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Original poster

A&E experience 8 hours wait

129 replies

marshmallowmix · 12/06/2025 13:31

Not been to A&E in a very long time....I am gobsmacked at what I saw. Liked we were into a war zone....

We waited 8 hours and gave up and went home at 5am as we had had no sleep and couldn't handle the wait time, we were sent after we saw the out of hours doctor at the hospital.

No update, so many people everywhere, place was not clean and had being patrolled by two security guards that looked like they had come form the Russian army...

Not a nice place to wait, so many people like it is madness....people sleeping on seats when did it get this bad.

We keep building little box flats near me 5 new developments which will add thousands to the area but the one hospital on its knees as is every other service but we keep building and no new hospitals/dentists/doctors/schools...

I despair at the utter state of the country... I knew it was bad but what I saw last night was horrific and eye opening....we are in serious decline much worse than I thought...the A&E visit just brought it all in to sharp focus...

I've since looked up the reviews of my A&E and they are terrible really terrible...it is very frightening to think when you are ill and vulnerable the standard of care and what is out there...🙁

OP posts:
soontobeconfirmed · 12/06/2025 13:32

If you were well enough to leave you probably didn't need A&E tbf.

It's shit but it's mostly filled up with people who didn't need to be there.

Pricelessadvice · 12/06/2025 13:34

It should be for accidents and emergencies. I bet 80% of the people there are neither of those.

If you can leave, you don’t need to be there.

SushiDisco · 12/06/2025 13:36

If people didn’t use a&e for an out of hours doctors it wouldn’t be half as bad as it is.

Interested in this thread?

Then you might like threads about this subject:

General health
fussygalore77 · 12/06/2025 13:38

Agree with other posters if you could leave you didn't need to be there.

Bimblebombles · 12/06/2025 13:39

They'd see you based on triage urgency though, so it wouldn't be an 8 hour wait if your condition was serious

BinBadger · 12/06/2025 13:40

It helps people feel better about the state of this to claim that everyone there didn't need to be.

But evidence shows that that's not true. People die waiting for medical assistance, people are left for hours without food, water, basic care, pain relief, toileting. There is no privacy, dignity or confidentiality possible in waiting rooms and corridors. Ambulance response times are awful too (watch the Ambulance docu series and see how frequently they have no one to send to a Cat 1 life threatening emergency, and how many hours elderly people are left lying in the floor with broken hips).

Many people attending may well be more suitably treated elsewhere, but elsewhere doesn't exist or have capacity either.

It's easier to blame the people who attend as a last resort when they are frightened, in pain, and exhausted from trying to seek help, than it is to admit that we are absolutely failing to provide what people need when they need it.

It is sad, and scary and frustrating as a tax payer to know that one day you may be desperate and that the help cannot be relied upon to come.

Original poster
marshmallowmix · 12/06/2025 13:41

I was with my partner and I wasn't the one who was ill....he was sent to the out of of hours doctor by 111 and they said go to A&E....

He has been seen by his G&P this morning and is very poorly.

The hospital was on it's knees we've not been in years and omg what has happened it is unbelievable!

Typical nasty comments turn on the OP oh you shouldn't have been there....yes we should the OOH doctor we saw at the hospital sent us to the A&E dept....and many walked out as they couldn't; wait 12 hours being given as timescales...the service is shocking!! Like something you'd see in the third world...it is a disaster!

OP posts:
reversegear · 12/06/2025 13:42

I’ve never been physically able to walk out of a&e so maybe you needed a different service, out of hours clinic or urgent GP appt.

Judiezones · 12/06/2025 13:43

Bimblebombles · 12/06/2025 13:39

They'd see you based on triage urgency though, so it wouldn't be an 8 hour wait if your condition was serious

My husband's condition was life threatening, he was taken in by ambulance, then told to sit in the waiting area so the ambulance crew could leave. He did so and waited 16 hours to be seen by a doctor. Luckily the paramedics had given him IV morphine before they left.

Original poster
marshmallowmix · 12/06/2025 13:43

BinBadger · 12/06/2025 13:40

It helps people feel better about the state of this to claim that everyone there didn't need to be.

But evidence shows that that's not true. People die waiting for medical assistance, people are left for hours without food, water, basic care, pain relief, toileting. There is no privacy, dignity or confidentiality possible in waiting rooms and corridors. Ambulance response times are awful too (watch the Ambulance docu series and see how frequently they have no one to send to a Cat 1 life threatening emergency, and how many hours elderly people are left lying in the floor with broken hips).

Many people attending may well be more suitably treated elsewhere, but elsewhere doesn't exist or have capacity either.

It's easier to blame the people who attend as a last resort when they are frightened, in pain, and exhausted from trying to seek help, than it is to admit that we are absolutely failing to provide what people need when they need it.

It is sad, and scary and frustrating as a tax payer to know that one day you may be desperate and that the help cannot be relied upon to come.

