What is the waiting time in your local A&E?

[lemmein]

Just seen this on my local FB - how is this even acceptable? My DD has a chronic condition which means we often end up in a&e; it's always bad, but never been 19 hours

I don’t know how I’d find out about waiting times in my local hospital however a relative was recently involved in a car accident as a pedestrian. He was taken via ambulance and later died as a result of the accident. In the time I was there I felt utterly helpless and the entire team in resus worked tirelessly around him and the other patients in there. Sadly there was nothing they could do for my dear old grandad but I shit you not they couldn’t have worked harder or faster.
the waiting time on the board to see someone was saying 8 hours but this was at 1am in central London.
I’ve always said the nhs falls apart on its daily run of the mill appointments however (sadly) I’ve seen enough in the last 10 years of the emergency side to appreciate what they do.
and I am totally aware that this wasn’t anything about bashing the workers who are all doing their absolute best, it’s just an extra well done from me because in the most harrowing bleak conditions, understaffed too, these people deserve so much more support, money, investment.

Not A&E but walk-in, waited just over 3 hours from arriving to leaving to glue my head last week - hit it on a garage door.

Waited 5 hours for an ambulance, before even getting to A&E - this on the road at night with a broken hip!

I live in Manchester and my husband waited 10 hours in a and e the other day! While I was there the receptionist was taking to a lady who turned up with a headache and was flabbergasted that the lady had gone to a and e for a headache. Also people turning up asking for appointments and being told a and e isn't for appointments it's emergencies and accidents. I really think that as more and more people struggle for GP appointments they go to a and e. I think three are numerous reasons why the wait time is so long and not just one reason.

Yeah there's a real problem round my way with discharging older people. They can't go until they have a care package unless they're discharged to a care home until their care package is ready. The patients and their families aren't willing to agree with this because they think once they go into care they'll never get home again, or they won't be made a priority for organising home care, despite being assured otherwise.

9 hours last night. Children’s A&E.

The doctor announced there was a four hour wait (we had already waited three hours.) He said he was the only doctor on duty and if anyone thought their child was well enough to go home before they were seen, they should do so after checking with the nurse.

More than half the patients left!

I asked to take dc home and was told we had to wait.

It was very tiring, noisy, quite distressing, no food or drink, not allowed to leave the department. I did think my elderly parents would not have survived tbh.

Not true. I waited 12 hours with a broken leg last week.

@TheChosenTwo am so sorry for your loss and in such a traumatic way.

It seems to be an issue in Ireland too www.irishtimes.com/news/health/emergency-department-delays-worst-on-record-with-seriously-ill-waiting-13-hours-for-admission-1.4875046

My son had to go to A&E with a 'broken' fingernail, waving ripped the whole thing off in an ice skating accident. Went to urgent care and was sent to A&E anyway so it could be Xrayed. Before Covid mind.

However if you can wait 19 hours to be seen you don't need to be in a&e.

I waited a total of 20 hours... they decided to send me home as they had no beds. I should still be in hospital really as I'm completely numb in the saddle area and my right leg has lost most of its feeling and can't get a reflex in it. I have a herniated disc in my spine and have a catheter in because I can't feel my bladder to know if its full then I end up with overflow incontinence and risk my bladder bursting. I haven't had a shit since Saturday and my existing disabilities have worsened because of the new symptoms.
I need to be seen by a specialist but there simply isn't space.

Eight hours recently.
When I got to the ward I was in a four bedded bay. It became apparent that that the other three patients who were very elderly and frail were simply there waiting for packages of care. Some were even refusing input at home due to having to pay, insisting to visitors they could manage and that 'X next door will help me'. No doubt to return imminently through the ever revolving A&E door. Meanwhile everything backs up several floors down.
A total bottleneck.

About 13 hours in our Children’s a&e last week. Numbers of patients is crazy and we’re so short staffed. It’s not sustainable.

Recently I arrived in my local one at 5am and didn't leave until 6pm. It is absolutely dire.

My friend took her 2 year old for a suspected knee injury last month and they basically told her to go away. They said unless it is life threatening not to come. It was their busiest day in 10 years. She didn't get seen that day.

DS1 went to A&E with a badly sprained ankle 3 weeks ago. They said it was an 8 hour wait however he was triaged, xrayed and out in under 2.

I went past A&E last week around lunchtime on a week day and the wait time was 3.5 hours. It didn’t seem overly busy so I suspect that is quiet/average.

Interestingly I had to take my child in April 2020 at the point in the pandemic where everyone was terrified of covid. We were one of 3 people in there and were in, had tests and saw a doctor and were on the paediatric ward within 20 minutes. The other 2 were an elderly man with a head injury pouring with blood, and a lady with a clear fractured leg. I do think it really made people think about whether they truly needed to go.

@HerRoyalHappiness is that cauda equina? A friend had that and couldn’t shit for years, had to manually evacuate. Would you not need urgent surgery? Hope you’re ok.

The sepsis “golden hour” where all treatment bundles have to be started within 60 mins has obviously gone out the window. People will die because of stuff like this.

Hubby went last week and was seen in the urgent care centre and was in and out in under an hour. Main a&e was average wait time of under an hour. Big, busy hospital so we were both very surprised.

@QuebecBagnet they gave me an MRI and said it wasn't cauda equina. But it would take surprise me if they were wrong. Of course if my symptoms worsen ill head straight back to hospital, but for now I'm managing. I e got some dulcolax and dulcoease coming to hopefully help me go. And my catheter means I don't have to worry about pushing my bladder to hard although it needs empty so bloody often! And when you struggle to walk anyway, never mind with a numb leg it's a nightmare having to head to the (luckily downstairs) loo every half an hour!

Wow you were very lucky to be here to tell the tale @dirtyfries @QuebecBagnet is quite right.

It's 12 hours in Wirral ED, but paeds usually manage much quicker. However there's a covid outbreak atm so no visitors/accompanying people allowed unless by appt - and of course you can't get hold of them to make an appt.

It's life or death every day there with chronic understaffing. I don't think this can go on much longer as it is.

Durham is back down to 4 hrs now.

I took DD to East Surrey 4 weeks ago on a Friday morning and the wait time was showing as 35 mins. Waiting room was very quiet and she was triaged in 10 mins then seen and out 20 mins later. Was a great experience to be honest.

Our local hospital has 400 beds for over 250,000 people. Patients are on trolleys blocking corridors, not because the hospital is inefficient or badly run but because there are 160 patients awaiting discharge. They either need to go home with a care package or they need to go into either a nursing home or residential home.
Social Services need more money and staff in order to get these 160 patients out of hospital in order to free up the beds . Patients can be in this situation for as long as 13 weeks , and whilst waiting their condition can deteriorate and they lose their place in the social services queue system .
It all means that the hospital is only running at approximately 66% capacity most of the time and this all effects A/E waiting times .