Walked out of A and E after 9 hours and only triage completed !!

[bumblebee1000]

Don't consider myself at all naive but haven't been anywhere near a hospital for any urgent treatment in over 30 years. Rang 111 yesterday due to constant headaches for almost a week, was advised to attend local hospital [london]. Queue out the door, after 7 hours was seen by a doctor for appx 1 minute who said they will want to do blood tests and possibly an mri scan, was told blood tests could be a further 5 hours, a scan possibly a further 7 to 9 hours so in total basically 24 hours. I couldn't wait so told nurse I was leaving and will follow up with GP and a wealthy old friend has offered to pay the £300 for the mri scan which is lovely. I was stunned to see so many people sleeping on floor and who had been there for hours before me. Then a man went beserk and grabbed a fire extinguisher and smashed in the windows of the reception area, coffe machine and a door, police already on site as were with a chap in hancuffs.....awful. I did notice that many names were called and nobody responded so assume they just left without informing anyone, I felt informing them of my departure, was the least I could do so time isn't wasted on no shows etc.

The last time I went to A&E I was referred by my GP who called ahead ( I needed surgery that day ) - whilst I was waiting to be seen I was also surprised about what people were there for .

if 111 told OP to go to A&E then that is fair enough and she shouldn’t be chastised on here and I hope she gets sorted out soon .

i just wanted to add that there are other ways to access medical care for less urgent issues :

• Myself , my mum , DH and DS have all used the Contact me button on the surgery website . It isn’t for 111/A&E issues but I'm Mentioning this because in all cases ( and across different GP surgeries ) we have had very prompt telephone calls back with a Dr, prescription issued , blood test referrals and in both my and my sons cases - we had referrals made to hospital . The great thing about this is it allows you to explain all your symptoms , attach photos etc and explain what you need - making sure you mention all the symptoms without the rush of a 5 minute slot . It isn’t for emergencies but so few people who say you can’t get in touch with the GP don’t seem to know about this - it is perfect for those issues which won’t get you bumped up the queue for the on the day appts .
• some minor injuries clinics ( as they were known) take bookings on line . A few weeks ago my DD booked in with a suspected fracture - appt held , x Ray done , follow up discussion held , cast given , fracture clinic follow up booked - the whole thing door to door was 2 hours and we are 15 mins each way by car . I am very pleased we didn’t go to the local A&E for this . Last time I did that - it was 5 hours for the same thing .

the system clearly isn’t working in many respects - it isn’t the fault of the staff who are just trying to do their best . Our NHS is so precious - the alternatives are frightening for many .

I am sorry to hear about your Mum, exactly the same thing happened to my Mum at 60 and it was the first thing I thought of when previous posters had commented that a persistent headache isn't worthy of A&E.

Your all making me paranoid iv had a headache all week I didn't think this was out of the ordinary

We have used Econsult and it works well.

Econsult only works for minor things. More serious things needs face to face appointments.

I think there’s a difference between having a headache all week where you can a still manage all your daily tasks and not think too much of it, and a headache that really leaves you wiped, dazed and in a lot of pain

But you can say this about anything a leg ache could be a blood clot, a stomach ache could be internal bleeding, arm ache could be a heart attack. 99% of the time it isn't. If everyone went to a&e for every minor issue, firstly we would all spend our lives there secondly the nhs would collapse in a week. I'm sorry for the loss of your sister that is absolutely horrific but thankfully these things are rare and most people will have other neurological symptoms accompanying a headache when it's serious.

A new and persistent debilitating pain is not a 'minor issue' though, is it @Differentstarts? And quite a few people have posted similar stories to mine here on this thread. It might be unusual for the pain to lead to something catastrophic, but it's a distinct possibility. That possibility alone is enough to trigger urgent investigation. I realise this example isn't about A&E, but the principle stands - thousands of women are referred for tests on breast lumps every year. The vast majority of these lumps are benign. They still need to be checked out urgently in order to ascertain this. Acute pain in the head or chest or stomach or anywhere else for that matter, pain that stops you living your life, can be an indication that something is seriously wrong. Why risk your life, when you've been advised to go to A&E, just because you don't want to be a 'burden' on the system?

But then why walk out of a&e because your bored of waiting

Yeah I only had one day where it was bad to where I can't do anything but I do get bad migraines since I had a bleed on my brain plus I'm due on and I also get hormonal headaches so I haven't been concerned

But then why walk out of a&e because your bored of waiting

How would I know? That's a completely separate issue from the comments you made in relation to my post.

It's a "GPs have been privatised" issue. They're not "the NHS" any more. They're private companies who are contracted to provide care for the NHS. This means their primary focus is making a profit, not their patients care. If the GP arranges the x-ray or bloods or whatever, it comes out of their budget. If the GP sends you to A&E for your symptoms to be reassessed from scratch, any care you receive there is from the hospital's budget.

I felt guilty the other week for not going to A&E when told to by a GP. My legs were covered in midge bites and had started to swell up. GP thought it might be a blood clot, (because I'm pregnant although on aspirin,) I'd already got antibiotics the day before (on a Sunday) thanks to 111, and I was tired and hungry and didn't want to go up to A&E and wait hours to be told it was an infection. I decided to go to bed and see how I was in the morning. Legs were fine when I woke up!
I also took some antihistamines. Couldn't get a straight answer from any pharmacist I'd asked about which ones were safe, NHS website says the one I've been taking for years are fine in pregnancy, so I took a couple of those and it certainly helped the itching. Bloody midges. 😡

This is potentially dangerous advice. A persistent headache should always be checked out. I worked with a woman whose only symptom was suddenly developing a headache that wouldn’t shift. She was still capable of working, she just complained about her annoying headache. After about 1.5 weeks of this, and of her promising us she would make a GP appointment “when she had time”, she had a stroke. Turned out she had severe hypertension with a resting BP of something crazy like 230/120, and was lucky to survive.

