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Original poster

Is it normal to wait over half an hour for triage in a&e?

51 replies

DaisyDreaming · 03/02/2019 09:42

I understand a&e units are busy with lots going on behind the scenes but is it normal to wait at least half an hour for triage with serious problems. It worries me that trips (one for me and one for a relative) has resulted in waiting over half an hour to be triaged in order of when we arrived. Once actually seen by the triage nurse one of us was treated instantly in majors and the other in resus but reception were happy to let my relative be slumped in a wheelchair struggling to breathe with low sats and unable to stay awake (would wake if shaken but would fall back asleep instantly), I had been sent there by my nurse as they figured my family could get me there quicker than an ambulance. Treatment by the medical staff has been amazing but what if we hadn’t arrived at quiet times? My relative has ketoacidosis, sepsis and pneumonia and was rapidly going downhill yet he had to wait in order of when people arrived to be triaged. What if he has been the 10th person to arrive? I’m so impressed with the care received once triaged but it does worry me

OP posts:

Dox · 03/02/2019 09:50

That is worrying.
I had been sent there by my nurse as they figured my family could get me there quicker than an ambulance
I think perhaps next time call an ambulance because the ambulance crew will do some preliminary checks and take straight to resus if appropriate.

Horsemad · 03/02/2019 09:51

Completely normal.

HTH.

HoraceCope · 03/02/2019 09:52

NHS in crisis, every day.

Interested in this thread?

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General health

Bunnybigears · 03/02/2019 09:52

People should be triaged in order of seriousness of symptoms not order of arrival.

HoraceCope · 03/02/2019 09:53

presumably the receptionist had a minor degree of input?

VWpurse · 03/02/2019 09:54

In my experience two and a half hours is quick. I was six hours on a trolley in the corridor, severe bleeding, 24 weeks pregnant.

CrazyKittenSmile · 03/02/2019 09:56

Totally normal.

Triage is just a queue, there’s no way to know who is a priority and who isn’t until after being triaged and if it’s busy then half an hour isn’t unusual. I visit A&E fairly regularly, sometimes I’m triaged within s few minutes but other times I’ve waited well over an hour to be triaged.

If you come in by ambulance then the system is different, the paramedics will assess meaning generally the need to be triaged is bypassed and so if it’s urgent you can be treated straight away. In future if the need to be treated is immediate you would be better calling an ambulance, an ambulance isn’t just a taxi to hospital but is staffed by paramedics and medical equipment who can begin treatment as soon as they get to the patient. If you travel to hospital under your own steam you will need to be triaged.

Bombardier25966 · 03/02/2019 09:57

You are triaged according to symptoms, not when you arrive. You don't know what that person in front of you has wrong with them, or what symptoms they have reported at the desk. Of course the system is not perfect, and other factors are taken into account, but the most sick people are prioritised.

LEMtheoriginal · 03/02/2019 09:59

Half an hour?? You were lucky!! Seriously those places are time sucking black holes.

I echo what pp said about calling 999 as it sounded like your relative needed prompt attention. But then sometimes an ambulance can take hours to arrive. Its catch 22.

I was in majors with a relative recently and there was literally a queue of paramedics with patients on trolleys waiting for beds/drs or even a nurse to take their patients

The main reason for this is time wasters who pitch up at A&E with a fucking cold! Then thete are the people who go there because they actually do need to see a medical professional but cannot get an appointment for weeks ahead.

I hope that your relatives recover but honedtly , 30 minutes to be triaged is super quick ime. Doesnt make it right but they can only do what they can.

LordProfFekkoThePenguinPhD · 03/02/2019 10:00

That’s quite quick. Last time I was in a&e there were an awful lot of idiots there - drunks mostly- who were moaning about not being able to have a cigarette then flouncing off when they realised they had to wait (so not an emergency then).

Last time I was admitted I was waiting for a bed and was on a trolley for hours - god the numbers of people (a lot of tourists - in central London) turning up with colds was pretty amazing
‘oh Doctor I don’t feel well - all hot and I have a sore throat and I have this cough...’
‘it’s just a cold‘
‘not swine/chicken flu? I think it is...’
‘no really it’s a cold - take some paracetamol’
‘can you give me some?’
‘No - go to the pharmacy’

LEMtheoriginal · 03/02/2019 10:03

Bunnybugears - that is what triage is for!! Nobody knows if the person who just walked in is about to drop dead or the person slumped in the wheelchair is being a drama llama (which is often the case with my mother!). Thats why they triage people so that a trained professional can prioritise.

