Bringing your whole fucking family to A&E

Well judging by this thread it seems as though there are a statistically highly unlikely number of people who have “countless reasons” for behaving anti socially in AandE departments the length and breadth of the country. I think it more likely that there are just countless numbers of people who have no reason to be there apart from their ignorance and selfish entitled attitudes.

I was an inpatient once with a woman who behaved like this on the ward loud, on her phone, hundreds of noisy visitors at all hours, including a very small child who ran around in a stinking nappy , take away food. She complained loudly about the hospital food, so it was a moment of pure joy when she vomited up KFC gravy all down the front of her knock off chanel dressing gown. She also swore at the nurse who tried to get her surgical stockings on, then deliberately left all her jewellery on top of the locker - I think she was setting the groundwork for a big dramatic scene when she accused people of stealing stuff. I saw it and told the ward sister who (with raised eyebrows) collected it up and locked it in her office.

Ask the family, one will probably let you have their seat. Ppl are often nicer than they look.

I meant allow patients to sit! Sorry typo

I’d ask the staff to ask family members to allow patients to stand. I wouldn’t tolerate being asked to stand if I was a patient or if I had one relative with me.

I spend a lot of time at work seeing medical patients (I’m a registrar in a medical specialty) in ED (what A&E is now called) and they won’t stay forever. When they’ve been waiting 43 hours for a ward bed the hangers on leave! I always try and get family a chair to sit on but it can be tricky to find them. I used to try and always bring everyone tea but it’s just too busy now sadly.

Ask one of them to move so DH can sit. Don't send him to the car.

Yes, but did all 3 adults and the toddler REALLY need to be in AnE with him? Most hospitals have a cafe that at least 2 adults and the toddler could have gone to, to wait, and take turns to be with him?

I was in A&E last year and there was a familiy like that, except that woman and partner were there all afternoon, and then their 3 kids - all late teens/ early twenties - joined them for the evening. All having a lovely time! There were no chairs at that time so they just clogged up the corridor that medical staff were going in and out of.

At some point, it was so crowded that one of the reception staff started making regular announcements for anyone who was not a patient to get off their arses so the actual sick and injured people could sit (I paraphrase)

I am a radiographer & rotate through A&E as part of my job. Does my head in when people do this! The example in the OP is beyond ridiculous though! Why on earth would you
need 5 adults to sit with you for a sprain/broken bone ? As for ordering kfc the worst story I have heard was a group who ordered ‘dial a drink’ to the waiting room! My hospital is in quite a rough part of the city!

Definitely not unreasonable and they should be told to leave 🤬

My dad had 3 adults & a toddler with him when he’d had his stroke. The family had been for a walk & got a phone call & wanted to get to the hospital asap without dropping people at various places on the way. Nobody really knew what was going on, just that something had been detected on a ct scan & he was getting referred to the hospital which had neurology/stroke doctors. He was understandably shitting himself with the unknown.

For sure. Is it that they seek drama?

They make an announcement in our local A&E that chairs and wheelchairs are for patients waiting to be seen. It seems to shift most of the families shift for a day out.
They even brought round sandwiches for those who have been there for a few hours. They had a list and checked armbands.

He’s better now thanks, he had intravenous antibiotics and then a few courses of oral antibiotics, some sort of spray and a nasal drops. He also has to go back as they had some concerns about what was underneath in case it was mouth cancer but it’s now looking like it’s not that. We didn’t know it was serious until the gp sent him to a&e, all we knew was his throat was very sore and he felt very ill.

Surely, there must be a proven link between low IQ and A&E occupancy?

I used to work in A&E, and as someone has already said, some people treat it as a family day out.

I now work on a ward and it’s just the same sometimes - 2 visitors per patient is for a reason - our bays are for four patients and if all four patients extended family piles in potentially its claustrophobic, confusing, noisy, unhygienic, there’s not enough chairs, drs and nurses can’t do their stuff, meals can’t be served, cleaners can’t get in etc etc.

And I always feel for the patients who don’t have visitors while all this is going on. Most visitors understand or are fine when asked if they could take turns and swap in in twos but you do get mouthy entitled people who are nasty about it and have no consideration of the impact of their behaviour on other often very ill patients.

