To think I've just wasted 5 hours in A&E

[Littlelanecountrygirl]

DD hurt her finger at school yesterday. This morning it was swollen and v painful.

Dutifully head to minor injuries where they X-ray it expecting they'll just strap it up. Radiographer and nurse both say it can't be strapped and needs a cast. It's the fifth metacarpal in her hand not her finger. Hand swollen and can't bend little finger anymore.

Turn up at A&E which is like a war zone. No seats, no floor space standing room only. See the nurse after 30 mins she agrees it needs a cast, wait for doctor.

4 hrs and 10 minutes later the doctor calls us in. Abruptly accuses DD of punching something and that she has a boxers fracture. DD repeated that she didn't punch anything, injury was at school when she collided with a friend in PE. Doctor says well ok then (eye rolls at her) manipulates her finger round (DD has tears now) and then says

Oh we can just strap that .

Two bits of tape around her finger, not even a splint. DD crying in pain still and a £6 parking ticket later we finally leave.

Surely we could have just had it strapped in minor injuries 4 hours earlier?!

I work in a and e. Nurses don't decide what needs a cast neither do radiographers. A lot of minor injury units are nurse led. We often get referrals from them, minor injury units usually have the same facilities as we do and ours would put a cast on - it's their job. Perhaps they weren't sure. Orthopaedics routinely review every xray and will recall you if they think it needs a cast. Have faith in what your doctor tells you he deals with this stuff every day

Radiographers are very good at describing what they see on an image. Their initial Degree level training does not include clinical decision making and diagnosis, this is a Doctors role.

Sounds frustrating:(
Before xmas I was sent up for a stomach scan and needed to see the dr before I could be discharged so told me wait in the waiting room after an hour I asked the nurse if they thought it might be much longer as I needed to be home to bf my son before bedtime she said it wouldn't be too much longer and the dr would be in as soon as there were able just keep waiting- so sat and waited another 2 hours when I went back round to the nurses desk the same nurse laughed and said sorry we thought you'd gone home?!
I stood there and fucking cried I was so beyond pissed off :( still boils my piss now several months on

I'd keep a careful eye on that finger. If it's still causing her pain by a week from the injury, I'd go back, and get it checked again!

Well, the wait is because of the nature of the condition. Patients are sorted into critical, emergency, urgent, semi-urgent and non-urgent. Whilst no doubt very painful, her case was non-urgent.

Every time I took any of my four children to our local MIU (with no X-ray facilities) they were unable to do anything and sent me off to A&E which was in another hospital a few miles away, via very sporadic bus service involving several changes. (Couldn't easily go by car because there is usually none of the very expensive parking available there). Annoying thing is that there used to be a fully equipped A&E where that MIU is now, accessible by good bus service.

I also remember waiting for six hours in A&E with a child who had apparently broken her finger. An X ray was taken quickly when we arrived, but it took the doctor more than five hours to get round to looking at it. He eventually told us it was broken and sent us (without treatment) to the fracture clinic three days later. This involved day off work for me, day off school for DD, only to be told after a three hour wait that the finger definitely wasn't broken at all. And that even if it had been it would only have been strapped anyway.

Fortunately we've now moved and can get to our local hospital by bus which takes a while but is a reliable service. MIU here is also properly integrated with A&E, having a shared reception with very competent receptionists and triage staff.

I had something similar happen about 7 years ago. I came off my motorbike and hurt my hand so was told to get it checked out. Had an xray and told there was a fracture but it was an old one and there was nothing they could do. Not only had i never broken or fractured a bone in my body if it's clear on an xray why admit to seeing it and then say there is nothing that could be done. We may pay to have nhs treatment through tax and ni contributions but why are some of us fobbed off? My dentist gave me 2 fillings on Thursday and then told me i needed to be booked in for another one they found because they missed it even though theres a hole in my tooth that you can clearly see!

I went to A&E a I thought I had dislocated my finger. A&E took xrays, said it was ok (it was at a funny angle and I had tried to pull it back into position prior to visiting A&E which had probably not helped) so I went home. The next morning they rang back in a panic and said that they had made an appointment with the hospital for me the next day to have it pinned and to make sure that I immobilised it totally until I had the op.

Went to have the op - arrived at 8am as advised, waited until 8pm - they had had emergencies. Totally understood that I was not an emergency but had been there for 12 hours with no food. I was told to come back the next day (I am self employed) as there was no one to do the general anaesthetic. I told them it was fine to do it under local ... a decision I almost regretted when they got out the drills and put my hand in a vice and started drilling into my hand! But I got home that night and 8 weeks with the pins and all was OK.

