When have you gone to A and E and was it the right call?

[TheFrogsLegs]

So many threads on here are about people misusing A and E, which got me thinking.

I am now in my fifties and ended up in a and e as a child with appendicitis, but that was my only visit then.

My own children never had to visit a and e as kids - luck rather than stoicism - but as adults DS was in a bad car crash and another time had Quincy and felt his airway was closing. He got some tuts from the doctor for going to a and e for that one, but I backed his decision - airways closing are an emergency!

DD has been once for a dislocated joint.

I’ve been many times for dislocated joints, almost always in an ambulance as that was deemed the most appropriate way. I have always felt a bit embarassed as I was not ill, just unable to move without extreme pain.

DH has never been to a and e.

So, what about you? Have you been and were you judged by NHS staff over your attendance?

As an aside, Thistles, there was a child seriously injured by a football goal collapsing on him recently near us. Two skull fractures, chest and neck injuries, v nasty. It's made me need to check DS2's football club use goals that are fastened to the wall (H&S Exec blamed lack of this for recent accident) next week!

When I had hyperemesis with DC1, and my GP wouldn’t help me. I wasn’t sure if I was making mountain out of a molehill, but good job I did go and get checked out!
Dr in A&E rested my urine and said he’d never seen ketone levels so high in a person who was still standing and speaking in coherrant sentences I spent 3 days hooked up to IV anti-emetics and fluids. His experience was repeated a few times throughout the pregnancy following some pretty scary vomiting and fainting episodes.

I went 2 days after giving birth to DS as the blood was pouring out of me like a tap - ruptured internal stitches.
Took DS when he dislocated his elbow.
Took DH when he broke his foot in 5 places in a motorbike accident.
I went with the most horrific pain I've ever felt - turned out to be kidney stones.

I seem to end up going every few weeks... to be fair I have Addison’s disease which is fatal if I go into adrenal crisis and things like normal illness / infections / extreme stress can tip me over the edge and send me into crisis. So I need to be extra cautious.

If I have an infection or illness and I’ve been taking antibiotics (which I have a standby supply of) and extra steroids (the treatment for Addison’s is lifelong steroid replacement) and I feel I’m not coping or not improving then I go to A n E - this is the correct thing to do if you have Addison’s. You’re then put on an IV with hydrocortisone and monitored carefully.

It does mean however that I am one of those people that look like a time waster - I walk in looking relatively fit and healthy and if people don’t listen closely they’ll hear me say I have a throat infection / chest infection/ asthma flare up etc etc and won’t hear the Addison’s part and will think I’m ridiculous.... !

Im a frequent flier sadly, the majority end up being admitted and the minority is when can treat and let me go

When I have different migraine symptoms to my usual, it mimics stroke and meningitis-like symptoms, I won't go unless there is something new or very different about the attack and I have already used all my "weapons", or it affects a different part etc (right side of body instead of normal limbs)

Due to many falls as often coincides with a migraine attack, I collapse if I can mobilise at all, so often end up with several limbs out of action but need to be clarified what I have broken via x-ray as it happens at least once a year.

Aspiration when my chest is partly paralysed especially if OHH GP won't start the antibiotic protocol and it's out of dr surgery time so its A&E as I ignored aspiration once and it was nasty

been treated for mental health on a few occasions which was the best place as I was safe till crisis team could see me (now they work around the clock), also been taken in unconscious and came around in ICU a several days later.

I've been treated for reactions generally to medications which are prescribed by GP, to the point that now if starting a new med, we try and start it when GP surgery is open so they can treat as needed

been treated for ovarian pain that was getting worse and worse on several occasions, I don't hit the pain until the cyst has burst and is poisoning me as I am used to a level of pain due to endometriosis

suspected spinal crush, that was treated fast and they had an ambulance ready to transfer me when it improved as the plan had been to do all tests when at the second hospital so I ended up staying at first hospital once it was realised it was something else

