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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To print off this definition and staple it to peoples foreheads?

73 replies

RedButtonhole · 11/10/2015 12:40

ACCIDENT AND EMERGENCY - ^A hospital dept. Concerned with the provision of treatment for those who have been seriously injured in an accident, or who have suddenly taken seriously ill.
^
Seriously. Yet another tube posting on facebook about going to A&E for something trivial, that they've had all week and could have gone before the weekend, or indeed could wait until tomorrow.

We are not even in an area where it's difficult to get a GP appointment.

OP posts:
Gruntfuttock · 11/10/2015 12:42

You've posted this 3 times.

Moln · 11/10/2015 12:44

If you staple it to their heads then I suppose that's a acceptable reason for being in a A&E

InTheBox · 11/10/2015 12:45

What are you on about and why have you posted multiple times?

Original poster
RedButtonhole · 11/10/2015 12:46

Oops, the first two times it said failed. I'll go and report the multiple ones Blush

OP posts:
Sirzy · 11/10/2015 12:47

A lot of people do waste a and e time, sometimes though people may look like they don't need to be there when actually they do. Without knowing the details in your case it's hard to comment.

I didn't think I needed a and e on Tuesday. Went to the walk in centre who sent me to a and e where I just avoided being admitted. Sometimes things are worse than you realise!

Trills · 11/10/2015 12:54

You have clearly not thought this through - if it is on their foreheads they won't be able to read it.

Original poster
RedButtonhole · 11/10/2015 12:56

Why not, Trills?

i could staple it so that the text faces inwards Grin

OP posts:
LunchpackOfNotreDame · 11/10/2015 12:57

Sometimes trivial stuff has to be seen in a&e because they have the tools to deal with it (thinking of a friend with an infected finger that needed lancing)

I've been to a&e for an insect bite, ended up admitted for iv antibiotics...

ForTheSakeOfFuck · 11/10/2015 13:00

Not always easy to judge. About eight weeks ago, my neighbour's kid fell on the lawn - the grass, not concrete - twirling about like a ballerina. She said her ankle and shin hurt a bit but since she didn't seem too bothered, her parents didn't worry about it, gave her some Calpol, and off she went to bed. Next morning her leg was blown up like a balloon. Turns out she'd managed to break it in two places and needed surgery.

A couple of years ago a friend of my MIL's lost his grip-strength in his hand, but decided it wasn't a big deal. (His daughter is a GP, FFS. Didn't even call her.) Next morning he could barely speak. Turns out he'd had a series of strokes. He's just about back on his feet now.

Five years ago a little boy from the village got into trouble at the local swimming pool. They fished him out, he seemed fine, and off he went home, seemingly fine. Hours later he was rushed to hospital with "dry drowning" (I'd never heard of it till then) and everyone was all up in arms that the mother hadn't taken him as soon as he'd come home.

Anyway, my point is that the average not-medically-trained person doesn't always know what's serious and what isn't, so if I had to run the risk of wasting A&E time versus letting something truly serious go untreated, I'll take my chances with pissing off A&E alongside any random FB strangers who don't have a clue what other experiences I might have had in my life up till that point.

specialsubject · 11/10/2015 13:22

any swimming pool with staff who don't know about dry drowning needs to take a long hard look at themselves. It is also fairly basic first aid knowledge.

these are all good stories - but the fact is there are a lot of time-wasters. Pity that IT isn't put to good use scraping their boasts from social media and turning them away at A and E. Probably easy enough to do.

WorraLiberty · 11/10/2015 13:23

ForTheSakeOfFuck so are you saying people should go every single time there's something wrong, just in case it's serious?

The whole system would collapse surely?

Sallystyle · 11/10/2015 13:27

Well you are wrong. A&E is also for accidents that aren't serious.

DD had to have an abscess drained at A&E because no one else could do it and when she had stitches when her leg was cut open it certainly wasn't a serious injury.

ClashCityRocker · 11/10/2015 13:31

Our hospital now has a and e, minor injuries unit and the walk-in centre in the same place. It seems to work well.

