To think some things should just be turned away from A&E?

You can’t refuse emergency care to someone because of their poor decision making. Where would it end?

And burns aren’t a minor injury. They absolutely need emergency care.

In my experience, people who spout off about 'zero-tolerance policies' almost never apply them to themselves or their families.

We all do stupid things sometimes. My last visit to A&E was with my Dad, who has put his wedding ring onto the wrong finger when he was half asleep. He was nursing my dying Mum 24/7 at the time. They were so kind to him it nearly had me in tears.

The ridiculously long waits at A&E are to do with chronic underfunding of the NHS, not because people are any stupider than they were 20 years ago.

Oh do get over yourself, you have absolutely no idea what someone is going through or why they’re there just from looking at them; it isn’t the A&E olympics where everyone needs to perform.

I have Ulcerative Colitis and was in A&E for 18 hours before I finally got a bed and I also ended up needing surgery; I was in hospital for 10 days altogether. I was also chatting away and laughing with my partner as it was a way to distract myself from the pain and heavy bleeding (it was coming out of my arsehole and being soaked up by pads so no one would know unlike vomiting into a bag and I actually needed a blood transfusion so it wasn’t minor). I also very nearly left too as the wait was getting too much for my mental health but considering my subsequent treatment, if I had left, it would not have been a sign that I “obviously wasn’t unwell”. Sometimes when you’re very unwell, you have a limit on how much you can handle and make bad decisions.

You say you were on your hands and knees in absolute agony vomiting (I don’t doubt it as I’ve had kidney stones) yet you obviously still had the wherewithal to clock and be disgusted at what other people were doing, count at least 5 people who left before being seen and also recall conversations you’d heard - that’s what you did with your spare capacity; I on the other hand couldn’t tell you what other people were doing when I was there because my spare capacity went into chatting to my partner - the difference in behaviour or focus does not mean one person is sicker than another. I’ve had IBD since I was 8 years old so I’ve developed ways to cope and distract from what I’m going through.

As someone who has several hidden disabilities, I’m sick of people who don’t have a clue judging.

In contrast we only have minor injuries. The nearest hospital with A&E is a 30 minute drive away.

What is actually wrong with you? If I fell when I was drunk and had a massive swollen ankle that doesn’t require treatment but if I fell when sober and had the same swollen ankle it would?

That’s not true that every hospital with an A&E department has a minor injuries clinic or equivalent. My local hospital certainly doesn’t.

It was not managed at home. He is permanently scarred and the fact that it didn't get horribly infected is a miracle. There is no way he should have treated it himself.

You are a total idiot.

I would’ve thought that “drunken” fall is clearly a fall when drunk- anything from a sprained ankle to a fractured skull. The fact that they were drunk isn’t the decider as to whether they need a&e

It’s not hard to believe though is it? You saw this exact situation on the tv and started a thread on it, so you know it happens

Drunken falls and burnt feet ARE genuine accidents and emergencies.

you’re trolling us now

He accidentally stood on the surface and it very quickly burned him. It's not easy to get your feet off a surface when they're burned.

I don't understand why you're asking these questions though. Are you saying he deliberately burned his feet or what?

Thank the lord you aren't in charge of triage then.

What kind of sicko are you?

But A&E do turn away people who don't need to be treated ASAP. I saw someone told to go to the GP for her cold. (The nurse was sympathetic and said she understood why so many people turned up for similar things at A&E - it was because it was impossible to get a GP appointment. It's irrational to be ticked off at people seeking medical help. What's necessary is a joined up, functional health service. If people had viable alternatives, they would use them rather than chance A&E.)

I also agree that medical care (including A&E treatment, when necessary) shouldn't be declined because the illness or injury is self inflicted. Many ailments are self inflected. Most cancers are caused by diet and lifestyle. The same for heart disease, joint issues etc. Your argument about sport can easily be countered by saying benefits achieved through sports you're most likely to be injured in can also be achieved through less risky exercise like tai chi, pilates, swimming etc.

Not everyone has a minor injuries unit they can go to. The last problem is referrals take months, and in some cases years. Again, people in pain go where they think they will receive treatment. They don't think, 'god I'm in so much pain, but I'm going to wait 2 weeks for a GP call, then 2-4 weeks for an appointment, then 7+ months for the referral.' The problem is not people. It is the broken system supposed to support them.

Are you a bot or stupid?

My dad walked barefoot across a hot dark surface a couple of years ago. He's a sensible man, he just had an absent moment where he forgot the surface would be hot. Because of judgey idiots like the OP on this thread, he refused to go to A and E even though the flesh was burnt off down to the bone. My mother ended up cleaning and bandaging it for weeks and thank god it didn't get infected. The only stupid thing in that story is the fact that they didn't go to the hospital. If you are injured, no matter how that injury occurred, you should seek medical care. Burns are especially dangerous. The specific advice is that if you have a burn greater than three inches across in size you should go to A and E and you should always go to A and E if a burn is located on the face, hands, feet, genitals, buttocks, or over a major joint.

Total morons with no medical training should not comment on things they know nothing about.

I think the problem is that once you get into
not treating people with self-inflicted injuries you wouldn’t treat obesity-caused cancer/diabetes/heart problem, drunks, drug addicts, sports injuries, people who injure themselves with power tools etc.

I knew someone who went to Africa and fell in a ditch, their leg got infected and they had six months of treatment. Should they have been left to die? (Actually I personally believe they should have been made to pay the cost of their care but many people won’t agree with that.)

Maybe health insurers do not cover these self-inflicted things so if we changed systems we’d take the costs these people incur out?

In most countries you have to pay to give birth which probably sorts out the social problem of the 5-6 child problem family? I don’t recall such families when I lived in Germany but maybe they just keep quiet.

What matters are they then?