Bleeding PV, the OHH dr who spoke to me on the phone suggested it might have been an early period, yeah, deffo, I normally soak a bath towel in 15 mins, 3 hours later a friend went and picked up meds from OHH for me, an hour later I was taken to A&E, I had lost about 2 pints of blood at that stage, my house looked like a crime scene, the paramedics thought I might have been MC but I would have had to be pregnant and the fact it had been several years since I had sex at that time meant I knew I wasnt, I lost another pint after I was in a&e, it took hours and loads of drugs to stop

Been admitted via a&e with suspected serotonin syndrome caused by a new medication I was on, turned out my levels were high, I wasnt really with it by that point,

Friends took me to a&e when I lost my memory as there was no idea why it happened, no drugs involved, it took 5 days for it to come back in the meantime I was very lost and kept trying to escape but forgetting I was escaping and circling on the spot - it took a while to work out the reasons

I took a vomiting reaction to one medication I was given by the GP, over the course of that day 2 prescriptions were issued for different anti-emetics to try to stop it, GP came and gave injections and wanted to call an ambulance, I wouldn't go as I knew it would stop at some point, I lost a stone in approx 24 hours. That was one dose of medication which I will never touch again

I will avoid as far as possible but not always an option, I will do as much as I can to avoid but not always possible, my first port of calls if possible is the pharmacy, GP, OHH GP, before ambulance but sometimes there is no other option and if Im able to mobilise into a friends car, I will but I have been wheeled out of home on stretchers more often than I would like

Me:
Ill aged 4 referred by GP stayed in for 2 weeks.
Broken hand aged 9 referred by GP.
Chest pains aged 24 referred by GP - discharged self as was waiting hours for one investigation to the next. Came down with full on flu a few days later so the chest pains were probably a pre-cursor.

DD
Accident aged 5 weeks, referred by GP, went via ambulance, stayed overnight for observation.
Aged 15 months, burst then licked a liquitab. RangNHS 111, they were useless so pitched up at A&E. They easily produced a tox info sheet out of a drawer so frequent were arrivals of parents with curious toddlers.
Aged 17 months, via GP, DH took DD in with Rotavirus. She stayed in overnight for observation and they were useless. The last one was a different hospital.

Have had plenty of need for out of hours care which via NHS 111 is an awesome thing.

I had a nasty fall from my horse last year and called an ambulance as I couldnt get off the floor.

I was all ready to be told I was just badly bruised as I am the biggest wimp with pain. Turned out I had smashed 3 ribs and lacerated my liver. Ended up being transferred by blue light to a major trauma centre where I spent 10 days and had my ribs pinned and plated back together

Last time I went it was a weekend and I was in agony with my back. Receptionist said I should have gone to the walk in centre but booked me in. I was admitted for a week so I think it was the right call.

Also took dd in a few months ago as she was semi concious one morning. She was admitted for 2weeks and was chronically malnourished. Was on a drip and loads of tests and a diagnosis. We were on a 6 month waiting list for the tests as I knew she was ill. Funnily enough earlier that week I'd rung the GP and the appts dept at the hospital trying to get her fast tracked as I said I didn't think she'd be alive in 6 months and they said she'd have to wait.

Had a kidney infection when I was pregnant. Was told I should've called an ambulance.
Then had an ectopic and was told as I didn't call an ambulance I was at the bottom of the list for the op. If I had I would've been operated on straight away, rather than waiting around in agony for three days.
Only times I've called 999 for an ambulance have always been for other people.

Broken collarbone after falls from a horse
Severe migraine and light aversion - meningitis
Told to go by GP after a nasty dog bite of which I got a bollacking from the triage nurse. When I told them it was GP Surgery who told me they called the surgery and bollacking them. 😂

I’ve been once as a child to minor injuries when I smashed my face on our coffee table and needed stitches

DH has been once - his back is knackered (his spine is crumbling) and he sneezed in Asda and then literally couldn’t move. It was quite late at night so no GP surgeries were open. He was given diazepam to relax the muscles

DD1 - never

DD2 - rides (and falls off) horses. She’s dislocated her shoulder twice, broke her wrist once and badly sprained it once (it was the same wrist she’d already broken so we weren’t sure if she’d done it again)

Aged 5: cut nose open (still scarred)
Aged 7: broken arm
Aged 21: sprained ankle (that one was a waste of time but I didn’t know it takes weeks to heal a proper sprain!)
Aged 34: ear infection, then 3 days later went back running a fever and was admitted for 4 nights with pneumonia.

