To think they should have asked him to leave?

[Skullyton]

I had to go to A&E yesterday as my dd decided to run my foot over with a heavy quad bike ride-on, i was sent there by the OOH GP as he was worried i had nerve damage as my foot was numb 24hrs after the incident (im ok, just nasty 'blunt force trauma' soft tissue injuries)

In our A&E everyone has to see the Triage nurse for an initial assessment before they get to any kind of treatment.

As i was sat outside the nurses office i could hear an argument going on.

little girl had grit in her eye and her dad had bought her to A&E and the triage informed him she needed an eye wash, but it'd be at least 60-90 minutes wait to be seen, possibly longer, and said if he didnt want to wait he could get an eye wash from a pharmacy and do it at home.

For a good 15 mins the dad was arguing/ranting about how shit the service was and how he couldn't believe they were advising him to go to to a shop and how disgusting it was that his dd would have to wait over an hour for a 2 minute treatments and demanding they be allowed to jump the queue.

Of course it was politely explained to him that EVERYONE had to wait their turn and it was done in order of priority and as his dd wasn't crying, rubbing her eye or in distress, they'd have to wait...etc

The guy walked out and went to sit down to wait, but then spent the next hour accosting every nurse to complain about the wait and try to wheedle his way to jump the queue, and given the same spiel repeatedly.

Honestly, i felt sorry for the staff, admired the way they didnt lose their cool, but the guy was being an arse and i can't believe they didnt throw him out for his behaviour!

"The thing that irritates me (I am a nurse) is how few people have any basic first aid knowledge (or even any common sense) and go to A&E for things the pharmacist could deal with. sad These people are often the ones who are most aggressive/unreasonable."

And no I don't buy the 'well they don't know better' argument. Often they do and just think they're more important than others. I'm also ex HCP and yes seen much worse. Sidge's post while awful isn't the worst I've heard of. And yes they can be refused treatment but it can be bloody hard to get backup from higher ups or not get disciplined. Staff just aren't supported when it comes to dealing with idiots!

Imho all high schools should teach basic first aid pshe and similar classes. I was actually taught in biology but already knew from brownies and guides and my parents. Even though I'm not required to I keep my knowledge up to date simply because it makes sense to. Especially as a mum.

My own burns weren't serious but I was reassured I did the right thing going to a&e as they were very nasty and one in an awkward place too (foot). Dr laughed as he asked what happened and was amused at image of me running to bathroom while stripping off jeans before jumping in bath and putting cold tap on full blast.

I've had to deal with numerous injuries of dd's (now know she has hypermobility feel terrible I used to go on at her to be more careful), Inc several trips to a&e to rule out possible breaks at insistence of gp's (who should have twigged something else going on but that's another thread) she also has allergies so we've had anaphylaxis and asthma to deal with too. Plus I have asthma which I'm pretty good with dealing with but once couldn't find inhaler in time (own fault had just moved and didn't keep it handy).

But I've also been glad to be able to help outside of work as an HCP with others having asthma attacks, allergy problems, a child who broke an arm falling off a climbing frame (his mum didn't think it was serious but it looked 'off' to me so she popped him to a&e and unfortunately it was broken), a motorcycle accident (another passerby was gonna just pull his helmet off!).

My mum's dealt with my sis's many accidents (bit of daredevil) and dads has to deal with someone at work accidentally cutting off his finger and another whom had a heart attack. Sadly dad was able to keep him alive till ambulance got there but he died next day, wasn't even very old or unfit.

But yes people need to stop bothering a&e or even gp's for sodding colds, sore throats, minor cuts and grazes, bruising, ingrown toenail (yes I've seen someone present at a&e with this Admittedly in this case gp OK), hangovers, minor stomach bugs etc!

I've one friend who's a pharmacist and I definitely prefer to get her advice on meds than a gp's, its her job. She's also pretty good on natural remedies, diagnosis of minor ailments etc people don't realise how well trained they are.

When my dp was taken in by ambulance I followed in the car and went to resus to see him. He was critically ill and they were discussing the best way to transfer him to another hospital for surgery and whether he was stable enough.

They asked us (me and his sister) to leave for a short while so they could do stuff and I went into the waiting room. Loads of people in there, loads moaning about the wait and some with extremely minor injuries. My mum called and I gave her an update and you could hear a pin drop as everyone shut up to listen to me discussing loads of broken bones, massive internal bleeding, blood transfusions, transferring for surgery etc. There were a few sympathetic looks and a few shamefaced ones too.

