To wonder if this is part of the reason a&e is massively overstretched.

[flanjabelle]

I have been sent to a&e twice for myself and twice for dd in the last couple of months. Each time I have contacted a gp or 111 (asking for an out of hours gp appointment) first, and then been sent to a&e. Each time I have left a&e feeling that it was completely unnecessary to go to a&e and that we had wasted their time and resources.

For example, Friday I had a severe head ache come on. It was worse Saturday morning, Saturday evening I was exhausted and slurring my words slightly, yesterday morning it was excruciating so I called 111 to see if I could see a doctor as I don't usually suffer with migraines and I couldn't stop the pain with normal painkillers.

111 wanted to call me an ambulance, but I refused. I asked for a doctors appointment and was told that I couldn't have one and that I had to report to a&e within the hour to be seen.

I obviously did, as I needed help from someone. I spent most of the day in a&e, ended up having a ct scan, blood tests and painkillers and was moved to an assessment ward.

I was on the assessment ward for two hours before seeing the doctors who told me it was just a severe migraine and there was really no need for me to be there at all. I was sent away with aspirin and triptans and made to feel very silly. I never wantEd to go to a&e!

The last time I was sent to a&e was because the gp decided I had appendicitis even though the pain was no where near the appendix and was following on from food poisoning. I had gastritis. Again, it could have easily been dealt with by the gp, but I got sent to a&e.

I hate feeling like I'm wasting their time, there may well have been people who desperately needed their help and were delayed because of me. I have followed the steps that you are supposed to each time, but end up being an a&e time waster. I have more examples, but this is long enough, sorry!

My mum died of just had a headache, turned out it was a brain hemorrhage. The gp didn't send her to hospital

Dh nearly died of a burst appendix and had to have an emergency operation because his pain was in the middle of his stomach

As an A and E nurse the first occasion was most definitely appropriate as you don't suffer from migraines and I would have expected you to have all those tests.

2nd episode pain from appendicitis can be referred pain so not always over the appendix area. However, I do wish that GP's could just take the bloods fast track them through A and E and book an USS saving the patient a visit to A and E. If bloods abnormal call patient into A and E. We see so very many abdo pains that are either nothing to gastritis that they really should put a better system in place.

Mind you none of this is your fault you'd been sent there. It's just an unpleasant experience for you.

I had the headache thing years ago. I was crawling on the floor crying and dh only just managed to stop me banging my head on the wall repeatedly. It was just a migraine and I was given high-dose codeine and prescribed Naramig. I'm now on propranalol which keeps the migraines (mostly) at bay. They were nice enough at a&e but not v interested.

Until we get a better system to provide same day scans/tests etc, A&E will always be overstretched, the same applies to pain clinics and many other services, it shouldn't be, it should be funded/staffed adequately.

The reason that all of the Soaps have had head injuries lately, is because many people don't get them checked out and go home to die, or be left with preventable damage. Many people who go through A&E (children included), won't have an injury that needs responding to, they aren't time wasters, their lucky, a few won't be as lucky.

My DDs friend had a headache that was dismissed, he was hospitalised within three days (after starting to slur his words) and his parents had to make the decision to switch of life support, within a fortnight.

He had a brain tumour, again that is a underfunded field of research.

Just because you haven't been hospitalised, or needed further treatment, it doesn't mean you've attended when you didn't have to.

I would have ct'd your head with that presentation too. The doctor giving you the results shouldn't have made you feel stupid.

Purpledaisies is spot on, appendicitis can often start with pain over the stomach which then moves down to over the appendix. It's actually included as a 'point' in the scoring system used by some doctors to determine whether appendicitis is likely or not. You're not expected to know that, of course - but it looks like your doctor does, bonus points to them :D

There's lots of things where you need a couple of investigations to rule out nasties and both these instances sound like those...

Do you know what, I don't think the alcohol incidents are much. I think they're greatly exaggerated even in staffs minds.

