Anyone at A&E this evening? What’s it like where you are?

[O2HaveALittleHouse]

My OH called 111 because DC sustained a sports injury and was told to go to A&E Urgent Treatment Centre at the very specific time of 6pm for an appointment. They’ve seen no-one yet as at 8.30pm, nor has anyone in the UTC waiting room moved.
The UTC shuts at 10pm. They’re going to send them home without seeing anyone despite a suspected broken limb, aren’t they? DC is sore, miserable and begging to come home despite the pain.
What’s it like where you are?

We were sent to this hospital by 111 with an appointment as they said she needed X-rays. There are no other options apart from A&E at weekends around here (big city), just when all the kids are doing sports and people are more likely to be out and doing things. It makes no sense.

Our daughter was taken to A&E a few days ago, at 2am. Excruciating pain and 5 months pregnant.

She was shunted from pillar to post with no one wanting to take responsibility for treating her, despite a very speedy diagnosis (appendicitis).

By the time they operated she'd been there 20 hours and her appendix had ruptured. She now has an infection in her abdomen and they're worried about the baby.

The NHS is a shambles. It's frightening.

This happened to us last week. My 2 y/o had been poorly for 3 days with barely eating or drinking and was very floppy on day 4. We decided to call 111 incase he was dehydrated and my BF gave him a little bath which perked him up and he drank a big cup of water.

111 told us to go to the hospital AnE and we have an appointment at 7. I thought we may as well go even though he seems perkier as it's an appointment so not like we'd be waiting hours....

Got there well in time and still hadn't been seen at 10. After a melt down that seemed to go on forever he fell asleep on me. I hadn't eaten all day, was so uncomfy so decided to just go.

I of course would have stayed if I was really worried but he had eaten and drank whilst we were waiting.

Honestly I was so annoyed! Why give an appointment time if it's not a bloody appointment.

I was in A & E on bank holiday Monday from being admitted to discharge 6hrs - this included x-rays and 2 limbs being plastered. Equally DH was admitted to the same A & E on a Sunday early hours and was 14hrs before he was seen - suspected heart attack and blue lighted in.

I genuinely think it’s luck of the draw at the moment and tbh that’s scary as hell.

We were in paediatric a&e on bank holiday Monday and were in and out within 20 minutes.
Granted it was nothing serious, just a foreign body needing removed but we had gone with snacks and chargers expecting a long wait.

These stories of people waiting 12-14 hours are frightening.

We all know some are medically well enough but the truth is not all are and they are still waiting for ridiculous amounts of time.

I had a hysterectomy a few months ago and was in and out of the hospital in 13.5 hours!

Major surgery should not be quicker than admitting emergencies!

Df was taken to Ambulance a&e 2 weeks ago by an ambulance that came within 30 mins, and was seen by a doctor immediately. It was all excellent. He is elderly of course so was priority. I've had to wait longer with dc in 'normal' times

My friend sat in A&E for 12 hours and 45 minutes a few weeks ago.

That’s dreadful @LittlePearl ! I hope she and the baby are okay but dear God I’d be fuming. Are you going to complain?

All these stories are making me so angry. It shouldn’t be down to luck whether someone waits 20 minutes or 12 hours. We should be angrier for sure as despite amazing efforts by the staff, it’s just not fit for purpose.

I think her husband will - and he's the most laid-back person I know. He was with her for most of it and said it was hard to believe what was happening (or not happening, more to the point).

One doctor told her that if you're pregnant they just try to send you off to maternity (as if it's impossible that something else could be the problem) because everyone's worried about doing something that could harm the baby. But by delaying they have compounded the problem.

So yes, it's dreadful, and I am fuming.

My 17 year old was sent to hospital on Wednesday at 12pm. She was basically sat on a chair in the ward until half five when she started crying. I said I was going to wait in the waiting room till I could be with her and they took me through and at 6.30 we were sent up to a ward and she was admitted.

She got out yesterday having said to the nurse before she left I think I'm getting tonsillitis and she said I'm sure you are fine. She woke up this morning and has tonsillitis. So I called 111 and it took an hour and 30 mins to get to a call handler then the nurse came on and said she needed to be seen because they wouldn't prescribe a second antibiotic (on the first for her kidney infection) without seeing her. Then waited an hour for the call with a time to go to out of hours doctor at hospital and he said he was happy to just prescribe an antibiotic.

Apparently there was a man left sat in a and e for 24 hours who had had a heart attack a few days before.

I'm going to look into private health care.

I was there on Thursday with DH, suspected heart attack and seizure around midnight. Ambulance arrived in less than 10 minutes and we got to A&E just before 2. Our nearest is almost an hour away. He was still on a trolley in the corridor when I left at 5 as told it would be another 5-6 hours wait. The rest of the night and most of yesterday he was shunted around for scans and x-rays (at one point sat in a chair for 3 hours) before he was finally sent to a ward late last night. It was about 9 hours from when he arrived before he saw a doctor.
Heart attack confirmed and he will now be in for 2-3 days for more tests and procedures to see what treatment and medication he needs.
It felt much better on the ward. Cleaner, staff more responsive and concerned. A&E was horrible but maybe it was worse because it was the middle of the night. DH was OK and has survived far worse but I dread to think what it's like if you are there and in pain or deteriorating.

The problem with most private health care in the UK is that there is no emergency provision. You have to go through the NHS. Most policies require a GP referral before you can access any sort of treatment. Can be good if you want to avoid waiting lists for surgery etc but absolutely no use on the day you break your leg.

It’s just not on that you wait 9 hours after a heart attack to be seen by a doctor while sitting in A&E. That is just an absolute disgrace.

My DP and DC are on their way home having been xrayed and dispatched quickly. It wasn’t broken but needs follow up physio and a brace.

I would reiterate what @Aconitum says about private medical insurance. Sadly they don’t do acute care. As I said up-thread we need to rethink the NHS. How can Germany, France and other countries get this so right and we can’t?