 (it was the weekend so couldn't call GP) and they said A&E, so I made sure the nappy bag was well stocked, added some water and a snack for me plus my phone charger, and went. It took maybe 90 seconds.

Some really weird responses. Thankfully I have had very few occasions when I've needed to attend A&E - I think I've been four times and only for my kids. Twice there was no time for packing or preparing; one nasty wound sustained in an accident in a park and one (terrifying) episode of anaphylaxis where yes, we rushed in, everything was a blur and we went in the clothes we were wearing with the stuff we had on us and we were seen quickly. But most recently, one child had a non-blanching rash and the out of hours doctor told us via video consultation to go to A&E. It was 10pm on a Sunday night and sure we packed a bag with a warm jumper, a power bank, a book and snacks to make it more comfortable. I think the wait time was 4 hours or so. And yes, child could stand up without pain! But still needed to be seen. What would other posters do - ignore the OOH doctor's instruction to take the child to A&E? Or fly out the door with nothing except their car keys and end up sitting for four hours with a child who is cold/hungry/thirsty/bored?

Terrible, horrible, frightening situations can still have mundane moments and sometimes you still appreciate a snuggly jumper or a bottle of water or five minutes distraction scrolling through instagram.

verifyinhuman day out !!!

How fucking stupid was that 🙄 …. that would have included my friend who attended after getting a high temp whilst on chemo….no pain as such…..she was finally admitted with sepsis …..she nearly died

WHY do you think our modern A&E’s need those sort of announcements?

It’s so frustrating that people who have genuine need to attend A&E feel the need to be defensive on these threads. Part of the reason why A&E services are so stretched is because people who do not need to be there are taking up time and resources.

The best ‘worst’ scenario I’ve known was my neighbour who went to A&E with an infected verruca, having refused, (as the GP advised) to see a podiatrist ( which they were well able to afford)

They have these at train stations and sometimes hospitals now. You scan your card recieve a power bank and have to return it within a time period like 24 hours. Can’t remember how much but assume per few hours.

My daughter recently had appendicitis. Im an ex a&e nurse and quickly diagnosed this at home myself and took her straight off to a&e. Even though I knew exactly what it was and it was time critical, I had time to grab a charger, a change of clothes etc before taking her. Then I proceeded to wait over 4 hours to be triaged, they wouldn't give her any further pain killers and I had to wait another 4 hours to be seen by surgical. The service is atrocious these days. I've only been left 6 years and it has gone beyond disgusting. Luckily my daughter has made a full recovery and didn't rupture her appendix (I think because I was able to quickly diagnose at home and take her in quickly)

What a judgy thread. I know OP didn’t start the post like that.

Unfortunately, some people are frequent users of A & E, my son being one and therefore as his carer, me too.

For the nosy, judgy people, he’s been numerous times, for such things as, sepsis, pneumonia, seizures that wouldn’t stop after emergency meds, dislocated hip and I could go on.

The oodie sounds a good call @silvershark22. I appreciate their cold water fountains to refill my bottle. I really wish they wouldn’t play the same loud announcement telling people to go to their GP, every 15 minutes. Can’t obviously wear ear plugs otherwise you can’t hear when you’re called.

A and E would be more bearable if people didn't treat it like a family day out. I was once in A and E when a couple came with a child aged about 6 with a suspected broken arm. There was both parents, the injured child and three siblings. Over the next 30 minutes both sets of grandparents arrived and to top it all an uncle and aunt turned up with three more children and then another uncle and aunt, mercifully with no children. The noise from the adults was unbearable let alone seven children screeching and running around.

That's obviously bollocks though isn't it.

I spent 10hrs waiting in A&E last summer (my GP sent me for urgent blood tests and IV antibiotics on a Friday evening).

Battery pack for phone
A couple of films/TV series downloaded
A few litres of water
Headphones
A big warm jumper and a fan (as it can either be boiling or freezing).

It’s not stalking. And it’s very relevant on this thread.

Inappropriate use of healthcare services is an issue that we’re not supposed to talk about. But it has an impact on services. Every single GP practice, minor injuries unit and A&E in the UK has a population of frequent flyers. Every paramedic base in the UK has a population of frequent flyers. And those people are placing immeasurable pressure and strain on services.

Social media and places like Mumsnet feed the beast in threads like this. It’s very clear that the OP has issues and is loving the stories that people are sharing.

If you have an issue with pp’s being available to registered users, you should take that up with MNHQ.

Lucky you. It took that long for my dad to get painkillers in A+E last Sunday night. He was in excruciating pain. The whole visit was 10 hours.