10 hours of a&e

[OnceuponaRainbow18]

I took my elderly neighbour to a&e last night as they were short of breathe and had chest pains. It took 5 hours before she was seen once, and ibuprofen and paracetamol was given. This whole time I was sitting on the floor, nothing for another 2 hours when a nurse came over to her and gave her 2 paracetamol and 1 ibuprofen- two hours since her last dose… she would have happily taken the pills but I told the nurse she’d had her last pills 1 hour and 45 min ago, they looked at her notes and said ah ok she can have them in 30 min then- I thought it should be 4 hours!

another 2 hours of sitting on the floor , 12 ambulances waiting, 159 people waiting in the waiting room to get triaged. Absolute hell really. I rushed there from work, so no charger, no drinks, no food, no money to buy any of this!

not really sure why I am posting but it’s scary how many people need medical attention. She finally got a comfy chair 10 hours after we arrived.

Can quite clearly see the latest MN bug here with all the triple posts including my own

I was in a and e in Scotland last month and it was busy but people were getting seen.

Me and another woman were both moved to minor injuries (although I had a broken shoulder and humerus, she was being pushed in a wheelchair suspected broken legs, yes both!, which I don't think are minor.) It was lots calmer there and we were both seen, x rayed and casted within five hours and I was seen by orthopaedics who organised my ongoing care. I was allowed home that night with an appointment to go in two days later and lots of pain killers. I think she was admitted.

Minor injuries seemed so much better. Although maybe misnamed.

I was in a and e in Scotland last month and it was busy but people were getting seen.

Me and another woman were both moved to minor injuries (although I had a broken shoulder and humerus, she was being pushed in a wheelchair suspected broken legs, yes both!, which I don't think are minor.) It was lots calmer there and we were both seen, x rayed and casted within five hours and I was seen by orthopaedics who organised my ongoing care. I was allowed home that night with an appointment to go in two days later and lots of pain killers. I think she was admitted.

Minor injuries seemed so much better. Although maybe misnamed.

I think it's important to remember why hospitals are being put in these situations and to raise this with the people who are actually responsible rather than taking out (perfectly justified) frustrations on the staff.

There are simply not enough GPs and hospital staff in the system. Write to your MP, write to the Health Minister, stand up for our NHS and make a fuss.

I think it's important to remember why hospitals are being put in these situations and to raise this with the people who are actually responsible rather than taking out (perfectly justified) frustrations on the staff.

There are simply not enough GPs and hospital staff in the system. Write to your MP, write to the Health Minister, stand up for our NHS and make a fuss.

I think it's important to remember why hospitals are being put in these situations and to raise this with the people who are actually responsible rather than taking out (perfectly justified) frustrations on the staff.

There are simply not enough GPs and hospital staff in the system. Write to your MP, write to the Health Minister, stand up for our NHS and make a fuss.

I think it's important to remember why hospitals are being put in these situations and to raise this with the people who are actually responsible rather than taking out (perfectly justified) frustrations on the staff.

There are simply not enough GPs and hospital staff in the system. Write to your MP, write to the Health Minister, stand up for our NHS and make a fuss.

I think it's important to remember why hospitals are being put in these situations and to raise this with the people who are actually responsible rather than taking out (perfectly justified) frustrations on the staff.

There are simply not enough GPs and hospital staff in the system. Write to your MP, write to the Health Minister, stand up for our NHS and make a fuss.

The NHS would save so much money and wasted time if they just stuck a GP permanently in the A&E waiting section and sent them all the sore finger and infected toenail patients.

This is because there are literally no hospital beds in the country! Social care has been devastated by covid - people leaving, poor conditions and pay therefore the hospitals cannot discharge patients to homes/rehab hence no one can be admitted from a and e
the hospital I work at has been in opel 4 ( highest alert level) for months, same as all other local within 2 hours of us, hospitals and I would think most of the uk is the same! It’s not because GP’s aren’t seeing patients - although in the same vein there is just not enough GP’s to see the amount of patients that need seeing.
The system is broken.

This is because there are literally no hospital beds in the country! Social care has been devastated by covid - people leaving, poor conditions and pay therefore the hospitals cannot discharge patients to homes/rehab hence no one can be admitted from a and e.
The hospital I work at has been at Opel 4 ( highest alert level) for months, same as all other local within 2 hours of us, hospitals and I would think most of the uk is the same! It’s not because GP’s aren’t seeing patients - although in the same vein there is just not enough GP’s to see the amount of patients that need seeing.
The system is broken.

I think it's important to remember why hospitals are being put in these situations and to raise this with the people who are actually responsible rather than taking out (perfectly justified) frustrations on the staff.