Me- ex husband had to dial 999, I had gone to stand up to turn the heating up at our touring caravan, my legs had both gone to sleep & crumpled underneath me with a loud crack & crunch. He didn't dare move me, I was shivering & sweating, I was going into shock, in horrific pain. The paramedics managed to get me up on the sofa to find one ankle was swelling like something in a cartoon, you could see it throbbing. After getting me to hospital & x-ray I had a double spiral fracture, thankfully it was still in place, I was in plaster for 12 weeks & on crutches for nearly 6 months.

Ex husband-collapsed in caravan awning with chest pains, sweating, arm & jaw tingling. Dialled 999, blue lighted to hospital, heart attack

Unstable asthma attack, wheezing, turning blue. Dialled 999 blue lighted to hospital for steroids, nebulizer & antibiotics.

DS- the usual bumps, trips & falls, broken foot, broken wrist, torn calf muscle, migraine that wouldn't go away, virus where temperature wouldn't go down, stomach bug with projectile vomiting, 34 times in 3 hours. Always taken by car, used 111 service whenever possible before, nearly always in early hours of the morning.

I went to a and e with stomach pain which came in waves, I thought I'd gone a bit heavy in the gym. Doctors was closed and it was the middle of the night. Turned out my appendix had just, it caused an abscess the perforated my bowel and had caused blood poisoning, hence my feeling groggy. I was operated on within 30 mins of having a scan and was in hospital for 4 weeks. They said I'd of died if I hadn't of gone when I did. Others said wait until the morning.

Last time was basically down to NHS bureaucracy. I'd broken my leg abroad, and after returning neither the foreign hospital nor my GP could refer me directly to a fracture clinic, I had to present at A&E to get into the "system".

The problem though with "bad" a&e visits is the telling off they give that then means people may not go when they genuinely need to go in case they get told off again.
I was given a right talking to by a desk woman at our children's A+E. DS has multiple underlying health issues and had collapsed in the local park. Tried giving him water and nothing worked, he was like a zombie. Friend I was with literally picked him up and plonked him in her car and DH took DD and her DS home whilst we rushed to A+E.
He was very sleepy, and white as a sheet- he couldn't stand up- but this utter cow rolled her eyes at me and said he was probably worn out and she wouldn't have him buzzed straight through.
I sat in the waiting room worried sick and then he started vomiting everywhere- even this didn't get him buzzed through, I got another bitching from the same woman.
I then saw a nurse come through to grab someone and went and showed her DS, she took one look and grabbed him, running into a bay and hooked him to a drip.
He ended up having an MRI and a lumbar puncture. The nurse told me he should have been sent straight through and she complained about the desk woman.
If I'd have listened to her, God knows what could've happened.
It turned out the DS had dehydration caused by a new medication he was on. It caused a huge migraine which in anyone else would mean a paracetamol and a sleep but due to his health issues it made him incredibly unwell very quickly. He ended up in hospital for three days and is now under a Consultant to keep an eye on his migraines.

Once with ds1. When he was 2 he fell off a chair and split his forehead open on a radiator. I phoned out gp, as it was during surgery hours for advice. Receptionist said they recommend a&e for all head injuries. With hindsight, minor injuries would have been better. They did glue his head tho.