Original poster

DaisyDreaming · 03/02/2019 10:04

Thanks. I’ve been super impressed with the actual care and treatment, I know you don’t know what’s been reported but the people infront of the list for triage looked like they had a wrist injury type thing rather than slumped, awful colour and working so hard to breathe. Half an hour seems forever when looking at someone like that, thank god they moved fast when he was seen

OP posts:

Vividdreaming · 03/02/2019 10:09

The thing is OP that you can never know why the person infront of you is being triaged ahead of you.

An apparently broken wrist could belong to someone with heamophilia who is bleeding internally.

I always get sent straight through to triage regardless of what I’ve gone in with. I have a serious and potentially life threatening illness. You would never know this as I walk into AandE looking for as a fiddle.

Bunnybigears · 03/02/2019 10:11

LEMtheoriginal I am aware of that but if there is a queue for triage then a decision has to be made about who goes first and if you arrive at A&E unconscious or bleeding all over the floor or reporting chest pains etc you get triaged before those who walk in perfectly normally then say their leg hurts. Triage then decides the order you get seen by a Dr.

ShortandSweet96 · 03/02/2019 10:11

When OH had an ambulance out, his heart wasn't functioning normally, they gave him GTN on the way so I immediately thought it was a heart attack.

We waited 6 hours for blood tests, another 2 hours for x-ray and an hour for results. We spent 9 hours there before going home.

Turned out it was a caffeine overdose from a mixture of coffee, prework out powder and more coffee. Absolute idiot.

GoGoGadgetGin · 03/02/2019 10:12

Absolutely that's what triage is for- although the times when this needs to be bypassed will happen. The time our 1 yo was unconscious and fitting in my arms the receptionist was out of her chair and opening the doors to take us through to resus. It really is frightening when you are waiting, but like pp have said you don't know what is happening for other people. I hope your relative is better soon.

Sparklingbrook · 03/02/2019 10:13

Half an hour is very good.

Myusernameismud · 03/02/2019 10:15

I'd say for respiratory issues, half an hour is a very long time. I have really unstable asthma, can be fine one day and then in hospital the next. Anytime I've been to a&e (I can count 5 from memory) I've been triage within 5 minutes. Echoing other posters, triage is not done in order of arrival, there are certain criteria that push you to the front of the queue and shortness of breath is one of them.

BrieAndChilli · 03/02/2019 10:19

The problem is the people ahead of you are probably in a worse more urgent state (and that isn’t always aparent)
It’s like when DS has a burst appendix, he had to wait until the afternoon for his surgery slot as there were people ahead of him with more urgent surgeries, as it happens our friend is an anaesthetic consultant and popped up to say hello, DS was in a bad way so he moved him up the list, good job really as when they got in it had burst and was one of the worst the surgeon had seen for a while.

BlueBuilding · 03/02/2019 10:28

I waited over 3 hours when my anaphylactic 3yo went in wheezing after coming into contact with his allergen.

Wheezing subsided and we gave up in the end. No one even listened to his chest or checked his sats.

Half an hour for triage I would say is the good side of average.

Sillybilly1234 · 03/02/2019 10:39

We have to take a ticket when you arrive so not triaged based on symptoms.

We waited half an hour last time and I was getting very edgy too. DD had suspected meningitis.

Treatment amazing as soon as they saw us but I know what you mean.

I thought you were supposed to be seen within 15 minutes but that may have been an old thing.

limerancevictim · 03/02/2019 10:42

Half an hour is fast I’d say.

If it happens again, go in an ambulance.

FloatingthroughSpace · 03/02/2019 10:44

When my DS had pettichiae all over his legs we were triaged within 2 mins and immediately placed in a private room, despite the peads waiting area heaving with coughing babies.

SoyDora · 03/02/2019 10:47

I find it can vary hugely. Sometimes I have been triaged within minutes, sometimes hours. Luckily I was triaged within a couple of minutes when I was in septic shock, they had me in resus within another 3 minutes.

choosingchilli · 03/02/2019 10:48

I think people are getting confused with what triage means- it's the initial assessment (usually by a nurse) who then decides how urgent your condition is and which area you need to be seen in- it's not the the time it takes to be admitted from A&E/have all tests completed or be admitted for surgery etc.

I would expect someone who is having difficult breathing/looks unwell to be triaged quickly but that does depend to a degree on whether that's picked up when you are booking in at reception.

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