There are simply not enough GPs and hospital staff in the system. Write to your MP, write to the Health Minister, stand up for our NHS and make a fuss.

I think it's important to remember why hospitals are being put in these situations and to raise this with the people who are actually responsible rather than taking out (perfectly justified) frustrations on the staff.

There are simply not enough GPs and hospital staff in the system. Write to your MP, write to the Health Minister, stand up for our NHS and make a fuss.

I think it's important to remember why hospitals are being put in these situations and to raise this with the people who are actually responsible rather than taking out (perfectly justified) frustrations on the staff.

There are simply not enough GPs and hospital staff in the system. Write to your MP, write to the Health Minister, stand up for our NHS and make a fuss.

This is because there are literally no hospital beds in the country! Social care has been devastated by covid - people leaving, poor conditions and pay therefore the hospitals cannot discharge patients to homes/rehab hence no one can be admitted from a and e.
The hospital I work at has been at Opel 4 ( highest alert level) for months, same as all other local within 2 hours of us, hospitals and I would think most of the uk is the same! It’s not because GP’s aren’t seeing patients - although in the same vein there is just not enough GP’s to see the amount of patients that need seeing.
The system is broken.

I know the number as a man was kicking off and I heard the receptionist say. She wasn’t triaged for 4 hours! She is still there now so assuming there was a problem. We didn’t call 111, she called me and I took her in.

I'm in hospital right now. Directed to urgent treatment centre by 111 at 8pm Saturday night, suspected appendicitis, saw by triage nurse at 10pm, agreed re likely appendicitis, news of 4, temp, rigors, high heart rate, lots of pain. Sent back to waiting room. Saw Dr at 3am.. 5 hours later. Sent to surgical assessment ward, no beds, back in another chair, saw consultant at 8, given bed at 9 in surgery by 9.30. Appendix out and had become necrotic, another few hours would likely have ruptured.

So yes from coming in to having surgery just under 14 hours, but those 14 hours were horrific. No pain relief given until 6am, 10 hours after arriving, despite multiple times of asking. Many people waiting. Lots leaving without being seen and clearly saying they'd go home and call an ambulance instead, just putting further pressure on the system! Frustrating all round.

Excellent care from surgery to ward, at least I have a bed now anyway.

Calling 111 first might have helped - although I know it's a bit hit or miss

• she might have got an ambulance (chest pain/breathing problems generally trigger one) which would have meant she got an assessment without leaving home and a quicker triage at a&e if A&E was necessary (but if she didn't need quick treatment she would still have waited)


• she might have got a clinical callback with an assessment and a fast track GP appointment for the morning or an out of hours gp visit; those might have been able to keep her out of hospital, or got her into the right bit of the hospital more quickly


• she might have got a timed arrival slot at A&E which might have reduced the wait

I appreciate this is all "might" but given she sat for hours in A&E with no treatment anything that could reduce that wait is worth considering.

@Eyerollsausageroll no pain relief is unacceptable - please complain in writing if you have the energy, and hope you get well soon.

Even in the busiest A&E, it seems unlikely that an acute cardiac arrest patient would not have been admitted after triage or latest after they did the check at 5hrs.

Cardiac arrest patients are those whose heart has stopped.

@theotherfossilsister it's called Minors because you aren't likely to die from it.

Would you rather be in majors or resus taking up a bed that needs to be used for a sepsis patient or a cardiac arrest?

It's minors because you don't need to see a dr, a advanced nurse practitioner could do it with a X-ray.

Completely agree.

The problem here is coming from the GP side. There aren't enough or they aren't seeing people fast enough so those individuals are heading to A&E.

I dont think it's even the GP's faults, although they are deflecting pressure.

If you phone 111 they'll get you an appointment at minor injuries or whatever it's called if you need one. Nobody needs to go and sit and wait at those places for hours but people just don't call 111 because they think the call handlers are always wrong. They're not - they just do the triage.

If everyone who didn't need emergency treatment - clues in the name accident and emergency - called 111 if they couldn't get seen by their GP there'd be much fewer issues at A&E.

We were 12 hours in A&E recently. For an overdose. The 8 hour window for the antidote came and went. Some of the staff were awful. It's not just about people turning up for minor injuries.

@User34352515 Where are you getting this information on paracetamol from? 2 hours is roughly the average half life of paracetamol, i.e. the time it takes for the level in your blood to halve. If you took it every two hours then over time it would build up to a dangerous level.

Estimated half life here as 1.5-2.5 hours www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1430174/

The BNF (British advice on prescribing and pharmacology) states 0.5–1 g every 4–6 hours; maximum 4 g per day for adults, so there's no way it should be given two hourly, even by a trained professional.