Edited

Exactly @BinBadger !

OP posts:
User75736256 · 12/06/2025 13:43

soontobeconfirmed · 12/06/2025 13:32

If you were well enough to leave you probably didn't need A&E tbf.

It's shit but it's mostly filled up with people who didn't need to be there.

Know someone who worked in A&E (children's dept) and she confirms that 80% of patients are never emergencies. Usually coughs and colds that can be treated with OTC meds but lots of families have the mistaken belief that you're not supposed to treat fevers. So they don't give any medicine until the child is crying from discomfort and then panic and run to A&E. If a doctor tells them to administer medicine then they do so but they've already clogged up the system in the process.

Growlybear83 · 12/06/2025 13:44

Surely you weren’t surprised at an eight hour wait? Barely a day goes by when you don’t hear something in the news or on forums such as this about very long A&E waits. If you’re ill enough to need emergency treatment then you will wait to be seen. I waited for nine hours in A&E last year after being referred by the out of hours doctor. It was fairly awful, but there wasn’t an alternative because it was a Saturday afternoon and I needed to see a doctor. I took some food, a couple of flasks of tea, a book, a phone charger, and a support for my back with me. I was finally seen at about 4am. The wait was exactly what I expected and I was just thankful that I was seen and treated when I needed it.

lovemycbf · 12/06/2025 13:46

I waited 15 hours In A&E recently (with many blood tests)and was eventually found a trolley to sleep on in a side room.
it was indeed utterly chaotic and on its knees trying to cope

Original poster
marshmallowmix · 12/06/2025 13:47

My partner has a high pain threshold he has taken a bullet he is ex army...he was in a lot of pain and he got given a paracetamol...the wait times were unbelievable...am horrified at what I saw...he needed a CT scan that was done after 7 hours then wait another 5 to get results so we left....he needed to lie down and not sit on a plastic chair he said he'd take his chances at home...

Stop defending the indefensible...it is horrific!

OP posts:
BinBadger · 12/06/2025 13:47

Growlybear83 · 12/06/2025 13:44

Surely you weren’t surprised at an eight hour wait? Barely a day goes by when you don’t hear something in the news or on forums such as this about very long A&E waits. If you’re ill enough to need emergency treatment then you will wait to be seen. I waited for nine hours in A&E last year after being referred by the out of hours doctor. It was fairly awful, but there wasn’t an alternative because it was a Saturday afternoon and I needed to see a doctor. I took some food, a couple of flasks of tea, a book, a phone charger, and a support for my back with me. I was finally seen at about 4am. The wait was exactly what I expected and I was just thankful that I was seen and treated when I needed it.

That's exactly the point though. We shouldn't be grateful for such a poor service in one of the richest countries in the world.

It is not appropriate for very sick people to wait 9 hours and be seen at 4am - a long wait and depriving someone of rest and care at their sickest can have life impacting negative consequences at worst, and impairs recovery at best.

We all deserve better, we could have better if the system was properly resources and managed.

cadburyegg · 12/06/2025 13:51

I once waited 16 hours in A&E with a former friend who was just given antibiotics, she could have got those from her GP. It wasn’t even a weekend. Like other people have said they will not keep you that long if it’s a genuine emergency, as long as you have been triaged correctly.

What we need is more minor injury units and GP appointments.

UniqueRedSquid · 12/06/2025 13:54

8 hours isn’t a lot now. Last time I was sent I took a flask and sandwiches, bottle of water, phone charger, AirPods and paracetamol. The state of emergency services is in the news constantly, it didn’t come as a shock.

I needed an x-ray to confirm a fracture. It wasn’t urgent. I waited my turn.

When I had anaphylaxis, I was through the door and in the resuscitation room immediately. They triage according to need.

ShuffleHopStepForgetStep · 12/06/2025 13:54

I think the "you didn't need to be there" mentality is far too harsh now. You are very ill and see a GP and they tell you to go to a&e, what do you do?

An elderly family member with cancer was recently sent to a&e when they saw the GP for a different ailment being made worse by the cancer treatment, and it had reached the point of acute pain. They were triaged at around the 3hr mark, but they were in various waiting rooms for 26 hours while this team and that team asked for scans (6hr wait just for that) and blood tests etc and everyone faffed around with the results and paperwork. They wouldn't admit them to a ward, they wouldn't make an appointment for them to come back to discuss results, if they left it was back to the end of the queue, three to a tiny assesment bay with chairs overnight. They wouldn't even get them a blanket as they had run out apparently. They were too scared to ask to move away from the bloke doing seriously loud and dodgy dealings on his phone. I was absolutely horrified when I heard all of this, I can't believe people are not treated like this nowadays.

Sending good wishes to you and your husband, I hope you get some answers soon x

Growlybear83 · 12/06/2025 14:05

BinBadger · 12/06/2025 13:47

That's exactly the point though. We shouldn't be grateful for such a poor service in one of the richest countries in the world.