Unfortunately, it was getting to the stage locally where it was so difficult to get a gp appointment that people were using a and e as a walk-in centre anyway.

goawayalready · 11/10/2015 13:38

sorry but i had to go to a&e because the flea treatment went in my eye no one knew if it was toxic or not i washed my eye out but i still had to go in so they could check my eye and see if i was going blind or not this was before walk in and out of hours places were brought in so i had no options on a saturday

i do agree sometimes people go to a&e for no reason but i don't feel it's as widespread as people think it is and i don't believe it is why the NHS is collapsing

for example one particular hospital had five managers on managers wages doing one job

another hospital hired bank staff daily rather than actual nursing staff they had been advertising for nursing staff but not hiring permanent staff claiming they were not suitable for the role however most of the bank staff doing the role had actually applied for the role therefore had experience and competence in the role especially as they were asking for the same staff over and over again they were clearly suitable

sometimes you feel as if the money is going to the wrong people and the wrong places and it needs a sensible person to look at each hospital individually and help sort it out

but we have cameron and his buddies and hospital administrators who should know better but dont and far too many ands in my sentence

beefthief · 11/10/2015 13:40

Worra of course not, that's a very uncharitable way to read that post. I took it as "err on the side of going, if you're worried". I do think a clear explanation of what's GP worthy, what's A&E worthy and what you should just wait out would be of big benefit to the nation.

Wolpertinger · 11/10/2015 13:41

I once had the joy of sitting in the GP OOH on New Year's Day - when you would have thought nobody really would have come unless it was an emergency (I wouldn't have gone but it's now frowned on for doctors to self prescribe).

Obvs I could hear everyone chatting about why they were there and out of about 15 people waiting frankly only one needed to be there - and that person was seriously ill and quietly waiting their turn and not making a fuss whilst trying quite hard to die. When I got them seen sooner the waiting room kicked off as they had queue jumped! Shock

GP told me she had seen 98% dross that should have been self-managed all day. I would imagine A+E is just the same.

ForTheSakeOfFuck · 11/10/2015 13:48

special, agreed. Fucking horrendous. The pool got shut down a while later for some kind of parasitic thing (I shit you not) and then later demolished. The most annoying thing about that incident - when I found out about dry drowning I immediately had to tell the OH. His response: "Oh yeah, I know what that is. They had an episode on it on Bay Watch." Yes. Bay Watch actually educated someone. That is a sentence no one has ever written before, and will probably never write again.

Worra, I direct your attention to the man argument [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straw_man]]. Once you have ingested that information, come back and try again.

Thank you beef.

Jollyphonics · 11/10/2015 13:49

Sadly one of the biggest causes of A&E being swamped is, in my opinion, the 111 service. I'm a GP, and every morning we get a summary of all the 111 calls made by our patients in the previous 24 hours. I never cease to be amazed at the crazy advice they give out. People are advised to attend A&E within an hour for a stubbed toe, and ambulances are despatched to people who've had a cough for a few hours but don't have a car. It's madness.

trian · 11/10/2015 13:51

never heard of dry drowning and i've done a lot of first aid courses, most recently paediatric first aid

i think walk in centres are a brilliant idea, i've used one, shame there aren't more around

the other thing the NHS should do is promote the use of pharmacists more, they're highly trained people who's expertise isn't made the most of as i think a lot of us (subconsciously or otherwise) think of them as shopkeepers, rather than the NHS on our doorstep/highstreet

ForTheSakeOfFuck · 11/10/2015 13:52

Fuck's sake. Attempt #2:

Worra, I direct your attention to the man argument [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straw_man\en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Straw_man]]. Once you have ingested that information, come back and try again.

ForTheSakeOfFuck · 11/10/2015 13:52

I give up.

Pipbin · 11/10/2015 13:53

It's because a problem here since the minor injuries unit closed. There is no middle ground between A&E and the GP.

WorraLiberty · 11/10/2015 13:55

ForTheSakeOfFuck, I direct your attention to this www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/condescending and once you have ingested that information, you may want to come back and try again.

Or you may not, I couldn't give a shiny shite one way or another Grin

beefthief · 11/10/2015 13:56

Did you deliberately misconstrue the post, Worra ?

ClashCityRocker · 11/10/2015 14:02

I do think it's the way it's set up. Our hospital changed the set up after a flu epidemic a few years ago.

Last time we went to a and e (husband was admitted and subsequently needed an operation) it seemed to be working well - he was seen and admitted within an hour despite it being a Saturday night when the races were on.

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