To think 70% of people shouldn’t be in A&E

Tuesday after last bank holiday an hour wait (it nearly cured my insomnia in the waiting room but not quite) to see the GP as one of the admin staff got stretchered out even to an ambulance themselves, gp normally the one famous for going you are not my patient! but unfortunately duty doc takes one look at notes, turns to my parent and says err can you drive her back to A&E I think we need to do ‘bloods’ for DVT He did kindly do me a prescription for thrush all without taking taking a look at anything.

Around 4 hours later, out having bloods and a mini scan so I did not have to return next day and the A&E doctor as the only one to speak sense saying did I realise I’d had a serious operation. I felt light headed and raspy breathing for weeks when I tried standing up, none of this and 12 days stuck immobile in a hospital bed I’d wish on my worst enemy. Though I felt relieved I got out of A&E same day for a change and everyone was in a happy mood yes for the day after bank holiday.

Currently receiving district nurse care instead of anymore hospital visits although each nurse says something different and now I’m heading for the ‘diabetic foot team’ and tissue viability ……all woefully under explained.

Still waiting for good old physio. But I taught myself how to get walking again. 💪 fair enough it’s not without a load of gunk coming out of injury site and it ain’t exactly pain-free but if I relied on anyone in our so called health service which only moves when you have an emergency, I wouldn’t get far.

I broke my foot, so was sat chatting and looked fine. I was not in any pain, but could not walk on it at all. Does not help that the triage nurse said I was faking. I wish she had seen me hobble out with the boot and crutches.

I have also been told to sit there and wait for medication, and sometimes a taxi that the staff have called for me.

I would never look at other people there and think they should not be there. You have no idea of their circumstances.

Exactly, without further investigations, the cause is often unknown and potentially needs immediate treatment. Even if it is known, a suddent increase in that pain, that stops you performing you usual activities, or cant talk through teh pain, and cannot be controlled with home analgesia, can be suggestive of that condition now needing immediate intervention. Therefore, sudden, acute, uncontrollable pain IS a reason to attend A&E.

It isn't. The causes of it may be, but pain in itself is not. OP says she was discharged so I'm guessing it was neither A or E in her case.

I'm not saying, by the way that she was wrong to go, or that I wouldn't have made the same choice - but it is ironic that she's questioning others for being there when they don't qualify in her eyes as accidents or emergency.

Where we used to live we didn't have any minor injuries units so it was GP or A&E. GP had the "call at 8.30" system. Several times I had to haul a sick baby to A&E because it was after 8.30am and there were no appointments. One time I got told off by the hospital doctor and when I told him I'd been turned away by the GP he said he would have words because it was her job! I got wise to it after a while and just walked into the surgery with a screaming baby. They didn't find it so easy to fob me off then.

It is so much easier where we live now because you can just go to a minor injuries unit and be seen quickly. Nobody sits for hours in A&E for fun.

Sudden, acute, uncontrollable pain IS an emergency.

I agree that some people probably won't need to be there. But you have no idea which ones those are, or their reasons for being there so probably best left to the professionals.

And actually pain is not a reason to be in A&E either. If kidney stones aren't causing complications like sepsis or rupture, then pain is neither an accident nor an emergency.

My last few reasons for being at A&E:-

Elderly (80+) relative fell, breathing difficulties, suspected broken ribs. Waited 6 hours for an Ambulance then a kind relative with a big car drove 2 hours to us and we managed to take her (in agony) to A&E ourselves. Left sitting in the waiting room for 3 hours. Due to dementia relative was just sitting looking normal. (Big car important due to frailty as she wouldn't have got into my low down car).

Elderly neighbour, no family - bleeding nose for 2 days. Collapsed in street when we tried walking her to the car due to blood loss, ambulance called, left us in A&E waiting room for an hour. Neighbour chatting away in wheelchair, tiny trickle of blood coming from her nose. Happy, no pain, quite enjoying all the attention, needed an emergency blood transfusion. Died a few weeks later.

Another elderly relative (90+), bleeding nose that wouldn't stop after several hours. Initially 'packed' by triage nurse then left in waiting room for 4 hours to see Dr. Quite happy chatting away, no pain, no blood to see.

The qualifying criteria for A&E doesn't have to be someone rolling around the floor screaming at deaths door.....

Just to mention, where I live we have one hospital covering a whole region in Scotland, we have no minor injury facilities.

A&E seems to have become the catch all as the only place anyone can access urgent care.

What we need are more centres whete people can access urgent care.

Its frustrating when you are really ill and see the armies of people who aren't in agony, but the problem is mainly the system, not them.

My mum had an open fracture recently that got infected. No district nurse follow up. So found ourselves in a&e. What I didn’t understand was the groups. A man in his 30’s with his mum, dad, girlfriend and his sister. All sat eating sandwiches and snacks. Chatting away like it was a family outing. My mum needed me to wheel her in the wheelchair. Otherwise no one needs more than one person. Only one other person looked really ill. Twelve hour wait to be admitted and kept in for ten days on iv antibiotics. Shambles really

I remain mystified as to why the walk in centres were ever gotten rid of... I don't have much faith in most GPs after the numerous diagnoses they've missed in both me and partner, and the astonishing levels of inaccuracies they've managed to record/not record in our notes.

