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

[CalicoBlue]

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.

I think gp care out of hours is often diffcult to access which compounds the problem.

I'be been to a&e a few times and the decision as to whether it is needed is not always easy.

Years ago we went on a day trip to Brighton and toddler ds2 shut 4 year old ds1's finger in the loo door on the pier. In those days the doors were horrid, shut really tight and ds1's finger was a mess. If I had have been near to home I probably would have come home and assessed it myself but we weren't, I was on my own with 2 screaming children and needed it dressing. A&e were brilliant actually and I think we made the right decision although all it really needed was cleaning and dressing, they did x Ray it though.

I've fallen a couple of times and had to take myself to a&e too. The last time I came off my bike and was unconscious for a short time. I came to and cycled home, confused and In pain before calling nhs direct as it was then. They told me to go to a&e and when I got there, the triage nurse asked why I hadn't called an ambulance The idea never entered my head actually, partly out of confusion and partly because it never occurred to me. I could move so I did.

That is true kb so I apologise again. This was one snapshot of an hour or two at A&E last year.
We trust the HCPs to judge what is urgent and what isn't after all.

I don't think anybody should be able to hear the people checking in though, there's a line at ours you have to stand behind before being called forward and the chairs are over the other side.

shouldi we have had that a number of times with DS, some people just don't seem to understand how triage systems work

They need to site Minor injuries, and an out of hours GP in A&E, reception and triage then send you to the right room. One stop shop.

I think part of the problem is that it is so difficult to get a doctors appointment, when you are poorly. My dr's surgery operates a policy where you have to ring at 8.30, to be in with a chance of having an appointment that day. If you miss that window, you have to wait until the next day.

My DD and I have had to use the out of hours GP service and a&e many times, as we've simply not been able to get in to see the GP. (DD has asthma, I had C before anyone moans we're abusing the system).

Where I live they are wanting to close the A&E department, which means we will need to travel to the nearest town. This will bring more issues at the other hospital A&E department, however the local NHS proposal to this solution is to offer more out of hours services - but thetre already busy and we only have 1 walk in centre that's open during the week.

Yes I agree that some people abuse the system (a&e) but feel that if there were more walk in centres, and out of hour GP services it would help with the minor issues.

Oh and I managed to walk into hospital when I had cancer, so OP that really is a judgemental comment to make! (Wags finger!)

In the last few years before the end of the Labour Government, I had noticed a real change in the A&E Department. It was relatively quiet and you were seen and treated very quickly. Things have got much worse again. And it is because A&E end up dealing with all of the failures of other services.

The GP system is a joke that's why people go to A&E instead.

I get sent to A&E quite a lot and it's. It through choice. Once I've exhausted all my pain relief what I have at home I phone either my gp, ooh or 111. One of the gp's in my surgery will try and help but the other tells me to go straight to a&e same with the ooh and 9 times out of 10 111 will call a ambulance. The fact is all I need is stronger pain relief. I'm on the max gp can prescribe. They don't seem to understand if someone can just give something to get my pain under control I'll be fine. saying that last time I was in a&e I heard the doctor talk to a young lady next to me and he asked her when was the last time you took paracetamol and she said about 8 this morning it was gone 10 on the night and she was laughing and joking around. I'm not saying she didn't have a illness which you could not see but I would've thought you would Max out on pain relief before you went. I think gp, ooh, 111 and A&E need to work together more to stop this.

I was in majors with my 5 month old, he had a fit, we had to wait over an hour for a ambulance to come In the First place.
We would have drove him there ourselves but was told not to.
While there it was full to the brim, people on trollys in the gang way, elderly walking around not knowing where they were.

A&E was in an awful state, feel for the staff.

I think when you ring 111 (what used to be NHS Direct) and they go through their questions list a lot of them result in 'go to A&E' because they can't be too careful.

A&E waiting times are actually pretty good. More than 9 out of 10 people will be seen and treated in 4 hours. And you pay nothing for that. It's an amazingly GOOD service. But it's defined by the government and media as a failure.

The truth is most A&E departments could achieve over 95% if they had the demand they were managing 5 years ago. But they don't. The pressure and the volume is quite simply unbelievable.