111 often advise going to a and e. I think it’s to cover themselves incase it’s serious.
I hope you feel better soon and get the help you need.

Surely 111 refer people to A and E because they are not clinicians and can’t tell over the phone whether your symptoms have benign causes, or are potentially something serious/ life threatening?

If 111 refers a lot of people to A&E to cover themselves, then it's a poor system. I can see why they would do it, but surely there's got to be something better. Not saying the OP didn't need to go to A&E btw, just thinking that if 111 'over refer' then there comes a point where people are taking a (potentially life threatening) decision into their own hands NOT to go because they are doubting the system.

We still have the Out of Hours GP system here in NI (or the bell doctor as we like to call it!) and, while it's not perfect, at least you get to speak to a real doctor more often than not. That doctor will then decide whether to ask you to come down to the OOH surgery or to go to A&E or wait for your own GP. Not some call centre person with a list, but an actual qualified professional. I have used it a handful of times and it has worked fantastically well. Better than the bloody day time system which is now a complete joke.

They could cover themselves by booking the patient in to an out of hours gp service. Then an actual clinician could examine them and decide if they need emergency hospital treatment or just a gp review in a weeks time.

I see a lot of folk wondering why you went to A and E. Ignorance is bliss I suppose .
i too went to A and E with an headache after a couple of weeks of enduring it and also seeing a GP prior to A and E visit. Even A and E staff were bemused and questioning the validity of my visit . After being shepherded through from A and E to minor injuries clinic (where I was offered useful advice and paracetamol), by a nurse , I asked her to allow me to speak with a Dr. Who didn’t wish to . Instead, he told her “the scan room is empty- send him there to allay his concerns” . 20 mins later - all hell broke loose for me as it turns out that now they want me to be completely still and rushed me through to A and E on a stretcher ready for neurosurgery as I’d been walking around for a few weeks with dry blood (or old blood) and fresh bleeds on the brain . A few drill holes in the skull and a jet washed brain - and here I am . People need to be aware - some folk can feel like they’re dying from pain of stubbing a toe and others like me have a higher freshold which confused the staff at A and E - I didn’t particularly appear to them as in pain and nearly dead .
look after yourself- take your friends help . Get the CT scan .

It's bloody awful.

The government has spent almost 15 years underfunding the NHS and now it's terrifying if you actually need urgent care.

111 is part of the problem though because they keep sending people there when it's not an actual emergency. Not your fault though.

My dad chose not to have life-saving medical treatment because he was so scared of being left in pain and misery without care, and dying in an A&E corridor. He chose to die instead. 😔

Wait until you get into the system for the tests. I went to my GP for debilitating constant headaches. Physio to pain clinic to physio to neurology. Every time I see neurology they give me a different diagnosis, a different drug to try. I'm supposed to see them every 6 months, they constantly cancel appointments. Currently I am going 14 months between appointments. And they still haven't ever given me a scan or test. Here I am 5 years later, in more pain than ever and no one in the NHS does anything. It's on its knees and we suffer for it.
I hope you have a better outcome.

Well I’ve been knocked out this evening after going over my handlebars and landing on my head (helmet). I’m feeling sick and know i should go to a&e to be safe but no way am I going. I’d be there all night and probably most of tomorrow.

A&E stands for Accident and Emergency, a persistent headache is unlikely to be either of those. GP/111 sending people to A&E for nonsense like this is why the service is so overwhelmed

111 needlessly send people to the hospital all the time. I had (what I didn't know at the time) a tear in my rotator cuff, I knew it was something to do with my shoulder, because it was mostly my shoulder that hurt, but because the pain radiated down to the top of my breast, 111 decided I needed an ambulance "because it could be a heart attack". No matter how much I insisted it was nothing to do with my heart, they sent one anyway. The paramedics were lovely, and once I explained the situation they were surprised they had been sent. Just to make sure they were covered, they did a ECG and said I was perfectly fine. Since they were going back to the hospital anyway, they gave me a lift to the Urgent Care Unit, so I could be seen by a doctor that day, instead of suffering longer waiting for an appointment. I think a lot of the time, 111 are more of a nuisance to the hospitals than necessary!

Not all illnesses that are critical are visible. My child has had a heart condition from birth. Went unconscious at school and revived by first aider. (They didn't feel the need to call an ambulance but should have) I took him to A&E. He looked fine there in the waiting room, eating, getting bored, etc. 2 ECG's and 4 doctors later (including a senior paediatric registrar - yes they were that concerned) lots of waiting inbetween, he was kept in for 24 hour continuous heart monitoring. Very stressful. Please don't judge why people are in A&E, it's not always broken arms or unconscious people who are the only ones needing to be there. Sometimes it's more serious and not visible.

My MIL had awful headaches because of her age she was fobbed off with pills. After two years a GP finally kicked off and she had an MRI. It was a tumour inoperable they said. I did wonder if they found it sooner or she was younger if she would have received treatment.