I get that a&e is busy, but was not expecting to be spoken to so rudely

What a disgraceful person you are. You've got a cheek to call the other person harsh.

No you do skip the queue because you are never on the a+e queue list that starts at triage. You are on the majors or minors list.

Some people in jobs now days lack being civilised or Professional!!
Medical receptionist or nurse needs a kick up the arse.
Hope you noted her name..complain! .
It is not for her to roll her eyes at you.
Biarch.
Complain!
If you can not go to a gp...gp back.

No you don't understand all trusts are run differently.

Other than choosing to attend a&e of an evening, after spending a night away in a hotel?

I’m glad she got push back. There were alternatives available to her.

Yes it is called accident and emergency..it is for when you have an emergency, ir have just had an accident.

Funny out of the many times we’ve needed to go for her condition (which is serious when we go to A&E) I’ve only seen her cannulated. We’ve never had to wait 6 hours but we have had to wait for long periods of time even though it’s clear she’d need to be admitted.I’m happy to wait in an A&E wait room though as I know we’re incredibly lucky to have an NHS and universal healthcare will always involve waiting. What I am never happy with and will not put up with is rude staff.

There is no such thing as an A&E appt. They might know you're attending, but you dont skip the queue etc... you're still triaged and seen in exactly the same way as anyone who has just turned up.

You are making yourself look silly now. There is nothing about the OP that suggests she wants attention and drama. You, on the other hand…

Not in any parts of London where I had similar needs. What you described is how it should be, I agree, but not how it is in reality

It doesn't have to be an emergency just something that needs dealing with by someone with the skills and equipment necessary as recommended by 111.

Yes I dont think they call them that at our hospital but we have the same.

Back to minor injuries. GPs do fuck all physical treatment these days, they often don't step out from behind their computer, no way are they going to try retrieving a foreign object right next to your eardrum. Back to minor injuries you go.

Maybe one particular trust works that way but in all cases recently where I attended myself or with my child the GP could not make any urgent appointments. For any urgent help they sent to the minor injuries unit in A&E through a general queue.

they for example tried to make an urgent appointment for a blood test for lime disease which was available only in 2 weeks time (lol) so they themselves advised the only way to get it is to go to A&E

i think it’s you who doesn’t understand how it works in reality in many parts of the country

There absolutely is! GP calls A+E or minor injuries, tells them that you need to come in for stitches or an x-ray or to have an abscess lanced and then they tell you when to come in that day. When you arrive, you let the desk know and a suitable practitioner will come and deal with whatever it is you need.

I've done this when I broke my hand, for my child who needed stitches and my husband for the abscess. It keeps you off of their a+e waiting list and you've already been assessed as needing the thing by a doctor so it gives even more room for a nurse to do the job.

You're extremely wrong, A&E/minor injuries is where the OP needs to be. GP won't be able to do anything and because the foreign body is touching her ear drum, GP will also send her in to A&E. Contrary to the misheld belief, you don't have to have your head hanging off for A&E to be the appropriate place of treatment.

I don't agree with "you were able to wait until after your child's appointment, so therefore you can wait as long as it takes to see a GP and get a referral." Don't most people wait to see how things will play out, unless it's limb-hanging-off bad? Especially these days when we know how busy A&E/MIU is, and are worried that we might be wasting their time or told off for going.

Also, lots of medical issues fall in between "I can't bear this for another minute" and "I can wait however long it takes to be referred and eventually seen." Overall, I bet "this is painful/unpleasant and distracting but I can manage (with a worse quality of life), and would like it to be dealt with as soon as reasonably possible" is more common than either of those.

Immediately urgent vs no big deal is a false dichotomy.

Bit harsh. I think it’s also because we live in a country of fat people who don’t take care of themselves and have poor mental and physical health.

It's a clinic that is booked at short notice - usually next day or within 2 working days - unlike other types of hospital clinics that are booked for weeks/months ahead.

OP, you haven't done anything wrong, except for leaving! She shouldn't have spoken to you with attitude like that, regardless if she was busy, that's not your problem. Please go back to minor injuries, your GP won't be able to do anything for a foreign body. If it so far in, minor injuries/A&E might have to send you straight to ENT.

Ignore everyone on here telling you otherwise.

Yes it doesn't matter. In an emergency, here you were in agonising pain, you wouldn't be able to do that other appointment. So the fact she was in little enough pain to choose shows it isnt an emergency.

There is no such thing as appointment in A&E organised by a GP. They just send you back there into a general queue.