Today I went to catch a tennis ball, got my finger in the way of the ball, and have done the same injury to the same finger (albeit 7 years since the original injury). This time (after 4 hours in A&E) they have just put it in one of those plastic casts (for 8 weeks!). I am hoping I don't get a call tomorrow to tell me that they want to put pins in it again. I had nightmares for weeks after watching them drill the last time and not sure I could go through it again! (they put a board between me and my finger, but I could see what was happening in the reflection and just could not look away ... The point being, as lots of others have said, one view of the xray was totally different to another's view.

I have also had the same fracture as your daughter (I caught it on the neck of my horse during a show jumping competition - no punching involved at all) and it was just strapped. This was about 30 years ago, and I still remember the pain when I accidentally caught my little finger on the indicator of the car. It still causes me pain now and I always wondered whether it should have had different treatment (too late now, obviously) So make sure you are totally happy with everything when you visit the fracture clinic. The use of a keyboard is essential in pretty much every job, and my old injury is very sore some days when I am doing a lot of keyboard work.

I think a lot of A & E doctors are trying to get rid of people asap. My friend took her ds the other day (1yo) with a high temp. He's had a recurring ear infection since Dec. Anyway, doc took one very brief look and said he had 'viral conjunctivitis'. No sign of any issue with his eyes (I've seen him the day he went and the day after) - nothing in his eyes at all

...She kicked up a fuss and wanted to see ENT doctor, not the A & E GP. Eventually she was allowed to see ENT and they said he does have another ear infection and fluid in the ear, which is why it isn't going away. Made perfect sense. They also said he doesn't have viral conjunctivitis.

Why did the GP say viral conjunctivitis? I do not know, other than to get rid of them asap. If A & E was v busy today OP, I think you have been palmed off. I hope the fracture clinic does better.

I had a saw taken to my wisdom tooth under local anaesthetic in a hospital (it was an awkward angle). The entire process was very brutal and physical! Reminded me of proper old fashioned surgery.

The NHS is free at the point of delivery, but we pay for it in taxes so it isn't really free.
I would say I totally understand your frustration, it seems they had differing opinions and this cost you and the health service precious time. I would visit your GP tomorrow for a second opinion if your instincts are telling you to. We had 3 seperate GP visits before being sent to hospital due to not being given the correct treatment and an official apology afterwards when my daughter was ill. All doctors and nurses are sadly under extreme pressure and are not always going to make the right decision as they are human and can make mistakes.
Good luck.

NHS is NOT free, why do people keep perpetuating this myth?

Tell that to my DH who pays over £700 a month in National Insurance contributions.

It may be "free" for people who dont work but for every working person it is not free.

Hi,
I don't know if the above it directed towards me but as I said-I know it isn't really free, it just seems that way to people as they don't hand their credit card over at the hospital.

I was replying to a number of other posts earlier on describing it as free.

Our local MIU is wonderful, has saved us so much stress to be able to go there.

5 hours is a long time. I don't blame the staff because they can only do what they can do with who they've got. I blame the government who capitalises on the belief that we should be grateful for what we've got.

We should be very grateful for what we've got. By the time our children are adults we won't have it in a recognisable format.

I don't. We are getting too complacent and it's going downhill before.our eyes. If we sit up and complain if it falls short then the government will have to do something

Haven't read the whole thread. The OP is entitled to be a little frustrated when she's tried to do the right thing and not turn up at A and E I necessarily. The NHS is not "free" (although free at the point of access) if you pay tax and contribute to society you've paid for the care. Therefore you are entitled to express an opinion on it. Secondly, your freedom of choice is removed. If you went to a shop and weren't happy you could shop somewhere else. This isn't generally possible with healthcare because even if you go private you still have to pay tax and NI.

I don't understand the problem. Your post implies you would have been happy with the 5 hour wait had your daughter been given a cast at the end of it? Surely you should be pleased that she has been seen by more than one medic and a no cast solution has been found as ultimately that is better from your daughters POV

Some of these experiences have been horrible, and people can't be blamed for being hacked off. I have a good news NHS story though.

I fell in the street and must admit I left my painful hand for a week before getting it checked out, dreading an A & E wait and hoping it was just a sprain that would get better (not to be recommended, btw). I then did my homework on local MIUs, and bypassed the two nearest to us, which both got bad online reviews. The one with the five star ratings exceeded all my expectations, and I couldn't have had better treatment anywhere. Within 40 minutes I was on my way home, having had my hand x-rayed, had a break confirmed, been given a temporary cast, and had a nurse ring up our local hospital's fracture clinic to make an appointment for 8am the next day! I was given my x-rays in an envelope to take along. I thought it might all go wrong then, but no - straight in for the appointment, assessed by two doctors, hand support fitted by a nurse and off home in 15 minutes. Oh, and the follow up appointment six weeks later was great too - straight in to x-ray, a 15/20 minute wait due to traffic hold-ups, and for which the staff kept apologising, and then I was seen by the same team and discharged.

Brilliant treatment, lovely staff, one very happy patient