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Original poster

Do some people not understand how A&E works?

64 replies

YouFilthyAnimal · 19/12/2022 13:54

I’m in A&E with DS and this isn’t the first time that we’ve been taken straight through from triage and put on a nebuliser only to hear people kicking off about it in the waiting room because ‘they were here first’
Do people not realise that A&E is based on need and urgency and not what order you came in at?! Would they expect someone having a heart attack to get behind a broken toe because they were there first
Baffles me every time 🤦🏻‍♀️

OP posts:
Blackeyesbluetears · 19/12/2022 13:56

The two times I've been rushed through I've been so very thankful but always happy to wait when needed.

Ds1 was once taken straight through to resus. And once ex was also taken straight through without being triaged because of how he presented

Reindeersnooker · 19/12/2022 13:56

They're tired and sick and being forced to use A and E as a GP surgery. They're in a hard place. Have some empathy.

I hope your little one recovers quickly.

Irridescantshimmmer · 19/12/2022 14:02

It is the 'impatients' in the waiting room that are in need of empathy OP.

Hope your son is making a good recovery.

Any condition which restricts oxygen to the brain is time critical and not every person is aware of this.

dizzydizzydizzy · 19/12/2022 14:22

Very frustrating, OP.

A&E is such a nightmare these days. It seems to bring out the worst in people. I felt humiliated and scared last time I was there. Therre were three patients with a police escort, an old lady fell out of her wheelchair and had a seizure and somebody else was vomiting.

When I saw the triage nurse, she was rude to me and left me to hop on one foot (I had a leg injury) across the whole waiting room to get to the loo. Very embarrassing! The doctor then misdiagnosed me. It was an awful experience.

serenghetti2011 · 19/12/2022 14:29

Such a shame op, hope your son is ok
my sons last admission was via ambulance and they pretty much got him off the trolly and ignored him. Did obs with a nebuliser on and basically stayed well away until I had to ask a dr to see him as he was deteriorating. the nurse told me to give him his inhaler, we were there because his inhaler didn’t work. It’s scary seeing your kid struggling to breathe

He ended up on 9l 02 mag sulph, iv hydrocortisone continuous nebs etc and picu was called. Thankfully he turned a corner and stayed in the paeds ward but to sit on a kid for so long they become that much more unwell is ridiculous. It wasn’t busy either. Thankfully care in paeds was outstanding.

Bobbybobbins · 19/12/2022 14:32

We got sent straight through last time with my son. A woman who arrived just before us was then waiting but was very gracious and asked me how he was when I walked past her. Having said that she was there as 'the waiting time at the walk in centre was too long' and her daughter had a sore throat.

FTY765 · 19/12/2022 14:35

No, a lot of people don't understand the first thing about medical emergencies, triage or prioritising.
The way our A+E is set up, there are three separate sections in the waiting room where you get directed after triage - one for sicker people, one for minor injuries, one for the attached GP OOH (when it's open) So the minor injuries and GP DO mostly get seen in time order, which probably helps with that!
I hope your son is better soon.

itsthefinalcountdown1 · 19/12/2022 14:36

You don't know why other people are waiting though, so don't be so quick to judge them being upset at being left waiting for probably hours on end, over something that is urgent/painful to them, but just happens to be less urgent than why you're there.

I was in A&E once for many many many hours for a problem that I don't want to discuss on a forum. It was triaged as a lower priority than some (obviously) but I was terrified, alone, upset, tired and sat there for 12 hours. It wasn't a heart attack, but turned out to be pretty bad upon further investigation and my mental health was battered after the long A&E wait, seeing everyone else going in ahead of me for half a day.

There will always be someone with just a broken toe, but you're very likely to be in that same position at some point where you're sat there for a long time and bitterly upset that your problem isn't being seen to. If you're in A&E, it's probably an emergency to you.

HappinesDependsOnYou · 19/12/2022 14:37

Years ago then partner had a car crash and was raced to hospital by ambulance strapped to a board and a lady had the nerve to point at him as he was surrounded by medical staff and demand to know why he got priority treatment. You cannot argue with stupid!

Koifish · 19/12/2022 14:41

This is a wide spread thing. I’ve worked in two A&Es in the past and it happens daily were a patient ‘looks well’ but is in fact very poorly and has to be prioritised, leading to disgruntled patients in the waiting room.