Just one example - apparently fibromyalgia, which is a chronic condition, only lasted a month in my partner's case, and the same with my stress at work which has actually been ongoing for over a year...

I do think some people hide their pain well. What annoys me more is when the whole family sit there in A&E taking up seats that should be for people who are actually ill, I went to A&E on the advice of 111 last year I was having a gallstone attack which I was diagnosed with, apart from me holding my stomach anyone would think I looked ‘ok’ I was chatting to my then boyfriend, basically trying to take my mind off the pain.

And that was just the staff 🤣🤣🤣🤣

What a load of bullshit. The Pitt isnt a new term, nor is it specific to where you are, its an americanised term.

Half of attenders arent alcohol related at all. the vast majority of patients are elderly, hip fractures, falls, infections mostly urine or chest. Next is exacerbation of COPD. After that theres many, many more, derranged bloods from GP, chest pain, diabetic complications, stroke/TIA/high blood pressure, new onset confusion generally infection related delerium, then alcohol related and mental health.

Lastly, back in my days on a surgical wards, i saw many a patient visited by staff wanting to arrange payment for the treatments they have received.

Please dont post random crap very poorly disguised as facts.

Totally agree. I almost died in there a couple years back from anaphylactic shock. I went unconscious after 3.5 hours of not being treated. Anyway there were loads of people not looking particularly ill or in any terrible pain my partner said. Previously I’ve been in there in agony with appendicitis. However the issue is GPs seem to not be seeing people much !!!

Since Covid people, when feeling poorly, want treatment and they want it NOW. Generally people aren’t prepared to try remedies from the chemist and/or to see if things progress or get better. The internet too has caused people to look up symptoms and self diagnose and of course it’s always something major!!!
Having said all that in the case of babies and children you can never be too careful.

I've been in the A&E waitinf room for hours at a time on multiple occasions with a child who looks fine from a distance and is playing and chatting and sometimes eating. But as soon as you lift her top you'll see she's in respiratory distress and her stomach is sucking under her ribs, heart racing. She needs a nebuliser every time and gets admitted with alarming o2 levels, but she SEEMS fine to observers. So if I see people who look fine, I just think I'm not getting the whole picture. Going to A&E is rarely the quick and easy route. It's usually horribly boring and long. Choosing that if you're fine suggests you might not be fine in other ways!

My dog caught my hand with his teeth when a treat hand over went wrong. Nhs advice is to take antibiotics. I called the GP surgery. No appointments and they told me to go to A&E. It is a fault in the system that urgent care means A&E no matter what.

In many cases, maybe not, but sometimes people sitting up and chatting isn't an indication of them not bedding to be there.

These judgements really rule me, and Inll tell you why. I spent twenty hours sat in a waiting room last year. Towards the end of that time, a young g guy arrived with his girlfriend, and after a while started telling me how most of the people shouldn't be there, including me. He explained that his girlfriend was having palpitations, so needed to be there, not like me. What he didn't know, was that fifteen plus hours earlier my heart rate had been dangerously fast and was still out of rhythm. Following a bag of fluid and a hefty dose of beta blockers, I was okay enough o sit upright under supervision, so spent the day sat there. His girlfriend was soon discharged. Is spent four days in hospital, but for much of my time in A&E, once the immediate crisis had been calmed, I was able to sit and chat, even though my heart was beating erratically and putting me at risk of a stroke.

it was horrible to be judged in that situation. So please think before you decide who should and should not be in A&E, just based on external presentation.

You can't tell by looking if someone needs to be in A&E. My DD had a seizure where she hit her head. Ambulance was called and decided no A&E. Two hours later she had another seizure and was sick.111 said go to hospital. We were there for nearly 13 hours. You probably wouldn't have thought she needed to be there but she needed a head scan and to be observed. I don't think I saw anyone there who didn't need to be.
It's not exactly a fun night out.

Where do you live? Happytown?

My lical A and E is kniwn at The Pit.
Espeecialy at nught tume

That is it not a refelction on the staff or the facilities. But the over crowding and some of the people who attend it.

Yes, some people will go to A and E fir a broken finger nail or bruised little toe.

But some people, especially older people living alone, do need urgent serious treatment.

Figures show that nearly half of people who attend A and E are Alcoholics or have substance abuse problems

Not to mention vulnerable people with Mental Health Problems.

Surely A and E us not the place for any of above people

Lastly, we also have all of the illegal chancers and tourists whi get free treatement and should be charged top rate. Or better still. Re route them to private facilities like Spire, Bupa Hospitals etc where they have to pay up big time

There's always one that takes offence and makes a sarky comment.

Some people just take the mick and shouldn't be there. Just a bunch of hypochondriacs looking for attention.

Simples.

It’s impossible for the chronically ill too!

Agree with this, figures show the busiest times for A&E and urgent treatment centres (excluding weekend evenings) are;

Monday mornings after 9 (can’t get GP appt)
Most weekdays after 3 (schools out)
Friday morning after 9 (can’t get GP appt, don’t want to wait the weekend)

During the junior doctors strike an A&E I cannot name had senior doctors doing this.

Figures showed a massive increase in efficiency. Shorter waits, less patients through the hospital in total.

Once the juniors came back the seniors refused to continue.