Nine hours in A&E

[MotherOfGodWeeFella]

I recently spent nine hours in A&E and it was horrific. I was in agony - advised to go there by 111. There was no pain relief that worked for four and a half hours. I was doubled up in pain in the waiting room. I told a nurse doing observations: she didn't even respond to me. It was really busy and for at least three hours after I was triaged there didn't seem to be many staff on shift so I didn't advocate for myself as well as I could have. It was such an awful experience. I wouldn't go there again unless I was taken in an ambulance.

In the end they didn't really know what had caused my pain but as it eventually subsided I was sent home. The experience has really affected me. I'm almost traumatised by it. Nine hours in the packed waiting room, in hideous pain for much of it with no communication other than announcements about how many hours it was taking to see a doctor. It was the same for everyone else waiting. Anyone with suspected broken bones got seen first. The more acute cases I'm guessing were in the cubicles further in. I don't really know why I'm posting.

@Neurodiversitydoctor - no, sent home. I've grumblings of the pain still and intend to see my GP. I saw two doctors, the second with extremely poor spoken English. Her understanding of spoken English seemed stronger. The second doctor gave me a diagnosis which made no sense (I'm wondering now if she couldn't properly articulate what she meant) and sent me home.

Went in at 9.45pm last Thursday with 16 year old daughter who has been having extreme stomach pain for 2 weeks. Sent there twice previously by GP, once when her resting heart rate was 173. Just sent her home. Had to plead for ultrasound after walk in advised it. Showed inflammation. Then NfA. Got really bad last week...we left at 11am Friday so 13 hours...after they said she was Constipated after a ct scan. She was rolling around again last night. Is missing her mocks. Her PT job is on hold. Is itchy all over. Has diarhoea despite them saying she's Constipated. Been sick. (Not appendix) has shoulder pain
Sweating through the night. I'm sure it's bile duct or gallstone related. Said its not. Too young. She had not even been offered a paracetamol in now 3 weeks. Been referred urgently to OP gastro...3 weeks time. She has buscopan laxatives omeprazole Co codamol and nothing is working. Her life is on hold. I normally praise my GP and hospitals in general but GP and A & e level seems to be on its knees unfortunately

I had a 24 hours wait with my daughter a couple years ago. I can honestly say we were traumatised from the things we saw. I am grateful for the NHS and I blame the Tories for what’s happened.

Sorry you’ve been through this op.

I have epilepsy and even with long seizures I try everything I can not to go to A&E (arguing with paramedics not my finest hour but was quite determined!) because I know I’ll be stuck somewhere having more seizures for hours when I can take rescue meds and stay at home and be comfortable and speak to my nurse the next day.

Hoping Labour actually do something to sort this out.

Sounds commonplace to me, I sat there for 7 hours whilst having a miscarriage. I’d never attend A&E again unless I was dying. They do have to priorise, and they can’t just keep checking on everyone.

I am sorry to hear this, I sometimes wonder what the point of 111 is so many stories like yours and now waiting to see a GP anyway !

It was chaotic too - nurses coming out of their cubicle area and calling names. Often they weren't heard or had to walk down the corridor to the sort of overspill area. It was so inefficient.

I am sorry you have had such a horrible time, but 9 hours would definitely be a good day near me - I have twice been admitted from A and E with life threatening conditions in the last year, and both times the wait in A and E was more than double that

The UK has consistently voted for a poorly funded NHS, so its "chickens come home to roost" now.

Look at per capita spend compared to European countries? uk is bottom of the pile (once the one off covid spend is taken out)

My DD was in the NHS & it was terrible, the pay is a joke, the level of responsibility very high & despite getting ill looking after CV patients (with no PPE) was put on a stage 1 disciplinary.... admin workers in the private sector can earn more and don't face the BS nhs staff get.

Got no patience with people moaning about the NHS (like my in laws) who always vote Tory

9 hours? you were lucky, could have easily been 24.

My dad spent 48 hours on a trolley in A&E after suffering what was believed to be a stroke. He was finally admitted to a ward where he died the following day. An awful experience for him and the family.

A colleague was sent to A&E by her GP earlier this week with a suspected pulmonary embolism and she waited 14 hours. There were multiple ambulances queuing outside and the staff kept coming out to apologise to everyone for the wait.

It’s dreadful for both staff and patients.

This does sound gallbladder related. A friend of mine had to have hers taken out at 19 years old. They missed it for a while because she was "too young".

I know @Neurodiversitydoctor - it's awful and so, so wrong. A&E seem to want you to give up waiting and go away or get you stable and send you away. On the plus side, 111 worked really well.