No one sees this going on. They don't see the serious cases and don't understand that these cases have two or more doctors plus a whole load of nurses and other staff just keeping someone alive. All they see is that someone who came in after them with a cut foot has been seen before their cut finger.

I cannot fault my dps treatment, from the paramedics to the a&e staff, the surgeons and the staff in hdu and the ward. Amazing. Every single one.

HackerFucker22 No, arriving in an ambulance doesn't always mean you'll be seen quicker or before others. Which annoys me when people call an ambulance thinking it will get them in without a wait! Some people also don't appear seriously ill but in fact, are so will be seen first.

A&E isn't a first come first served service.

I work in a hospital on reception and for a few weeks was at AnE this happens about 5 times a week.
I understand it's a two minute treatment but maybe others have two minute treatments in front of him!

"Some people also don't appear seriously ill but in fact, are so will be seen first."

Exactly plus you don't know their medical history. But that doesn't excuse those who know damn well they shouldn't be there!

Agree also on ambulance use they should be able to refuse those who aren't genuinely in need. It's a tactic used by drug addicts quite often where I live (major drug problems here) to make out they're much more ill than they are if they even are at all and call an ambulance and lay it on thick often in pursuit of opiates.

My exH was in A&E one Friday evening when a young (24/25) petite female doctor was head butted by a drunk hulking bloke because she touched his cut face. He broke her nose . Ex said you could hear the crunch and it made everyone in the room shudder. A male patient in the next bay went and punched the aggressor. The police were on site immediately and arrested the drunk.

A&e frequent flier here, due to accident prone dp and a daughter who seems to have inherited the gene. Yes there is often long waits, but every single time we say to each other that we are glad we aren't being rushed in. The ones go straight to the top of the list are dangerously ill, and funny enough I'm glad that's not my loved one/me. I feel desperately worried and sorry for the poor person who is put at the top of the list.

I don't know how anyone can think anything else, you can see and hear people close to death, you see families in pieces trying to hold it together, mothers and fathers holding seriously sick babies/children. For goodness sake just he glad your loved one is going to be ok.

Sidge That could have been my dad, he's been in a similar situation. Dad's okay now.

to all NHS staff, I'm just so sorry you have to face this stupidity.

We were there yesterday (DS had glass stuck in his foot).

At triage: child 1 with a rash, mum was asked if he'd been to GP, yes at OOH this morning but I'm not happy with what doctor there said so brought him here.

Child 2, he's "generally unwell" according to mum, been to GP several times, just want him checked over today.

Madness.

Sometimes there's a tendency to get people 'in the system' though when they don't need to be. In an ideal world, the triage nurse could have handed the dad an eyebath, told him what to do and left him to do it. But that's not how the system works. Lots of people get really really anxious being in a hospital and behave badly, others seem to thoroughly enjoy the day out and drama, posting facebook statuses from a and e and getting loads of attention.

"posting facebook statuses from a and e and getting loads of attention." Ugh yes I know someone that does this!

At triage: child 1 with a rash, mum was asked if he'd been to GP, yes at OOH this morning but I'm not happy with what doctor there said so brought him here.

Child 2, he's "generally unwell" according to mum, been to GP several times, just want him checked over today.

This is more difficult as there have been a few well publicised cases where gp's have missed things and mum just has a gut feeling something more serious is going on.

When my sis was little she had measles but mum (one of a large family so well used to sick kids) just felt something else was wrong. Gp treated her like a 'hysterical woman' and was v dismissive, didn't even take sis temp. Hospital admitted her for v high fever, dehydration (sis couldnt keep water down) and it turned out she was in early stage of septicemia. This particular gp was a bugger for not listening to mums.

We never, ever mind seeing children in A&E, in fact I wish all the children we saw were absolutely fine and it was just worried parents over reacting. Even the perfectly well young adults that come in with minor illnesses are only mildly annoying, could have self treated or seen gp. What we really don't need is the violence, aggression, complaining and drunken idiots. If we could have everyone seen and sorted within half an hour of them arriving believe me we would!

Last time I was in a&e sat waiting patiently late on a Friday night with a child with a head wound a sweet little old lady came in. She told the receptionist she was having bad insommnia and needed something prescribing. Receptionist tried telling her this wasn't the place but woman insisted, was told she would have a long wait.

She spent the next two hours marching over to the receptionist every 15 mins and giving them a load of grief. In between she sat with her elderly lady friend and slagged the hospital off no stop. Bonkers!