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Original poster

A&E treatment of Sprained ankle/suspected broken ankle

63 replies

MyShinyWhiteTeeth · 07/12/2019 16:24

Would it be typical for someone (male, late 20's) to be seen by the triage nurse at A&E then expected to return home without any X-rays taken, crutches or pain relief. They were told to keep the leg raised for a few days, keep off their feet and take pain killers. They were told to see their GP if it got worse. They are hobbling about and it looks slightly swollen.

They were in A&E for less than 10 minutes. A friend dropped them off at the door and went to park. By the time the friend found a space and was on their way back, they were phoning to be picked up outside.

This person is supposed to be helping with moving house this weekend and the accident seems a very convenient way to get out of helping. It is not the first time they have backed out of helping at the last minute and then made a miraculous recovery.

Am I right to be suspicious?

OP posts:
Finfintytint · 07/12/2019 16:28

Very suspicious. A ten minute wait would be highly unusual.

PennyGold · 07/12/2019 16:29

I wouldn't have gone to A&E with a potential sprain... I'd do what they suggest and if it isn't any better in a few days then I'd go.
I hope you/ they feel better soon!

PennyGold · 07/12/2019 16:30

I've just read your message properly! Yeah, slightly suspicious.

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Original poster
MyShinyWhiteTeeth · 07/12/2019 16:32

In my local hospital I've been seen fairly quickly by the triage nurse before but then sent on to wait for proper treatment (and had to wait hours for that).

I've never been sent home after seeing triage.

OP posts:
Original poster
MyShinyWhiteTeeth · 07/12/2019 16:37

I thought the triage nurse was there to assess how urgent it was for the patient to be seen.

OP posts:
tectonicplates · 07/12/2019 16:38

They were in A&E for less than 10 minutes.

Even if you went to A&E in the middle of the night when there were no other patients there, you'd still have to wait at least ten minutes just to get triaged. And if you were in enough pain to go to A&E (some sprains are more serious and painful than others) then they'd probably do an x-ray just in case.

So I think this guy is making things up.

DrDreReturns · 07/12/2019 16:39

Lol I did my ankle a couple of months ago. I had to wait two hours in minor injuries before I was discharged. 10 mins seems wrong.

Biancadelrioisback · 07/12/2019 16:41

Was it A&E or a minor injuries unit? Because you can been in and out a MIU really quickly (or it can take forever if you go on a Sunday afternoon)

Fleetheart · 07/12/2019 16:42

Why don’t you offer to take them to the local minor injuries unit?

NigesFakeWalkingStick · 07/12/2019 16:43

I'd be suspicious of that too. Usually it takes anything between an hour - 3 hours to see a doctor, who usually signs off any kind of A&E visit. If the patient was suspected to have potentially broken an ankle, I doubt they'd have shipped them out in less that 10 mins.

sebashocked · 07/12/2019 16:44

Hmm. Was in A&E this week for a sprain (question mark fracture - as was immediately very swollen and couldn't bear weight). 3 hour wait, xrays, saw orthopedist who strapped it properly and gave me crutches and instructions about painkilkers. I am not in the UK though.

AuntieStella · 07/12/2019 16:46

Triage nurse would only turn away blatant time wasters. Pain and swelling following sports injury might well be a sprain, but would normally be assessed/X-rayed.. I've had two DC go through this, one an adult sized teen; both were X-rayed - one was sprained, one was broken.

My guess is he was told the likely waiting time to be seen, decided he didn't fancy it, and was given advice re GP after stating intention to leave

Original poster
MyShinyWhiteTeeth · 07/12/2019 16:50

It was A&E. I don't know if there is a minor injuries unit. He isn't my friend. I'm also helping with the move and it just doesn't ring true.

OP posts:
Bubblysqueak · 07/12/2019 17:00

DS broke a bone in his foot in the summer, even at an empty minor injuries unit we waited 10 min for triage. All in all, including triage, consultation and x-rays we were an hour (but it was completely empty in the middle of the day). No way he could have been 10 min.

misspiggy19 · 07/12/2019 17:03

He is lying

Stupiddriver1 · 07/12/2019 17:03

I had similar once. Went early in the morning, saw an advanced nurse within a minute of going in. They dd the Ottawa ankle thing, determined I didn’t need an X-ray and gave me some crutches. I was in and out in under ten minutes.

lljkk · 07/12/2019 17:04

You can get in & out of my local (sleepy) MIU in 10 minutes.

I guess U reckon he's not much of a 'friend', OP?

MummytoCSJH · 07/12/2019 17:13

The 10 minutes is suspicious! The rest is exactly what happened to me when I got hairline fractures in my foot and ankle (plus an x ray).

CheeseAndOnionIceCream · 07/12/2019 17:19

Well,going on my own experience,I had what turned out to be a hairline fracture to my ankle,despite being told TWICE by A and E that it was merely a bad sprain. They refused point blank to x-ray it,despite being requested to by my GP,and sent me home,telling me to keep it raised s much as possible for several days,and to take paracetamol fat lot of use that was. But,I DID have to wait nearly half an hour to be triaged,and another 3 hours before I saw a doctor.

Original poster
MyShinyWhiteTeeth · 07/12/2019 17:30

Cheese - Did they give you crutches?

I think he's exaggerated the injury to get out of helping. His girlfriend insisted he went to A&E. He may/may not have seen the triage nurse and now he's getting waited on hand and foot.

I don't believe it's as bad as he's saying as I'm sure they'd have done x-rays or given him crutches if that was the case. I can't believe A&E would send him home if he's really this bad.

OP posts:
differentkindofpenguin · 07/12/2019 18:16

If triage nurse is a nurse practitioner experienced in minor injuries ( ours sometimes jump on triage to help throughput) they may be able to tell a sprain from a fracture based on a quick examination and history- mechanism of injury will tell them a lot.
So what I'm saying is it's not impossible!

FenellaMaxwell · 07/12/2019 18:19

Ring the A&E and ask what their waiting times have been like today....

dontalltalkatonce · 07/12/2019 18:21

He's lying.

halcyondays · 07/12/2019 18:26

In and out in 10 minutes for a suspected broken ankle?
Must be the fastest A&E in the country.

SpuriouserAndSpuriouser · 07/12/2019 18:35

I don't believe it's as bad as he's saying as I'm sure they'd have done x-rays or given him crutches if that was the case. I can't believe A&E would send him home if he's really this bad.

Not necessarily. A sprain can be "just a sprain", and not require any imaging or treatment, but still be very painful. If after an examination it wasn't deemed to need an x-ray then it's completely plausible that he would be sent home and told to rest it.

The real issue is that you obviously don't trust him.