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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think that no wonder the NHS A&E depts waiting time is bad, there are so many timewasters.

344 replies

CalicoBlue · 21/03/2015 18:46

I just spent the afternoon (3 hours) in Urgent Care/A&E with DS. I have not been to A&E in over 12 years and was really surprised at all the reasons people were there for. Granted if it had not been the weekend I would have gone to my GP, but my son's condition meant he needed to be seen today.

We were sat very close to the welcome window, so I heard every new person come in. There were so many people there who should not have been. The nurse kept asking people if they had seen their GP, so many said no.

One girl said that she had been there last week had been given antibiotics for a water infection and it had not gone so she wanted to see the doctor again, the nurse said that she should have made an appointment for her doctor and that urgent care was not to come to instead of the GP. There were at least two that had lost prescriptions given by their GP so wanted UC to replace them and would not take no for an answer. It went on an on, another person came in with his father who had an ongoing leg problem, the nurse tried to explain that he needed to see his GP, but he did not have one as he was on holiday and wanted to get his leg sorted before he went home again, they did tell him that they would not see him and he would not get the operation he said he wanted on the NHS.

I estimated that at least one third of the people coming there could have been seen by their GP. There were lots who did need to be seen, and lots of sick kids, but they had to wait so long. I felt quite guilty for being and taking up the doctors time.

OP posts:
Notrevealingmyidentity · 21/03/2015 18:48

If they keep seeing them people will keep doing it though. So they need to send more away.

Icedfinger · 21/03/2015 18:51

YANBU my DH works in A and E. His mantra is Accident and Emergency not Anything and Everything.

They do turn people away at the point of triage sometimes or ring the GP and send them there. But even the process of them waiting and being triaged takes valuable time.

Sparklingbrook · 21/03/2015 18:53

I sat in A&E with DS1 last year, he had broken his knee. Not many waiting, but it started filling up. Everyone walking in and talking to the person on the desk themselves, and then walking down to triage. Nobody had any signs of illness or injury. Confused

Sounds like patient confidentiality is a bit awry where you were Calico. Sad

Viviennemary · 21/03/2015 18:54

Charge everyone £25 to go to A & E. That will get the queues down in no time at all.

Sparklingbrook · 21/03/2015 18:55

that's the parking charge at our hospital give or take Vivienne Sad Grin

PumpkinPie2013 · 21/03/2015 18:55

YANBU! My dad was a senior A&E nurse for years and often had people coming in with very minor things that could have waited or been dealt with by a walk in centre (or similar ) or people who had ongoing issues that a GP could deal with.
The numerous drunks who arrived every Friday and Saturday night didn't help either.

Problem is, they can't refuse to see anyone so if people turn up and are willing to wait they have to be seen.

It really irritates me - people should think before they go to A&E.

Cantbelievethisishappening · 21/03/2015 18:56

Given how difficult it is for some people to get a sodding GP appointment perhaps they felt they had no choice.

And since when are you in a position to judge the reasons why people are going to A&E based on sitting in the waiting area eavesdropping.

Cantbelievethisishappening · 21/03/2015 18:58

....and then walking down to triage. Nobody had any signs of illness or injury.

Idiotic comment.
My daughter managed to walk in with leukaemia Hmm

Debinaround · 21/03/2015 18:59

UANBU.

My FIL had a nasty fall over Christmas and had to go to A&E. He had to wait 4 hours to be seen. One of the nurses told him that they get a lot of people in over Christmas who have nothing wrong with them, they are just lonely over the festive period so call them selves an ambulance and get admitted for a bit of company! Shock

spoonjarjarspoonjar · 21/03/2015 18:59

The problem is that for many people accessing a GP isn't always easy or possible.

I think the NHS in our area scored a massive own goal when they closed down the walk-in GPs. It was brilliant.

The problem is in my view that there are a whole host of issues that are not emergencies but that cannot wait for a GPs either, such as serious back pain which might require more then over the counter pain killers for example.

Also I've been sent to A&E a few times with my DS and for my own conditions when I've called NHS Direct (or whatever it's called these days) when I've had the misfortune to fall ill on a weekend. In my opinion I should have been sent to an out of hours GP but they don't seem to do that anymore.

SoMuchForSubtlety · 21/03/2015 19:00

If there were more minor injury clinics and more walk in centres and it was possible to see any GP not just the one you register with then I think fewer people would go to A&E.

Notrevealingmyidentity · 21/03/2015 19:00

Admittedly I once got a slight telling off for using a minor injuries...

I'd injured my foot (as far as I was aware and it bloody hurt but was improving a bit after about a week - still quite painful if I walked on it wrong but I had to do a 3 hour drive in the next few days and really wanted it checked out). I thought I'd done it walking (as I'd been doing an 8 hour walking thing) but since I hadn't fallen or gone over ( to my recollection anyway) the guy said it wasn't really an injury and probably should have been a GP job. Blush

Not as bad as some of the above. I knew it wasn't an a and e job but I thought minor injuries would have been ideal Confused

ClashCityRocker · 21/03/2015 19:03

Last time we went to a and e (on the ooh gps advice) someone came in with toothache.

It was 1am on a Saturday morning ffs!