It’s why I have switched to M&S too. Lidl is pure hell of nightmare families and screaming kids. M&S is heaven in comparison

I empathise, but Id be cautious of judging anyone in hospital. You no nothing about this family, their circumstances or why they need to have everyone there. It may be annoying, but if you don't know what it's all about, just leave them be and focus on yourself.

There are countless reasons why all might be there from some really sad reasons (I'm sure you can imagine), to some reasons which might see minor to many but could be a big deal for this family. Who knows.

I really sympathise with you - I once sat in a and e in a Friday night for five hours waiting to be seen after going in by blue light ambulance have a grand mal seizure- I was sat next to a guy who had had a heart attack (had been given an print out of the report where it showed the heart attack taking place and looked really grey and ill) and the whole place was like a zoo. When I was in with the dr a woman kept just walking in saying her dad didn’t like the cheese sandwich he’d been given - apparently he was an alcoholic who’s fallen, and he was sat in another room screaming saying he wanted ham. His daughter was complaining they couldn’t make a sandwich to order at 11pm on a Friday night. Never mind the fact she just kept bursting into the room - it boiled my piddle to the point I ended up snapping at daughter - those poor staff had the patience of saints.

A and E was fucking awesome during lockdown. I had cause to go twice, (once for me, once accompanying a friend as she couldn’t drive) and it was near-deserted each time.

The waits were a bit shorter too. Only people who really needed to be there seemed to be there. As it should be.

OP, I kid you not have also witnessed people eating takeaway fried chicken in A&E! Of course they were there with their entourage of 5. In the end security booted them out, but seriously.. what on earth were they thinking? The stench was bloody awful!

YANBU! I had a series of issues last year and witnessed the same. The staff do nothing. Typical Countess of Chester Hospital 🥴

Nah agreed its selfish you only need one other person with you. Hate when people do this in the supermarket too and expect the public to mind their children... erm...no. Its why i started shopping at m&s.

I never really believed this until last year when I had a bad fall, I was waiting for hours and had to listen to a really annoying family who seemed to be on a group outing as the oldest boy/man (late teens/early 20s) had hurt his finger, but didn’t seem to be in any actual discomfort. It was extra grating as I was in absolute agony with my bone sticking out of my skin, holding my forearm together with the other arm and no pain relief! Hell is other people.

The NHS has to suet this out.

The hospitals have been turned into entertainment parks.

And yes, it’s up to the staff to sort it out but can’t be arsed.

I really wish staff would step in and say something in these types of situations.

I was at A&E a few weeks ago and bumped into a friend, we both sat together but we were ill and in pain so we weren’t up for much conversation and we were mostly reading to pass the time.

We both commented on how many people seemed to have an entourage with them and how much of the waiting room was taken up by non patients. The most infuriating was the people who had brought multiple children and were either letting them run round shrieking or in one case a woman had 2 of her kids lying across the chairs. Her husband kept saying he’d take them and sit in the car, he seemed to have a bit of awareness at least. He mentioned it would have been better if they could have stayed at their grandparents rather then them all coming to the hospital. He commented a few times that he hoped they wouldn’t pick up any bugs, his wife just kept saying it was fine, she obviously saw it as a family day out!

My friend had to ask for a woman to stop her toddler who kept running over and trying to open her handbag and pulling at her crutches, the woman shouted at her child to come and sit down then went back to staring at her phone whilst the toddler carried on running round with other ignored children.

The other thing that was driving me crazy was people watching things loudly on their phones with no headphones, there was a man opposite me who was flicking through videos and a teenage boy who kept playing the same video over and over, lots of people were looking over unhappily but the annoying pricks were oblivious.

There was no security guard and the receptionist kept disappearing until someone new came to check in so there was no one to ask to intervene, there were some obviously very unwell people and it was surprising to see the lack of sympathy and compassion shown towards them, I can’t understand the appeal of sitting in A&E unless you are actually waiting for treatment, based on the majority of that waiting room though it’s clearly a fun trip out for some families.