To wonder about a&e alternatives and when its quietest

Re A&E - before the masses wake up so around 6am and def not at a weekend. Means you get some sleep as well. Nothing worse than rocking up when you haven’t slept.

No, this is not appropriate for a walk-in centre, or 111, your GP has advised you. Why isn't your GP referring you to the surgeons/surgical emergency assessment unit

Do you have an Urgent Treatment Centre? They have been great every time I have used them and they will send you to A&E if them think it is necessary ( have used them 3 times, once for my elderly dad, for my daughter with concussion and me when I broke my foot)

Hi OP, hope you managed to get a CT?

Hey OP, how are you?

So glad your getting somewhere, your in the right place now, maybe a long day for you, but at least something will be sorted for you. 💐

Good luck with the CT scan & well
done for going to A&E. You’ve done the right thing to be checked out. Keep us posted. x

Around here you could ring 111 when GPs aren’t open, and they’ll send you right then to the out of hours GP which is essentially more civilised A&E - next door to A&E so at the hospital if needed, but with appointments. Yes it will probably be the middle of the night but sounds like it would be worth it. I have 3 kids and have never had to go to A&E, but have done a few middle of the night hospital trips to the GP and one child admitted to hospital from there. Good luck!

They do have that for some conditions like cytic fibrosis they can often call their team directly and say they have an infection etc, sometimes they'll be a waiting list, but they can call if they have any concerns etc, obviously that's a serious condition where anything can really be triggered quickly. Similar for patients with sickle cell disease, again obviously attacks are common and serious, they also need to be with specialists as soon as possible and sometimes depending on the area IBD as well.

It would be a hard system to managa having almost another A&E, as you'd likely need more staff as not everyone would see their GP and so you'd still need a triage system for everyone as someone who hadn't seem their GP may need to be seen quicker, and patients would be pushing GPs to always do so, you'd need both an injection of more cash and staff. I know gynaecology often have a clinic called Same Day Emergency Care which is for those who don't need to be seen on the day in A&E, so are sent home but given an appointment in SDEC a day or two later as they need to be seen before a normal secondary care gyne appointment.

OP has your vomiting subsided or not? What are your plans for the morning? GP emergency appointment or A&E? I'd go with A&E but it is up to you. You need quicker access to scans etc than GP can offer.

Another post to say you need A&E. If you go in the daytime you might get streamed directly to surgical assessment but less likely at night depending on the hospital set up (I’ve worked in A&E for decades and in the middle of the night where I work you would stay inA&E for assessment but daytime you would get streamed directly to SAU)
I would suggest turning up from 7am onwards. There’s usually a flurry of activity as the day team come on and hopefully you’ll wait less time. Good luck!

I had a kidney infection with no fever. Serious kidney infections actually lead to temperature drop rather than increase 'riggors' they call it. Along with flank pain, vomiting and/or diarrhoea. Diverticulitis I another which can present quite similarly, although without the riggors.

I had very successful surgery for adhesions.

I had an operation to divide my adhesions. It’s not a common operation, as they often prefer to leave them alone. However my surgeon advised that due to the severity and my young age (I was 27 at the time) I needed them
dividing. That was 20 years ago and they haven’t bothered me since. I’m grateful it was a success and the surgeon was right, thankfully. I did develop IBS in my early 40s, which possibly could be connected (?) but I don’t think it is, because I manage this with a LowFodmap diet which is effective.

Please go to A&E and get checked out. You’ve been suffering long enough and you need to be assessed by the Drs and probably have a CT or some type of scan. Good luck x

My mum had a volvulus and we had to wait in A&E, had x-rays etc, and then the SDEC. The doctor who could unblock it wasn't in until 8am and we arrived at about 7pm. It took 15 mins to unblock it and her stomach went totally flat!

They kept her in as an inpatient for a couple days just for obs. She is elderly so if she was younger and healthy they probably wouldn't have made her sleep there.

Yes as I said, GPs if you see them on the same day or a consultant can call A&E and instruct them to bypass you and go to surgical assessment first instead. However, it's harder for a private GP and they did not do this, so you cannot skip A&E and go to the surgical assessment unit first. They don't as I also said do pre-arranged appointments unless you are referring to the call from a GP or consultant.

I would still go to A&E or at the very least do the online 111 triage form, as protein in the urine, the colour, the vomiting all need some more urgent treatment than 2 weeks. Or call your GP tomorrow to get an emergency appointment if they think you need to go to the surgical assessment unit they can call for you to perhaps skip inital A&E.

You need examining but also need imaging so need to get medical care. Not totally inappropriate for a&e. If this is early obstruction could get worse.

Interesting I've just come off a medical forum I'm in which was discussing the lack of an intermediate solution for people who weren't acutely unwell but had worrying symptoms. In the olden days when I initially worked you'd phone the local consultant and they'd see you that day or the next. Sad times.

Go after 7am and before 9am if possible. The day shift will be in by then.

To those saying that 4-5am is the quietest time in A&E - well yes it is, but it's also got the least staff so you won't actually be seen quickly.