My brother works in A&E and finds them highly highly annoying but they're still only rivalling the football/ rugby injuries. Also apparently fairly frequently there is nothing wrong with the drunk people except drunkeness.
After all, if someone falls over drunk and breaks their leg why not treat them as you would a football injury? Its the people who are just pissed who are wasting time.

OK, I completely admit iabu. I guess I just hate the thought of being a time waster. It didn't help that I was next to someone the whole time who was livid about having to wait so long and I just thought I'd I wasn't there then others might not have needed to wait so long. It just all felt over the top, but I admit that yes it was probably the right thing to do because the migraine presented in such a similar way to other nasties.

Another lady on the assessment ward was bitching about how the staff weren't sorting her out quickly enough and I did say to her that I was always grateful not to be the one they rush to, because if they rush to you then you are in big trouble.

I am going to have to follow up with the gp as the ward didn't have the sumitriptan I was prescribed and told me to phone this morning but apparently they can't get it so I need to go to the gp anyway. I will talk it through with them and ask what to do next.

Also I'm very sorry to hear that some of your loved ones have been so poorly. I do feel very lucky that it was just a migraine, very lucky.

I think there is a difference between alcohol and sporting related injuries even if they both nominally seem self inflicted. An injured rugby player (unless a severe head injury) is likely to be able to tell you what happened, past medical history, allergies etc. A drunk person who hit their head - are they incoherent due to alcohol or is it the head injury. They may need a CT scan to decide. Drunk people are just more difficult to assess and treat than sporting injuries. They are also more likely to be difficult or even abusive towards staff.

I don't think that makes any difference. I'm not sure medical staff worry too much about whether the patient can have a go at diagnosing themselves and they are very used to dealing with mysterious injuries- strokes heart attacks etc. nice for the patient to tell them what happened but not essential. a broken leg is the same however it happened surely? Just because you're pissed enough to fall down the stairs doesn't mean you're so battered you're unable to speak or remember your name or medical history

I do wish that GP's could just take the bloods fast track them through A and E and book an USS saving the patient a visit to A and E

Tupperware How is that going to work then? Bloods only get collected from a GP practice once a day. We are not supposed to give them to patients to take with them (biohazard). And very few hospitals allow GPs same day access to radiology.

I was an A&E doctor, so I have seen both sides. But I do get very tired of being criticised by secondary care when you have access to any amount of investigations and have no idea how difficult it is to obtain the equivalents in primary care.

I think in your case you should have gone but I do understand what you mean about 111. I've been sent to A&E by them before and felt like a time waster xt

I don't think either of those cases would class as time wasting, and the hospital wouldn't have done all the tests unless they thought there was reason to do so.

I get frustrated with my GP who often does lead to an unneeded trip to a and e for Ds. Yet again last month a trip to the Gp with Ds led to the GP admitting he was having an asthma flare up, but as she didn't want to prescribe more steroids she would prescribe more antibiotics instead. No shock really that within 12 hours he was in a and e and narrowly avoided being admitted!

As this is my thread, I'm going to use it to have a moan.

I now have a lump in underarm that is making my whole side hurt. I can't wear a bra and it's aching really badly. What the hell is wrong with me?

I'm going to make a gp appointment this afternoon as I'm helping my grandparents this morning. I have just had enough of feeling not right. My head was hurting again on waking today, sorry feeling rather fed up. :(

Years ago though if you had a headache and slurring words, you called your GP. The GP then came to the house and admitted you to hospital for tests, you bypassed a&e and went straight to the admissions ward.
Now you telephone someone to be told go to a&e, rather than having an out of hours doctor.

There isn't a filter on accident and emergencies, so it gets busy.

On a different tack it's about time people going to A&E were charged for medication instead of it being free. That might make some people think twice 😡

Poor you OP, you're having a really ropey time. Lump sounds like a swollen gland? 💐