Health Anxiety clogging up A&E

[Influencerofcrap]

Im really pleased that finally someone within the NHS has come out and said this.

Having been treated myself in A&E, in the corridor (outside triage) due to lack of cubicles, I was genuinely shocked at the amount of patients that attended who shouldn’t have been there. I’m not talking about those that were genuinely ill and couldn’t see the GP and had no other choice but the ones that were clearly anxious about their health and symptoms that didn’t warrant an A&E visit. They were all sent on their way but it still was time that was taken away from those patients that genuinely needed help. I wonder what the answer is to this, because something has to change.

Health anxiety not emergencies clogging-up A&E

You can alway contact 111. You can always Google for advice regarding where to go for what. There are UTC all over the place. What are you not understanding?

I find 111 useless & over cautious.
It's not about me, it's about having an awareness that people are different & have different experiences.

I'm surprised if you had pneumonia that you weren't breathless. Obviously being breathless is something that may necessitate A& E..

I wasn't breathless, I was nauseous though but I was also pregnant. Ended up on oxygen & IV antibiotics for 5 days. I had a chest infection prior but couldn't get a GP appointment.

We are talking about the aches and pains, the back pains for 6 months, the coughs and colds. See your nurse at the practice for a review!

Again I don't know people who go to A&E for this but I am aware that not everyone can get an appointment.

We have a fair few A&E docs/surgeons amongst family & friends and they think a lot of the issue is GP access. You can disagree though.

I have moved & have a really great surgery now.

In my country you just go to the hospital if you want to be checked, sit outside and wait. Usually not many queueing. If you need to give birth, you just go. That is it. You have to be seen, you will be seen. These little numbers the NHS is playing is very random

And yet again lol.

Not all serious chronic conditions have the chance of having specialists appointments and specialists teams.

Try to have ME or LC for example.
Ive never seen a consultant ever.
And yet I have a friend who ended up in A&E many times with chest pain etc… couldn’t find anything (bar raised blood level showing heart attach but ECG ok so all good apparently).
She was sent there by 111.
And yet still there are no specialist there to support her. ‘It’s just LC. And btw have you tried a bit of relaxation?’ Head tilt.

you need blood sample, go to the laboratory, it is taken. What is so much of a fuss you are making

Do you not claim PIP for your anxiety? It's meant to be used for things like paying for private therapy - that's what my family member with anxiety does.

Also in my country you just can buy antibiotics and any other medication. As long as I remember , only mental illness drugs were regulated. So people did not go to a and e but tried the medication from the pharmacy first and it usually helped if it not was a cancer etc. Your country is such a nanny state. You cannot fart without having to send a record of it somewhere. Who made this lovely country such a place.

Not the threads I’ve read! “A&E now” every time a child has a bump on the head - I’d have lived there if I’d done that when my kids were little 🙄

Not in the UK.

But lots of people have serious chronic conditions. They are managed by speciality teams at hospitals and/or specialist nurses.

😆

It works if you have an income that means you can use PIP for that.
Mist people use it to eat.

Are you on anti-d's for anxiety? There are a lot of meds available from your GP for anxiety. You should not be wasting the time of A and E, people are dying in corridors because they're so overwhelmed.

No, my GP won't see me! I also don't run to A&E every time I feel anxious - but if I am unwell, I will go.

It is not my fault that is happening. It is the fault of the conservative governments who stripped the NHS to its bones for the last 14 years.

The point is though, how does someone know ots health anxiety and not serious?
It’s not because you have health anxiety that ALL your symptoms are due to that!!

we have a friend who is a GP and 20 years ago he was complaining that the vast majority of his time was taken up by a handful of healthy patients who wanted reassurance or cures for things where having sleep and a few pills would be the best action.
we have one in the family, her own dad is a GP and yet she goes and asks for antibiotics for a cold because they ‘make her feel better’. Because she has zero interest in managing it herself, she wants a magic pill.

Clearly we need better alternatives to A&E. I was sad when our surgery got rid of the nurse practitioner as they can take a lot of the small issues. The out of hours doctors also closed. I think a lot of people just want to go speak to someone and check they’re okay.

Ridiculous comments about anxiety not being treated any decent GP will be able to treat you. very very rare cases do not respond to medication. My local hospital will triage such people into a GP nurse lead section. It’s packed out with people who shouldn’t be there basically but no one chooses to wait seven or eight hours to see a nurse if they get decent GP service at home.

No, because I don't have difficulty with daily tasks etc, so I am not eligible.

You don’t need PIP for anxiety you need proper medication and your ability to take practical advice and the wish to change and the belief that things can change

The thing is there just isn't the provision. I referred to talking therapies and got told I wasn't eligible.

What an ignorant comment. GP's vary widely in their treatment of anxiety. Anxiety meds have horrible side effects too.
Medication is not a "cure" for mental health issues, it often doesn't work or it changes the person who takes it.
But thats okay right, we've been given something, now we should go away and shut up. Jeez!

So frustrating that yet again the problems of an abysmal, failing system are blamed on the public.

Before talking therapy will work if you have clinical anxiety you need to get that down via medication to a level where you can benefit from talking therapy.

Ah, THAT'S what ive done wrong! I just need to believe that I don't have anxiety!

You may want to Google the Darzi Report 2024 and the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ response to the Darzi report.

That’s true but that has ALWAYS been the case.
It’s not always an issue with health anxiety. It’s an issue with isolation, lack of social care etc…. Aka societal issue because people are left to fend for themselves on their own in the name of personal responsibility

It’s just more visible because the NHS is in its knees.