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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:
MitziK · 07/12/2019 19:20

Having completely fucked my ankle and being chucked out to catch an every two hours bus 4 miles home (the last 2 miles of which weren't served) at 2.30am in mid January snow without anything other than a 'it's sprained, go home', I can completely believe that he doesn't have a crutch or cast. But I spent 5 hours in there waiting to be seen and xrayed first.

OddestSock · 07/12/2019 19:27

I went to a & e last week with a broken foot (I knew it was broken because my GP had sent me for an x-ray, and the guy in x-ray took me to a & e once they spotted the break). It was 10am week day morning, very quiet. It took about half an hour to be triaged, and I eventually got discharged at 2.30pm.

MrsAJ27 · 07/12/2019 20:26

Funnily enough we are in a&e now and have been since 2:45pm

So I would be extremely suspicious

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General health
slavetolife · 07/12/2019 21:16

I sprained my ankle in the summer - went to a&e as couldn't really weight bear and foot looked like it had been run over - couple of hours there, x-ray and confirmed sprain. Had a whole month off work and it still isn't 100% now - I say your friend is lying!

MAFIL · 07/12/2019 21:34

There's sprains and sprains though.
A severe sprain can take longer than a minor fracture to heal whereas a minor sprain may be vastly improved in a few days.
I wouldn't be surprised by the absence of crutches. One of my sons had quite a nasty sprain earlier this year and wasn't given crutches. We were told to encourage him to mobilise and start to weight bear as soon as he was able. (The school nurse lent him some though as he was missing half his lessons as it took him so long to move between classrooms!)

Original poster
MyShinyWhiteTeeth · 07/12/2019 22:05

He's been told it's a bad sprain and that these can be worse than a fracture. He's got to be off his feet and keep it raised.

I'm trying to give him the benefit of the doubt but it's not the first time his health has interfered with him helping others or doing something less desirable to him and then he's very quickly improved enough to do his sport or other social activities.

OP posts:
ClientListQueen · 07/12/2019 22:13

Seems too quick. I was walking and still sent for x ray (it was broken)

Shazzanat · 07/12/2019 22:18

Not totally impossible if A+E was quiet (it does happen occasionally ;)) and they were seen by an ENP (emergency nurse practitioner). If you are specially trained, some things are obvious sprains.

MAFIL · 07/12/2019 22:27

Hmm. In that case I can see why you are suspicious OP. I would be questioning the story a bit if it is supposedly a bad sprain but no x ray was done. It would be difficult to differentiate a severe sprain from a fracture purely on clinical examination without imaging in my experience. And I very much doubt a triage nurse would make that decision alone.
It is, admittedly, quite a long time since I worked in A&E but I doubt things have changed that dramatically.
I guess you will never know for sure, so probably best to let it go but I can see where you are coming from and why you are annoyed.

micromoomin · 07/12/2019 22:46

@MyShinyWhiteTeeth very suspicious! I had a very bad ankle sprain playing sports a few years ago (mid 20s) and was in hospital for about 4 hours, that included waiting to be triaged at A&E, waiting for x-rays, speaking to someone about X-ray results, getting crutches organised etc.!

Lunafortheloveogod · 07/12/2019 23:00

A&E triaged n out in 10minutes? That’s crap.. the wait is priority so he wasn’t bleeding, unconscious, struggling to breathe, a small child, bleeding heavily or anything visibly serious he’d be in for a good seat. You can be a good 5 minutes at the desk in our local one, going through next of kin, address, phone number, what’s wrong etc.

I’ve only ever been triaged very quickly once.. I literally projectile vomited blood over the glass at the reception, no warning to me either I opened my mouth to speak and it flew up. Triage nurse who took me through came through a little later and told me I’d reduced the line quite a bit.. probably terrified the life out of anyone who’d seen a zombie film.

Original poster
MyShinyWhiteTeeth · 07/12/2019 23:05

How long to sprains take to heal? Can anyone give me any idea when he should be up and about?

It is slightly swollen but he is putting weight on it now. He's making a bit of a song and dance about it all but managing. His previous man flu performances make me not have any idea how bad it really is. We've unloaded everything now and his girlfriend is now back to pampering him. We had expected to finish hours ago and are exhausted. I'm not alone in my suspicions and we feel like total mugs.