They did turn him away though. We actually had a very positive experience - were seen quickly, dh admitted quickly etc. I think we waited about twenty minutes. It was a bit of a wake up call when I went past the vacancies board on the way out to see what a HCA earns - for all that they do, and deal with, it's a bloody pittance.

ClashCityRocker · 21/03/2015 19:04

I do think out of hours provision needs to be improved massively though, and that would take some of the strain from a&e.

ShouldIworryornothelp · 21/03/2015 19:04

Yanbu but saying that you would no doubt have said my dc shouldn't have been there the other month when they were chopsing off at the drs and making everyone laugh. To your eyes they'd have been well but actually were having an asthma attack and had to be put on a nebuliser in majors, they just found talking easier than breathing!

wigglybeezer · 21/03/2015 19:08

i took DS's to A&e on Thursday evening as he had broken a finger at Rugby training and the minor injuries unit closes at 9. A&E only had 2 or 3 people in the waiting area, it was the same last time I used it. I think it is because the local minor injuries units are in more convenient locations as they are in town, whereas the hospital is new and in a more isolated location ( free parking though!). We seem to be lucky.

hellhasnofurylikeahungrywoman · 21/03/2015 19:09

DD often walks in but has oxygen saturations in the mid 80s, she can walk, talk (just about) and looks ok but that's partly because she is so fit. She is often triaged straight through to majors and I get left giving her details in at the desk. The ability to walk and talk is not indicative of a person who does not require urgent treatment.

Sirzy · 21/03/2015 19:10

In general you are not being unreasonable BUT the system doesn't help.

DS has a small op recently, I took the dressing off as directed and noticed that it hasn't healed correctly. It was an evening so I took him to the walk in GP, without even looking at it they said they couldn't do anything and to go to a and e. They were great and re dressed it for us but it was a waste of A and e time really.

petalunicorn · 21/03/2015 19:11

I agree it's not what A&E is for but perhaps the NHS should change and respond to patient demand. People can't get GP appointments, they can't get time off work within GP opening hours. They would rather wait 4+ hours at the hospital then engage with the GP system. We need walk in GP surgeries where you don't need to register and with long opening hours.

mariamin · 21/03/2015 19:12

If your son would have been fine being seen by a GP, then you were in exactly the same situation as those you are criticising. There are many illnesses that can not wait to be seen for a few days, but would be fine being seen by a GP. The real issue is that the Government allowed GPs to buy themselves out of providing out of hours healthcare. It was an expensive and stupid mistake.

Incidentally, the idea of charging people to go to A & E would lead to deaths. I am one of those people who would not call an ambulance unless I was dying. I requested a home visit from the nurse a month ago. She came to my house and immediately dialled for an ambulance for me.

ShouldIworryornothelp · 21/03/2015 19:12

I pissed everyone off with one of my admissions

I'd been to ooh who sent me to a&e (still had to be triaged though) packed Friday night waiting room I walk in looking very healthy and straight into triage, sit down for 5 mins (can hear everyone muttering about queue jumpers) then called straight into majors Grin DH said as he walked back into waiting area that someone kicked off big time about it.

Another instance of walking and talking not being indicative of being healthy

Sparklingbrook · 21/03/2015 19:14

The people who I saw IIRC walked in alone checked themselves in and went to sit down. I apologise if I have caused offence, I didn't mean that at all.

I would have thought in all the time we were there someone with obvious injuries like DSs would have arrived. But they didn't.

I would hope that anyone needing very urgent attention would be fast tracked through asap but we were all sitting together for ages with nobody being called through with any urgency.

LadySybilLikesSloeGin · 21/03/2015 19:16

A lot of people can't get GP appointments, that's why they go to A&E. Here you have to call up at 8am. There's one phone line, 12,000 patients so if 1% all need a GP appointment that's 120 people all calling at 8am to try to see their GP. A lot of patients try calling throughout the day, day after day and give up. That's if you're not working. If you do work and you can't call at 8am what are you supposed to do? I'm lucky, I live 5 minutes away from my GP so I can pop in and make an appointment, which is a hell of a lot quicker then calling. GP's take on more and more patients because they are told they have too, so these 12,000 just gets bigger. It's not always the patient's fault that they end up in A&E, it's a crap system which doesn't work.

herethereandeverywhere · 21/03/2015 19:16

A&E has become the overflow point for every other service: mental health, social care for the elderly, OOH GPs, GPs generally when appointments take so long, maternity and post natal care (I had first hand experience of the latter).

When cuts have been made all over the place people are drawn to the one thing that can't close/that is still staffed. It's appalling.

kbbeanie · 21/03/2015 19:18

YANBU there is a lot of timewasters at a&e depts i am pretty sure of that but YABU to judge people on how they appear.
and the girl with the water infection that could be an emergency. I had a bad water infection had 2 antibiotics it didnt clear was getting more painful and was sent to a&e by the gp on a saturday night who discharged me and said i was fine (sure its only a water infection hardly life threatening) 6 hours later i was rushed in again by ambulance unconcious with the onset of septecemia because the water infection had spread to my kidneys and caused a serious infection which was spreading in my blood stream ! I was in hospital extremely ill for over a week !

So you cannot judge how unwell a person is or their right to be there...thats up to the doctors to judge !