It seems silly to ask the question because presumably most people presenting at A&E are there because they feel they might have a life threatening problem, hence the word 'emergency' in the name of the department.
But I've always wondered how the reception staff deal with or spot genuinely time sensitive emergencies. I know it's not their job and that's what triage is for. But triage in my local hospital can take an hour, by which time anyone who is suffering a genuine medical emergency could be beyond help.
If someone were to run inside the department with a loved one and start calling out for help, would the reception staff immediately call for the doctors?
I remember one particular night that I found myself in A&E, a gentleman arrived crying out because of severe chest pain. They just asked him to wait in the waiting room. He continued crying out loudly whilst waiting to be triaged. He could've been in the throes of a heart attack.
Incidentally that same hospital has been named recently because someone died whilst waiting to be seen.
Does the TV version of bursting through the doors and being greeted by doctors thing ever happen? Or does that only really happen if you've called an ambulance to get there?
It's just something I've always wondered.