to think there should be a vending machine in A&E?

[princelypurpleparrot]

and not a good five minute walk away in a completely different part of the hospital?!

Was there today, unfortunately. Our wait wasn't too bad, thankfully, but I've been before and had to wait 3-4 hours. They've recently moved to a new building, and they have a water fountain, that's it. We had to leave the house in such a rush that I had no time to pack snacks etc and I was starving after an hour or so. Thankfully DH was there so I could go off on a search for food but if it'd been just me and DS we would have been stuck.

Surely, in a dept where a 4 hour wait is normal, there needs to be somewhere to buy a snack, at least???

Not offering refreshments to a breastfeeding woman is mad though.

Our local peads a and e will always provide food for the children who are in there. When I have taken DS in the last thing on my mind is food for me - I think the staff on the ward have realised that as they always make me toast when we are settled on the ward!

I appreciate that if you have supper at 7.30, miss breakfast at 7am and don't get home until 1pm, that it is longer than four hours to go without food but I often am so busy in the mornings with two teenagers and me to get out of the house by 8am that I miss breakfast at least twice a week and it does me no harm. I probably miss lunch once a week and that does me no harm either. In my experience, when my dc have been to a&e they can't eat because they are too ill or might need surgery and I would not eat in front of them in those circumstances. On the occasions they have been admitted, once I have got them settled there is usually a cafe somewhere from which to grab a sandwich or the nurses on the ward have been kind enough to offer me something.

I just don't see a lack of vending machines, providing there is water, as a problem at all.

But if you're in A&E the chances are that you've not eaten for hours anyway. What about the poor old lady who falls on the floor at home? She may have been waiting hours for someone to find her, then she has to wait in A&E, then wait on the ward, so it may be a day before she's given anything to eat. Water just won't cut it I'm afraid. I also haven't been in an A&E department which has a water dispenser.

A and E will be able to feed her, despite the horror stories (that I am not denying exist) they don't generally leave patients to starve!

Every A&E department I've been in in the last ten years has had a water dispenser.

I used to work in A&E. There's no water dispensers as patients are not encouraged to drink in case they need surgery. If the little old lady has broken her hip she won't have food or drink.

There is loads of vending machines in my local A & E, but never seen anyone using them.

Our hospitial is in the arse of nowhere on the edge of town, if you walked to the nearest shop it would take a min of 30 minutes just to get there.

My son got taken in for surgery on a Sunday evening, I was in hospitial with him for a total of 20 hours and wasnt even offered a cup of tea, I didnt have any money on me as it was a mad dash, I had just enough money in my pocket to buy a bottle of coke which lasted me the 20 hours. I was starving when I got home!

I see it's still a contentious issue then! As bf has been mentioned, I also had DS2 with me who is still bf (though is being weaned). Actually he fed loads when we were there, maybe because he was also stressed and tired. So that probably made my hunger worse.

I know, I know, at my age I should be able to manage being hungry for a while but I'm sooooooooooooooo bad at it. I was kept NBM for ages a week before DS2 was born as there was a high chance I was going to be sent down for a c-section. I couldn't string a sentence together, my mind completely went. When they finally told me it wasn't happening and I could eat, I practically ate the bed! Pathetic, I know, but I've always been like that.

I just didn't think to pack snacky things in my handbag when the ambulance arrived to take us to A&E. Would have been nice to be able to get her a little something while we waited.

'A and E will be able to feed her, despite the horror stories (that I am not denying exist) they don't generally leave patients to starve!'

We got to A&E at around 1PM. DD1 wasn't seen and then transferred to a ward till around 8. At 8.30 I was told she had cancer and we were moved to the oncology unit. 10PM before she got a sarnie to eat.

I had to send Ds off to get something for me to eat last week. No one asked, no one offered. 5 hours in A&E, 5 hours in another department. They don't seem to realise just how long patients wait in other departments, so they do actually leave patients without food or drinks.

Ladysibil - did you ask someone for something?

Yup. 'Erm...I'll just find out for you...I'm not sure if you're allowed.' I didn't see that nurse again. Lucky I had ds with me.

With out sounding smug I have a hospital bag packed, I have spent too many hours down a&e starving and thirsty to not go without it.

In there is food and drinks, new pj for me and 2 DC clean underwear and the emergency taxi fare there and back.

It doesn't sound smug if you're used to it. I sure as hell wasn't and once we were admitted, we didn't get out again for 3 months.

red bull expat?

Expat

Once she got a room, I lived on coffee and rip off brands of Red Bull and especially in ICU where no hot drinks were allowed. Own brand Red Bull it was!

DD1 hated the 'food' in hospital, so I wound up sneaking her a lot of stuff which she wasn't technically allowed being in strict iso so often. We had access to a kitchen with a microwave, so I got us lots of ready meals and stuff that could be made with a kettle.

We both lost loads of weight. She didn't need to lose any, though.

Plenty of vending in the waiting room of our A&E. Luckily, since last time I spent 12 hours with ds and couldn't leave him for more than the 90 seconds it took to run to the vending machine for more peanut m&m's.

Mars bar drink :)

Mars bar drink :)