OP posts:
Lunafortheloveogod · 07/12/2019 23:16

Minor sprains a few days, obviously it’ll still be tender and not ready for a kick about.. but they likely wouldn’t swell much or take you off your feet. Badly sprained/torn 8weeks to months with surgery in some cases. It’s a bit of a bit o string injury unless you know how badly damaged it is.

MrsPelligrinoPetrichor · 07/12/2019 23:21

Suspicious!!

Why don’t you offer to take them to the local minor injuries unit? Not everywhere has one.

A bad sprain can take weeks to heal.

DoTheNextRightThing · 07/12/2019 23:24

When I buggered my ankle years ago, I was waiting for two hours, triaged, taken for x-rays, then sent on my way when they realised it wasn't broken (no crutches though - really enjoyed going to school with my grandad's walking stick!!)

When DP fell down the stairs, we went to A&E at 4am and even then we were there for an hour, and he was one of only two patients there that morning.

MAFIL · 07/12/2019 23:27

This is my son's sprained ankle a few hours after he did it. It did look worse a day or two later when the bruising came out and it swelled more but I must have deleted the pics. But hopefully it gives you some idea what a moderately bad sprain looks like. It was about a month before he could race his bike again and walk fairly normally and 6 weeks before he could run.

A&E treatment of Sprained ankle/suspected broken ankle
GrandmaSharksDentures · 07/12/2019 23:29

The Ottawa ankle rules can very accurately detect a fractured ankle but only when applied by a skilled clinician. If A&E triage were not busy (possible) then it could be possible to be in & out quickly. I've sent "simple" ankles home very quickly

DoTheNextRightThing · 07/12/2019 23:31

@MyShinyWhiteTeeth

My sprain was pretty bad and took around three months (I can't remember exactly, it was over a decade ago).

DP on the other hand was right as rain again in two weeks.

I suppose it depends. Funny thing was that DP was in total agony, screaming the house down, we thought it was broken. Whereas I couldn't even figure out how I sprained mine because I had no recollection of hurting it, I just woke up one morning in pain. So it must really vary depending on the injury.

If your not-friend has an injury that is...

MAFIL · 07/12/2019 23:45

I thought the Ottawa Rules were a tool to determine the need for imaging Grandma rather than actually a diagnostic tool? I understand that applying them correctly can exclude a fracture but surely not positively diagnose one? Don't they just indicate that the likelihood of a fracture is sufficiently high to justify the x-ray - plenty of people must meet the criteria for imaging but subsequently be diagnosed with a soft tissue injury? Or maybe things have changed since my day.....its been a while.

mumwon · 07/12/2019 23:57

crikey you wait longer in the queue for the receptionist to take your name before you wait to see triage nurse

jackstini · 07/12/2019 23:59

Experienced this 3 times this year:

DH in May, went to A&E, 4 hours, x-rays, sprain diagnosed, given crutches and codeine. On crutches for 2 weeks, bad for 3 months, fairly normal now

Me in August, went to minor injuries unit, 2 hours, x-rays, bad sprain. Wheelchair for a week, stick for 2 weeks, 3 months healing

Friend last week, A&E, 2 hours, x-rays, sprain diagnosed. She uses a stick and chair due to MS so no crutches

RainbowMum11 · 08/12/2019 00:07

The wait would make me suspicious, not the rest.
I broke my foot a couple of years ago, n x-ray until a few days later, pain relief - cheaper to buy paracetamol over the counter, crutches - even when it was confirmed broken and I had a boot on, they still asked if I wanted crutches!!
It is only the 10min wait which makes me suspicious.

FuzzyPigeon · 08/12/2019 00:11

I went to minor injuries about 2 years ago, and was diagnosed with a broken ankle in just over half an hour. This included having an x-ray.

GrandmaSharksDentures · 08/12/2019 00:16

@MAFIL you are absolutely correct. I was hoping to avoid such subtleties which I know can be confusing & appear ridiculous for non-medics. My apologies Smile

EBearhug · 08/12/2019 00:22

I'd be surprised - even if there were no queue, and you get to see a triage nurse straightaway, I would have thought by the time you've gone through name, address, age, brief summary of reason for being there, any medical history, you've already taken up 10 minutes, and then someone has to take at least 5 minutes to check the actual injury. I suppose it's not totally impossible, but I would be surprised.