I've been 10 times for myself in total, 8 times for broken bones once for sepsis. Once I went on a bank holiday Monday with a water infection I had been trying to get an out of hours appointment since the Saturday night and I was never deemed as ill enough. My Dh was so worried he took me to a&e as I was so sick, high temp and peeing massive blood clots, nurse told me off said I should have waited to see my gp. Tested my wee came back with antibiotics for me and sent me on my way like a naughty child. I honestly don't know if I was being unreasonable in going. I needed those antibiotics and was so ill.
Eldest child 9 times 😱 First time he's was 3 days old and I was sent to a@e by the midwife because he had severe jaundice,a bump to the head after falling down a flight of stairs, (he was 2 and after an X-ray and being monitored for concussion was sent home)1 for biting a karvel capsule he found at a play centre(luckily had no reaction), 4 broken bones (rugby which he no longer plays!) and when he had a stroke at age 4 and once for appendicitis.
Child 2 never has needed to go
Child 3 twice to children's a@e via gp for pneumonia and once for a cut that needed stitching on the bridge of their nose.
Child 4 never has needed to go

Me: once as a child when I fell off the bed and split my head open on a bedside cupboard; once as an adult when I slipped at work and landed awkwardly, with an audible crack from my knee. That was a ligament sprain.

Got told off by the GP for not going when I fell down the stairs and injured my shoulder. He said I should've gone so I could be x-rayed to rule out bony injury.

DD and DS both taken as babies as they stopped taking milk due to intolerances, DD to lactose and CMP for DS.

DH hasn't been since he was a child I don't think.

Ds was eight months old and a dream baby, fed and slept like clockwork. One particular day he seemed out of sorts but no temperature and nothing obvious and fed as usual. Put him down for a nap on time, heard him cry which was unusual, went to him and the cot was running with vomit, I had never seen a baby be so sick. I had no idea why but I had a feeling of dread and I knew something was wrong and went to A&E.
Dr admitted him, most likely because I was distraught and I had said I had PND. Nurse on children's ward was vile to me because in essence he had been admitted for being sick once and said if he kept next feed down he would be discharged. He vomited contents of next bottle as well and was to be kept in over night for observation.
Over night his condition deteriorated and scans and investigations found he had intussusception and was sent by ambulance to the children's hospital to be operated on.
Dr said to vile nurse as ambulance came to collect him "and that there is why we should listen to a mother's instinct"

Baby DD having infantile spasms, admitted for 4 days, then again with D&V after steroid treatment, admitted overnight.
My Dad by ambulance on blue lights, fitting due to a diabetic hypo.
DS with a suspected broken ankle, minor injury unit has been closed down, needed an Xray. I accept this one could have been dealt with by minor injury unit if one were available.
DS again (accident prone) when he bit through his tongue flying off his bike - it looked horrendous! They said he'd be fine and fed him a Creme Egg. Chainsaw massacre plus chocolate.... That one I now accept we panicked a bit!

I've been twice recently as an emergency in an ambulance for being unconscious following seizures (one of those with added head injury). Had very good treatment.

Also had to attend as an emergency & go straight to resus for my own stupid fault - an accidental overdose of my anti depressants.
But everyone was so kind about it despite my embarrassment.
I'm much more careful with my tablets now!

However I once went in 2011 with a bad self inflicted foot injury. I had bad MH problems & really needed help. I waited quietly behind the curtains for nearly 4 hours then it was time for my meds so I stole some dressings while the nurses weren't looking, dressed my foot & walked home.
I phoned the a&e dr from home to say I'd left she asked me to return as she could tell I was poorly but I wouldn't.
I saw a podiatrist later on who redressed my foot.
There were several very 'loud' patients there who were not especially ill but taking the staff's time so I think that's why I was left alone.
I was feeling very paranoid so I couldn't remind them I was there behind the curtains.

I've also worked on a&e as a healthcare assistant occasionally & it's very interesting.
You meet a wide variety of people.
I couldn't work there all the time as it's so fast paced & I like to see more of the patient journey.

Today. Had been feeling pretty awful since Sunday evening, turns out I’ve got a stage 2 acute kidney injury. The dr asked me how I felt, I said awful and his reply was your bloods show that!!

Loads over a short period time, ended up with a gallbladder drain and lots of hospital stays hand no gallbladder!)

Me for a dislocated knee and a knife cut on my finger. Dd2 for facial cut, dd1 for broken and dislocated elbow, dislocated kneecap, squished thumb and sliced open cut on kneecap. So been loads, all appropriate