It is not appropriate for very sick people to wait 9 hours and be seen at 4am - a long wait and depriving someone of rest and care at their sickest can have life impacting negative consequences at worst, and impairs recovery at best.

We all deserve better, we could have better if the system was properly resources and managed.

Show quote history

I agree we deserve better, but we are stuck with an NHS that is really struggling at the moment, and we have no choice but to manage with a poor service until the government of the day makes enough investment and changes to the system. It’s far from ideal to have to wait until 4 am to be seen, but we all know that there are very long waits in A&E and shouldn’t be surprised when we arrive and find out there is a nine hour wait. In my case, I know I was seen before many other people who arrived at a similar time to me because of my problem, but going to a major A&E in a busy area in London on a Saturday evening really couldn’t have been much worse timing 😆

PacificState · 12/06/2025 14:05

I don’t understand what the snide responses (‘you shouldn’t have been there’) are supposed to achieve. They certainly fly in the face of official advice from NHS clinicians and 111. The last time I was at A&E it was because my partner had had minor maxfac day surgery; his aftercare sheet explicitly told him to go to A&E with any pain and bleeding. Sure enough, at 10pm he was in loads of pain and bleeding copiously. Obviously, when we got there, there was no maxfac specialist that night in A&E and they told him to just keep swallowing mouthfuls of blood and to go home. Fabulous experience all round.

Anyone with a brain can understand that A&E is no good for minor stuff (I had repeated gallstone attacks earlier this year and didn’t bother going), but the point is there is no sodding alternative, and half the time we are DIRECTED to A&E by other NHS services. When I told my gastroenterologist that I hadn’t gone to A&E with my gallstone attacks he told me I was taking silly chances with my health.

A&E is not fucking working, and whoever’s to blame (government for underfunding, voters for refusing to accept the need for tax rises) it’s pointless to blame people who turn up at 3am wanting medical care. Most of us aren’t doing that for a laugh.

MyUmberSeal · 12/06/2025 14:09

Judiezones · 12/06/2025 13:43

My husband's condition was life threatening, he was taken in by ambulance, then told to sit in the waiting area so the ambulance crew could leave. He did so and waited 16 hours to be seen by a doctor. Luckily the paramedics had given him IV morphine before they left.

Show quote history

But if his condition was properly full on life threatening in that moment, they would have treated him sooner…. Surely! The fact he made it through the 16 hours says they didn’t deem his condition an immediate life threatening emergency. It’s still a shit state of affairs but, that how things are now.

MyHouseInThePrairie · 12/06/2025 14:12

Pricelessadvice · 12/06/2025 13:34

It should be for accidents and emergencies. I bet 80% of the people there are neither of those.

If you can leave, you don’t need to be there.

That’s not true though.

A family member ended up in A&E, following the advice of 111.
Yes she walked out at the end of it. That’s because she wasn’t unwell enough to be admitted but not well enough to not be admitted either.
So she went back home with regular check ups at ED (booked appointments) in the following days.

There are many reasons why people end up in A&E. It’s not just accidents and heart attacks. We need to stop making people feel guilty about it. The only thing that will happen is people not seeking help when they need.

MyHouseInThePrairie · 12/06/2025 14:15

cadburyegg · 12/06/2025 13:51

I once waited 16 hours in A&E with a former friend who was just given antibiotics, she could have got those from her GP. It wasn’t even a weekend. Like other people have said they will not keep you that long if it’s a genuine emergency, as long as you have been triaged correctly.

What we need is more minor injury units and GP appointments.

My son was in A&E and came out ‘just with antiobiotics’. They were worried about sepsis initially hence the visit.
But yay, just ABs. Nothing to see. Never mind that waiting the night might well have been fatal.

FeltCarrot · 12/06/2025 14:16

soontobeconfirmed · 12/06/2025 13:32

If you were well enough to leave you probably didn't need A&E tbf.

It's shit but it's mostly filled up with people who didn't need to be there.

I felt well enough to leave A&E when I was advised to go there a few months ago ago. I’d be dead now if I had done.

HatsOffToThePigeons · 12/06/2025 14:19

MyUmberSeal · 12/06/2025 14:09

But if his condition was properly full on life threatening in that moment, they would have treated him sooner…. Surely! The fact he made it through the 16 hours says they didn’t deem his condition an immediate life threatening emergency. It’s still a shit state of affairs but, that how things are now.

Show quote history

It's A+E not the labour ward, you're not supposed to wait until you're 6cm from death before you go.
Lots of illnesses can progress past the point of no return in 16 hours, and being seen in a timely manner could be the difference between someone surviving or not, or someone having permanent damage/secondary damage or not. There are endless examples of this in the news. Just because someone can wait hours upon hours to be seen doesn't mean they shouldn't be in A+E or the hospital would just send everyone home once the wait time got past their 5 hour target.