It can be frustrating but it’s understandable when you view it from their perspective of they need help, are scared and are having to wait a very long time to get it. However due to funding and staffing shortages this is only going to get worse.

IWantItThatWay002 · 19/12/2022 14:43

.

MoreTeaLessCoffee · 19/12/2022 14:43

The thing is though that"how A&E works" at the moment is not how it should work, is it. No one should have to wait 7+ hours with a sick child. Just because your child is in need of immediate attention doesn't mean everyone else is a time waster who just needs to sit down and be patient. Those parents would be scared and stressed from the effort of waiting, I'd imagine. It's not personal, it's the system at fault.

DarkKarmaIlama · 19/12/2022 14:44

Well that’s the way it is these days when you can’t get simple doctors appointments and the local walk in centres turn you away. The only other option for medical care for something that does need treating is A and E. It is a shambles.

Honper · 19/12/2022 14:46

Well in common with the rest of the NHS, A&E doesn't really work. It's stressful and frightening to experience poor healthcare and stress and fear can provoke aggression.

Hope your ds recovers soon.

Snipples · 19/12/2022 14:48

It's a horrible experience being in A&E. We were prioritised recently as had a 2yo with a head injury and there was a really rough woman who kept swearing and hissing every time someone went ahead of her (fractured toe). I felt very uncomfortable and basically asked a nurse when she would be seen as she had been waiting a while and got a telling off from the doctor. I only asked the q in the first place as the woman was completely intimidating the entire waiting room full of kids. I don't envy the staff, it must be horrible to work there.

Snipples · 19/12/2022 14:49

I should add, I felt they were triaging the list appropriately but it was awkward trying to appease other people who were about to kick off, especially while I was worried sick about my own child.

Hbh17 · 19/12/2022 14:50

So many people are - sadly - just too stupid to understand the concept of triage. Neither do they understand the words "accident" and "emergency ". Very, very few medical conditions fulfil the criteria for either. And triage has been the correct method of operation in A&E for decades, so it's not new.

Rowthe · 19/12/2022 14:53

It's horrible when you've been waiting for hours, but I wouldn't have begrudge your child going in first.

Though one time we had been waiting for hours with my child who was really unwell,.and a woman who was crying got pushed ahead. She'd been badgering the nurses and crying hysterically. I guess that what you have to do these days, just because my kid isnt crying doesnt mean they aren't in pain.

RagingWoke · 19/12/2022 14:57

It's a shame a&e doesn't actually work based on need. Glad your dc was seen so quickly, but honestly I've seen my mum in a corridor for 14 hours, paralysed and ignored left to wet herself in an unimaginable amount of pain, a young lady who'd been spiked and raped left in the same corridor crying for hours and shouted at by nurses because she threw up, DGM left for 28 hours with no checks, food or water.

So many people there because they just can't get medical care anywhere else and what should a small, easily treatable complaint is left until it's much bigger. Yesterday the wait to see a doctor at my local a&e was 14 hours, it has previously been almost 24.

TheOrigRights · 19/12/2022 15:11

There's a big sign in ours telling people not to be twats if people are not seen in the order they arrive. Something like that anyway. I would think the very people who have been waiting there a long time have time to read the darn thing.

nb. I realise many, many people are not receiving the urgent treatment they need.

megletthesecond · 19/12/2022 15:18

A fair chunk of the population don't understand much about anything.

AppleDumplingWithCustard · 19/12/2022 15:33

Reindeersnooker · 19/12/2022 13:56

They're tired and sick and being forced to use A and E as a GP surgery. They're in a hard place. Have some empathy.

I hope your little one recovers quickly.

This didn’t start with the GP crisis. I was a sister in A&E in the 80’s and it used to frequently happen then.

fancyacuppatea · 19/12/2022 15:51

You're right OP.
People don't understand urgency.
DH with chest pain taken straight to Majors...to much moaning from some piss-head with bruise.
Luckily there's normally some big chaps security guys around to advise them to be quiet tell them to belt up it's just a pity they can't chuck them out.

canyouextrapol · 19/12/2022 15:52

I remember being in with an asthma attack once, before the NHS was quite so dismantled. Staff did keep coming over to tell me I was a priority but I was waiting a long time, struggling to breath

fancyacuppatea · 19/12/2022 15:53

@TheOrigRights You know what - I think if there was a massive sign with flashing lights saying "DON'T BE A TWAT" it might actually work more than the tutting and the security staff.🤦‍♀️

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