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

I feel you - took my daughter to A&E recently having an asthma attack and was dismissed by triage because her numbers “werent that bad” and she was fidgeting/moving around. By the time her chest was listened to she was on back to back nebulisers within seconds, I’ve never seen medical staff move so quickly, and she was on them for some time. Had I left on the basis of triage it’s not worth thinking about. So just to chime in with some support for you here that yes, triage can be brusque but i think it’s a tactic for the actual time wasters. Not a safe one, mind you! I’m pleased you’re being treated now.

If a gp sent you to a&e, then you were in the right place! you couldn’t possibly wait weeks to see ent if it was potentially going to damage your ear drum. I know there are lots of cases that don’t require a&e but if a gp has told you to go there as well as 111 then you were in the right place. I feel some staff that work in a&e (and maternity but that’s another story) are very jaded & don’t even like it anymore because they do get so many time wasters but that doesn’t mean that they can be down right rude! Bat shit some of these comments & the nurse sounded like a rude cunt!

I think you should consider how difficult it is to work in a&e. I went there a few times in 2024 with severe abdominal pain. I was swaying in my seat, clutching my abdomen. A person opposite me evidently whispered something about me because the response I overheard was that “she’s in a lot of pain”. Yet, those people appeared to be medically well. So many of the people during my visits seemed okay. One went out for a cigarette. If you’re quite alright it’s often not the right place because it really should be reserved for severe medical cases.

I assume her rudeness is probably years of feeling overwhelmed and frustrated at people attending for minor injuries and ailments. It would drive me insane. Of course it’s not okay to be rude, especially in her role. That’s disappointing. I work for NHS myself and it goes without saying that I’m expected to be polite and professional regardless.

I was thinking the same thing. Sometimes you have to say to hell with accepted procedure and do what you think is right for your family.

The problem with the NHS are the gatekeepers. Some staff in triage are excellent but those who aren't can severely impact care and a patient's prospect. Usually, once you get to see a specialist and get a diagnosis, it's great. The issue seems to be to get to that stage.

I had this is hospital a few years back.

I was sent straight to A&E with an ear infection by my GP, because of the severity of it.

the nurse I saw said ‘ what on earth are you doing here with just an ear infection?’
baring in mind my ears were bleeding, I was crying with pain and had the first sign of sepsis.

sone people just are not cut out for a caring profession.

Honestly think people are trolling you at this point

Hope your ear is better soon

This!!! 👏🏻

Yep. We have either a&e or walk in centre. No minor injuries unit, the walk in centre don’t offer scans or xray and seven times out of ten, send people to a&e. 111 always directs people to a&e unless it’s something simple like emergency prescriptions

Not all areas have an urgent care centre. We didn’t until a few months ago. And OP’s own GP directed her to A&E this morning.

And yet in that two years I’ve received a cancer diagnosis via a routine mammogram, had surgery and adjuvant treatment and been declared cancer free. Excellent and timely treatment throughout and supported all the way, including aftercare. Problem is you can’t declare the whole NHS unfit for purpose because it isn’t. I don’t profess to know the answers, I can only speak from experience.

In that situation.....just go and lay down in a dark room.
😂

Fair enough. I hope some poor overworked nurse or doctor comes to patronise me and send me to the naughty corner.

She did take advice from 111. They sent her to A&E who referred her through to minor injuries. Why is this proving so difficult to understand. She rang her own GP this morning, who referred her to A&E. It’s all there.

With regards to an ingrown toenail

An ingrown toenail is not a medical emergency and can be managed at home. However,

When to See a Doctor or GP

• Home treatments do not help after a few days.
• Your toe shows clear signs of a growing infection, such as pus or heavy swelling.
• You have diabetes, because foot infections can become very serious very quickly.
• Contact your GP surgery or use 111 to find local podiatry or medical help.

When to Seek Urgent Medical Care

• Redness is spreading rapidly up your foot.
• You develop a high fever, or you feel hot, shivery, and severely unwell.
• If you experience these rapid red-flag infection signs, call NHS 111 or seek urgent care promptly

Also, the migraine lady was told by lots of staff they couldn’t do anything for her. She kept asking them for paracetamol and they told her they couldn’t give her anything to manage her pain, they, exasperated by her 10th request for some paracetamol, addressed the whole room very loudly and reminded everyone there was a 10hr waiting list and it went in order of priority and that some people would probably be better at home managing their symptoms and illness so if people didn’t like the wait, they were free to leave. They then directly told her she wasn’t a priority because they had some very sick people in who would be in front of her, and told her she would realistically be waiting 10yrs and to stop bothering busy working staff with the same requests. She lay across 5 seats with some wet paper towels across her forehead and continued to flag down any and every person in uniform walk past her, asking if she could be seen now.
Not every migraine needs A&E and they obviously felt hers definitely didn’t.
Toe lady and migraine lady did not need A&E, they needed a chemist or a GP.

@scapella Yes...the non-existence of the urgent care unit is no excuse not to attend it. You are singlehandedly devouring and destroying the NHS.

Yes this is painful.

Provision of emergency care varies by region. Minor injuries/urgent care units differ in their staffing and what they can treat. Not many areas have 'walk in' ENT clinics like a poster keeps mentioning.

I remain surprised that the GP was unable to refer directly to the on call ENT team though.

@Artemis130 @Needmorelego Do I call 111 first? If there is no minor injury unit then do I need to go to the urgent care unit, even if one doesn’t exist? And what if there is the same queue for both of them? Am I allowed to join it? Or do I need to go to Walthamstow and use the Klinik app? Or maybe I need to go to the GP in three weeks’ time instead. So many questions.

Nope...minor injuries 😅

Oh dear it doesn't seem like you are very clued up at all on the parlous state of the Nhs...

No. Definitely not. Self medicate or speak to a random member of staff (not the pharmacist) at Boots for advice.
😂😂

More fools who can’t read or understand, have joined the thread. I have given myself a head injury by banging my head against a metaphorical wall. Does anybody know if I should go to A&E?

I'm paying for private therapy , the NHS list was over two years , I'd be dead before I even got to the front of that queue.

Except it's been established that her GP wouldn't have been able to remove it.
So it would have been pointless her going there.

She was directed to Minor Injuries which is what some hospitals call Urgent Care.
At her hospital you have to go via A+E first.
111 direct you to your nearest hospital. If that hospital doesn't have a department called Urgent Care they can't exactly send someone there can they?