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?

Sounds like the vast majority of us go when required and are not judged at all.

So called time wasters either don’t reply to this thread or as not as prevalent as people think.

I've been once after I was attacked as a teenager. I didn't want to go but the police told me I needed to be checked out.

My DH has been 3 times:
Serious accident in which he was blue-lighted. Maxillofacial trauma. Absolutely the right call.
Fall from height, landing on knee. IMO he didn't need to go this time and was sent on his way with the advice to take paracetamol and nurofen.
Chest pains. He called his GP and said "I'm 99% sure it's anxiety" and the receptionist said "no, we won't see you with chest pain." so 4hrs in A&E, loads of tests concluded that it was anxiety and he should see his GP for beta blockers.

DS:
Severe diarrhoea, vomiting and temps over 40 as a baby. He was dehydrated, couldn't keep anything down and we were told we did the right thing taking him in (but obviously perked up as soon as we arrived).
Aged 2 woke up and collapsed. Couldn't weight bear at all on his leg. He'd been at nursery the day before and came home with a slight limp so when he couldn't weight bear, we suddenly thought "fracture?", took him to A& E - again he perked up, and we were given a leaflet on irritable hip and sent on our way. I apologised so much for wasting their time but they assured me that they would rather see 100 healthy children than miss 1 who was seriously ill.

As a child after I stabbed myself in the foot with a garden fork and when I ruptured my ACL when I was 16. My DF had been a medical orderly in the army in World War II and he generally fixed any other childhood injuries.

As an adult, twice with broken wrists, once after I fell and split my eyebrow open (7 stitches), once with a dislocated knee and once just to get my bruised finger checked after DH shut the car door on it (twice). It was broken and a year later is still swollen and painful.

DD1 went twice. Once with a broken collar bone and once with a broken arm. DD2 has never been.

Actual a and e - broken bones, ectopic, burn, vomiting after banging head and bronchitis. All of which were appropriate imo family of four.

Me. Several visits with other people but none for me
DS
I called an ambulance when he was 10 and he had a temperature of 40deg that wasn't responding to medication and then he had a seisure

He was altered when he arrived in a&e and a cat scan showed inflammation of the brain lining ( meningitis) so definitely the right call. Luckily it turned out to be non specific viral and not bacterial or one of the really bad viral ones. He was ill for several weeks though only in hospital for a few days while they diagnosed the type he had.

I feel I wasted NHS time 3x, actually.

Twice we took young DS to be x-rayed (after ~30 hrs still moaning about an arm he fell on): he didn't have a break. No treatment required = Waste of time.

Once DH had severe unexplained abdominal pain which resolved itself suddenly, as we were driving over to see OOH doctor. At least we didn't get as far as A&E on that one.

I went with severe pain caused by gallstones. My GP had diagnosed them by ultrasound and I was still waiting for the referral appointment but the pain was horrendous one day so my husband took me to A&E.
I was admitted, had to be given morphine and it took five days for symptoms to subside and I wasn't allowed to eat until I was pain-free. I was due to be discharged after a week when a surgeon came to see me and said that he had a cancellation for the next day if I wanted to stay and have my gallbladder and spleen (which was problematic due to a health condition and which in turn caused the gallstones) removed. Following the surgery I was in hospital for a further week to recover.

Feel the need to to lots of posters.
Also to lots for some laughs
Have nhs earlier in thread but they can always do with more.

Three times for myself. Once after being bitten by an animal, I was admitted and put on an antibiotic drip for three days, the other two I was hauled in by ambulance unconscious so I guess that was needed both times! I have unusually low blood pressure apparently.
Twice with DD2 - once for a broken bone in her foot (which still gives her trouble years later) and once when she had rotavirus and was severely dehydrated, she was kept in overnight.
Once with DH who had only just been discharged that day after a heart op, and had a funny turn.
Once with DM - they kept her in, she died a week later.