Also I think it's important we save our NHS from privatisation. Things will get far worse if it's sold off. So please consider signing this petition to help save the nhs!

you.38degrees.org.uk/efforts/save-our-nhs/near/new

Yes the Conservatives are running down the NHS, so they can justify privatising it.

I've been to A&E 3 times with DS [twice by ambulance] and I have been surprised by how healthy some people seem? I think it had a lot to do with my expectations though!

I naively expected it to be like a scene from ER and thankfully I haven't seen anything too untoward. of course I am not a doctor and I have no idea who should or shouldn't be in A&E but no-one looked obviously "unwell"

2 of the 3 times we were there have been as a precaution so technically we shouldn't have been there!

Yes, but how long are people having to wait to see a bloody GP?

It's completely appalling. My dad was in A&E with a suspected stroke in Cardiff a few weeks ago. He waited for 9 hours on a trolley, and he's a dementia patient. In the end they sent him home as it probably wasn't a stroke. My mum was fuming at the things she was hearing from people who had come through the door.

Water infections can be serious. I've been hospitalised with urinary problems and have been to A&E dozens of times for emergency bladder scans with infections. Last time I was in I was whipped in, skipped triaging and spent 3 nights with a catheter on a urology ward.

I've also been to A&E with - thrush, believe it or not. I think if people knew that they'd have thought I wasting time however what no one else knew was that I had an inch long internal laceration from scratching in my sleep, that was infected... Needed prescriptions for all sorts that had to be ordered specifically as even a massive Boots didn't stock them

Don't always go by what people tell the receptionists, I wouldn't tell them the full story and I'm sure others don't either. They aren't medically qualified and it's not always any of their business.

The Conservatives did exactly the same the last time they were in power though, IIRC. Sick people don't make money so why should they invest in public services/the NHS?

I must admit we have a joint A&E, minor injuries and accident and emergency service up here which is about 300 times easier. You tell a receptionist what's vaguely wrong and then get sent to triage, who decide if you see a GP, go to the emergency cubicles, or see a nurse practitioner. So much faster and easier - it's just ambulance admissions that clock up a bit.

I have had the opposite. I took my son to A&E for a burn. When it needed redressing I rang the GP. A&E had said to do so and to go back to them if GP wouldn't. GP wouldn't even see him. A&E nurse snootily told me off when I took DS back. Also, every time my DC have been hurt in an accident the surgery refused to see them so I had to go to A&E.

I wouldn't want to tell the receptionist a thing if I knew other people could hear.

Last time I used A&E was a couple of years ago. My GP sent me in because I had a heavy period. I'd lost just over half of my blood volume in 6 hours so it was pretty bad.

I walked and talked into my GP the day after a fall, he sent me for an x Ray who then sent me to A&E. Sorry if I offended anyone by walking and talking into all of those places with a broken arm. Perhaps I should have got myself a wheelchair for credibility? How silly to judge how ill a person is based on their ability to walk and talk!

The seriously ill people don't sit and wait, they go straight to resus so perhaps pp expects to see paramedics doing CPR or people bleeding out all over the floor?

I wasn't expecting to use valuable A&E time, just doing what I was told. Like many of the attendees. NHS 111 is dire and we as a population need re-educating about using A&E.

My hospital's a&e department does triage too. You see the triage nurse before they send you on your way or to the out of hours surgery, or into a&e. They also send you for X-rays prior to waiting for a&e. They do a fantastic job and it would cause all kinds of issues for the community of they close

the gp system is as it is because the government set targets that people had to be able to get appointments that day if necc so many set up the current system (which doesnt work) to comply with this-whereas before they could triage things more. Many people go to their GPs with self limiting illnesses and they take up appointments who could go to people who really need them.When I worked in A&E many years ago we set up an award for the most mis-used 999 call to A&E . The award went to someone who called 999 for an ingrowing toe-nail. The problem is not always with the docs, but with governments who make regulations that just make the situation worse , and patients who have to take responsibility for how they use services. People with serious problems like asthma should always be able to see some-one quickly , and if a parent is worried about a child that should always be taken seriously. I know a surgery that extended its opening hours to suit people who work and the extra appointments are often taken up by sore throats and colds

I don't think I can fully explain what I meant Mrsm so I will apologise once more then I will be off. Sorry.