I would willingly pay more tax if it was spent overhauling the NHS.

My DM sat in A&E with a very obvious DVT yet not one member of staff encouraged her to raise it, which was basic when I trained. She sat in the same chair for 12 hours, in a packed waiting room, her head was lolling about as it was past her bed time and she was desperately tired and very unwell.

Exactly the same happened to me. I had uro-sepsis and got sent home. It was only because my best friends husband is a consultant I got sorted properly. I called him because the next day I was crying in pain, being sick, temp was even higher and my pee was just blood. He picked me up himself whilst he was on shift and I was admitted for just under two weeks, moved wards 5 times and my regular meds were forgotten about until I eventually had the courage to say something

I work in the NHS - often in A&E. It’s appalling. As a PP said no one goes to work not caring but we’re so exhausted we’re on our knees. I know patients aren’t getting the right care in a timely manner. I look at the corridors of old people on trolleys and I’ve cried - not for my workload but for the lack of dignity and care these people are receiving.
We’re so underfunded and every week there seems to be another cost saving exercise.
Im so sorry for your experience. It shouldn’t be this way. Use your vote!!!

No amount of money would miraculously turn an A&E into a walk in service to manage pain with no threat to life.

I console myself knowing if I was in a car crash or serious accident A&E would be able to help save my life.

@Thehonestbadger

People HAVE died whilst waiting in A&E. one poor woman arrived complaining of a terrible headache and was found under a coat 9 hours later following an aneurysm.

OP was in considerable pain which COULD have been caused by something life-threatening.

Your lack of empathy is sad. The system is broken, there should be no defending of it.

Banging our heads against a wall...especially after the A&e (I assume) consultant said nothing showed from the scan except constipation (she actually went to the toilet 5 mins after the scan). The junior would not even contemplate a scan...she was overheard saying her superior wouldn't be happy with her. Cons said Daughters amylase was raised but junior said it wasn't. Cons had her in the ct within 10 minutes after he came on shift at 8am. She had full bloods done at the docs Monday again but she has had them all done before. I'm at a loss at what I can do for her any more as my hands are tied and it's awful. She even wanted to pay for a private scan from her own bank account she's that desperate!

Mass immigration, an ageing population and the poor lifestyle choices of most in the UK over the last 20-30 years. What do you expect?

I regularly work in A&E. it is very clear what the issues are. Why do people continue to blame lack of funding when we have one of the most (if not THE most) well funded health services in the whole of Europe? Everyone thinks labour can do better? Where will the money come from? More money more money? Get real. Like I said, we have more money poured into the NHS than other European countries - they don't drink like we do and they don't eat like we do and they haven't become as overpopulated as we have.

Do you know what I see most? Alcohol and smoking related problems, obesity related issues (cause mobility issues and therefore falls in the elderly on a daily basis) and constipation and bowel issues which largely result from a diet incompatible with human health.

Nearly ten years ago I was treated in that A&E after being taken in by ambulance. Very different experience

That was 10 years ago. It isn't like that now.

@Lola2024 I'm not asking for it to be "a walk in service to manage pain with no threat to life". It was really, really scary as well as being the worst pain I've known. I've still got some pain, but have been pretty much fobbed off. Scan didn't show what one doctor thought it could be. Specialism doctor said, no, it's not that based on the scan, but wasn't interested in any further diagnostic tests because my pain had lessened.

No shit Sherlock!

Thats incorrect.

I ve used French and Spanish AE's over many years and ime it was a walk in service.

Don't be so sure if you were serious ill or in a car crash AE would save you, if they are dealing with other seriously ill patients, you will be kept in an ambulance... if one even arrived to to take you to AE....

Two people recently waited over 2 hours for an ambulance after a serious car crash, a woman died at the scene as no ambulance turned up at another incident.

Numerous people wait hours after heart attacks and strokes, you aren't special.

Thats a lie, we do not have the best funded AE in all of europe at all, its the opposite,as well you know.

All the issues you mention have not suddenly appeared, they were all predictable and should have been planned for.

They weren't, they were ignored and now we have the disaster we have in Hospitals.

Partner had the same experience and as a nurse herself was beyond horrified. Ignored, overlooked, aghast at how no one seemed to care; as she was sat on a chair for nine hours she doesn't even count in the statistics. Next time we're letting her have her near death experience at home. She only went to bloody A and E as she'd been advised to call an ambulance if she had six episodes of her condition on the same day. Registrar wanted to give her meds which are clearly contraindicated in the latest systematic review. She had to argue for him not to do it.