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.

Don’t be so naive.

What do you want A&E to do?

My understanding is that in A &E you get seen. You are assessed. If you are stable and there is no threat to life you get discharged to primary care to investigate further?

What would you like A&E to be?

Pain is scary and it’s a horrible experience however, A&E is not a replacement for primary care. Your GP needs to follow up with diagnostic tests it’s not A&E’s remit to do this beyond emergency intervention.

@impossiblesituations

Here are some facts about the NHS compared with other countries

I’ve lived in France and Spain and my experience of using their A&E’s is the same as here although less waiting time.

Exactly this - ^ . Remember labour and PFI.

As an 'elderly' person I am trying everything I can to avoid getting so ill that I need to go to A and E /hospital - even go to the GP.
People cannot help getting old and they deserve medical treatment but I do not believe for a minute that they are taking up beds in ICU un-necessarily - it does not happen as their condition is so severe they do not survive for long.

More people need to take care of their own health - part of the solution is in their hands.

I'd like A&E to be more compassionate and treat people like people rather than a number of bums on seats they want to get the hell out of there.

No one advised me to go to my GP. I was exhausted, frightened and told to go home with no answers, no plan. @Lola2024

@Alexandra2001 Do you have a link to back up that claim? I clearly read something the other day, reputable source, which said we did have one of the best funded health services in Europe. I will try to locate it. I've seen for myself how much money the NHS wastes, literally pours down the drain. More money isn't always the answer.

Could it have been planned for though? Could anyone have foreseen just how many people would go down the route of destroying their bodies? How it would become so mainstream to be completely unhealthy?

I've also seen with my own grandmother how much money is put into keeping elderly alive who have next to no quality of life. Years ago they'd have been allowed to die naturally.

In November 2010 the percentage of attendances in A&E admitted, discharged or transferred within 4 hours in all types of A&E was 97.3%.

That figure has dropped year on year.

A pp has already linked to that but here is another.....
https://www.health.org.uk/news-and-comment/charts-and-infographics/how-does-uk-health-spending-compare-across-europe-over-the-past-decade#:~:text=How%20does%20UK%20health%20spending%20compare%20over%20time%3F,18%25%20below%20the%20EU14%20average.

Impossiblesituations,you are correct, I was nursing over 40 years,a lot of time spent in the NHS, plus private sector,it doesn't need money thrown at it. Successive labour governments haven't solved the problems
My last post was a Hyper Acute stroke Unit, overweight people in their 30s, diabetic,drug, alcohol abusers were admitted demanding we "cure" them, because it was their right!! Health tourist,yup seen it all! Since Covid and the junior Dr strikes, you can't get a GP appointment,so people inevitably turn up at the ED. I recently had a bad fall, I still wasn't going to the hospital, but, eventually I was in agony,did 111. They booked me in, I was called to triage as soon as I got in the door. (Before anyone asks, I didn't tell them my work background!) I couldn't fault the treatment. There were whole families taking up 4 seats, when it wasn't necessary for them all to be there,chap complaining of back pain, demanding a CT, wife, adult kids in their 30s and 40s. When hospitals were run by Nursing officers and consultants,it worked, small cottage hospitals,more minor injury units. I always say I could run the NHS with one hand tied behind my back!

Some posters on this thread are lacking in empathy. If you work in the NHS please have a long, hard look at yourselves. I don't think I deserved to be in that situation in that pain and to be treated like that. No one in that packed waiting room deserved to be treated like that.

If you think that’s the answer then have a look at what the Labour government have done to the NHS in Wales…

The NHS needs a major overhaul by people who don’t have any vested interests or agendas. They need to go back to the drawing board and start again.

DF just spent 7 hours in the back of an ambulance with a confirmed broken hip. My local hospital have actually built a car park for ambulances…when did that become the solution?

@MotherOfGodWeeFella see your GP and get further diagnostic tests if you are in pain and suffering. They can also prescribe painkillers.

And OP, sorry for your experience. I will say that everyone we met was very kind and caring just under the cosh with too many patients and not enough beds to push throughput.

@MrsElijahMikaelson1 The NHS needs a major overhaul by people who don’t have any vested interests or agendas. They need to go back to the drawing board and start again.

Who do you suggest then?

@impossiblesituations Current overall figures look better for the UK because the Govt has included Covid spend... which obv a one off.

The govt should have known about obesity etc etc, thats what a good public health service should be monitoring & of course they should have policies to prevent this happening in the first place.

We currently have some of the fattest children in Europe, what is being done about this? nothing.

As life expectancy is now falling, i'm not sure we are prolonging the lives of the elderly at all.

This is simply untrue. Our health spend is considerably below other European countries. And your attitude is pretty appalling- the old, immigrants and those with poor lifestyle choices. You shouldn’t be working in healthcare with those attitudes.

That’s the problem the NHS staff are leaving!

What job do you do?

Have you any experience of working in healthcare?

Nobody deserves to be treated in a way that is lacking in empathy but what would you like to have been different, specifically?

So would I. Like I said, I work in A&E and have seen how cold some of the nurses are. However, they don't get a minute, it's a shit job and not particularly good pay unless you're agency. They are covering so many patients, they get doctors and sisters barking at them, patients complaining, they clean up piss, sick, blood and shjt. There's no time for a laugh and a chat with colleagues to break it up. And when you've seen so so many cases the same which are self inflicted maybe you switch off from caring any longer. I've been on the other side, with a sick child, waiting for hours with no acknowledgement or communication, only to be treated rudely at triage. I get it, but I just wanted to make the point here that it isn't just about money. The issue is the sheer number of people using resources in the UK now. I don't believe labour is going to magically fix the NHS. Where is the money going to come from? Can the NHS management direct those resources correctly? Or will more money just mean more wasted?

Sadly this is the way NHS is going and there is nothing we can do about it.

Its the same kind of waiting times when children go to hospital too. They dont have enough doctors/staff on duty.

My sister lives in Wales, her exp of the NHS is pretty much the same as mine in England...Wales isn't immune from decisions made in London & doesn't have its own migration policy or capital build programs.

What do you think the NHS should be? & how would you fund this reform, whilst still looking after current and future patients?

Exactly this-when the Drs and nurses actually ran things and had autonomy patients got treated. Now they have no power and are disenfranchised and the people managing healthcare are those who don’t understand it. They are managers who used to manage Sainsbury’s, offices etc. They have little knowledge of the actual process.

@runningonberocca Why are we not allowed to speak the truth? Do you not think an increased population and poor lifestyle choices affect the ability to offer a good service when you have limited resources?

It's a complex situation, but how can you say those are not massive factors?

A ton more money is needed for sure. And far better pay and conditions for doctors and nurses. But let's not pretend it's all about money. There is horrendous abuse of the system. Very many health conditions are linked to smoking, alcohol and obesity. And as in my experience, turn up at A & E on an evening or weekend and look at the percentage of drunk people.

System needs a complete rethink

An aging population also adds additional demand and strain on the NHS. Is aging self inflicted and a poor lifestyle choice?