Should she have got priority treatment over other non-urgent patients?

[Rabbitradar]

DD is an SHO (dr) in A&E in city X. She was off duty yesterday and so came home and stayed here last night in city Y which is 30 miles from city X. She was due on shift at 10am this morning. Unfortunately one of her contact lenses tore in her eye and despite several attempts a piece of contact lens remained in her eye causing blurred vision and mild pain.
She could not drive due to blurred vision so I drove her to eye casualty in city Y.
Waiting room packed (9am) and average wait time 4 hours.
DD didn’t ask for priority treatment - and wouldn’t dream of expecting to be seen before anybody requiring urgent treatment. She did ask what the waiting time was and explained she was due on shift in A&E at hospital X.

However, to me it seems nuts that she is spending the morning sat in a waiting room with lots of other non-urgent casualties (and doubtless some urgent ones too) whilst 30 miles down the road at hospital X the waiting room in A&E will be backing up further as they are 1 Dr down.

AIBU to think that in some circumstances -like these - it would be sensible for NHS staff to get priority treatment?

Please note I am not suggesting that any other patient’s treatment is compromised just that other non-urgent patients have to wait a bit longer ....

Your DD had been prioritised. Being a doctor in an A&E does not mean a perk. They wouldn’t have decided to make her wait if needed urgent treatment more so than others. You DD sounds great though because I hate staff members who believe that they should be seen before other patients. Everyone in an A&E should be prioritised in accordance of need not stature or job title.

Vitriol? What vitriol? 😃

you've got poster on here saying she could simply have popped to an optician who clearly have no clue and you've already said hospital told her the optician would not be appropriate).

So the ophthalmic nurse specialist doesn't know a lot about what optometrists do then...
NHS advice on what to do as a contact lens wearer if you suspect a corneal abrasion will be based on the fact that as a contact lens wearer you are more at risk of nasty infections and need to take symptoms seriously.If you've got a bit of lens stuck you know it needs removing and if the optician suspects more is going on they will send you to A and E.

I don't see why she would need to be given preferential treatment, no OP. Triage is complicated enough without having to factor in what a person alleges their job is . I appreciate you are not saying your DD is canonized for being an NHS worker at all OP- but it is not the only profession where one is offering a service that improves lives. There is no need to fast track a doctor specifically because of their profession unless there is recourse to do it for people who have a child they can't leave, are a carer to a dependent or any other safeguarding role. In an ideal world maybe (to all of the above) but in realistic circumstances, absolutely no she had no basis to be fast tracked if she was not critically unwell based on the privilege of her profession (which is privileged in itself)

Hope her eye is recovering well though, must have been alarming!

@eeyore228 I don’t think swapping sitting around drinking coffee with your mum In eye casualty waiting room with working in a busy over stretched A&E dept is a perk.

*Does no one else let emergency service workers jump the queue in starbucks/macd’s and the like?

I always let an on shift emergency worker go first. 10 mins is no skin off my nose, could have a knock on effect all day for those who need the services.*

I dont really think this is a fair comparison. Of course I would let them jump the queue in starbucks because its the difference of like, 5 mins, not 4 hours+ which is more like A&E. But that would be my choice, I'm not being forced by starbucks to stand back. Also, I'm not in enormous pain with a broken limb, chest pains, or throwing my guts up like you might be in A&E. When you are in agony and really worried for your health or the health of your child, you become much less blasé about letting people cut in before you.

Haven't rtft. A few weeks ago I felt like I had something in my eye. GP receptionist said eye casualty. I thought this was mildly ridiculous and it would have involved me taking a lot of time off work as I don't drive, and eye casualty is in another city, 10 miles away. I decided to go to the optician's instead. They did a few checks and within five minutes were able to tell me I had a minor scratch on my cornea, which would resolve itself. Incidentally, everyone on MN was urging me to go to A&E, which was most unusual But yes, optician's next time. They have a duty of care so I'm sure they'd have told your DD if she needed different/ further care.

@dontgobaconmyheart yes I agree with you! I’ve been on the patient side many times with my elderly father and in those circumstances it’s a comfort to know that the system is strictly fair and based on medical needs only. But what prompted my AIBU was that in this circumstance a whole load of other patients would be disadvantaged as a result. There’s no easy answer.

An optician I know is a Dr and worked pt at the hospital and pt at the optician. I think this is common so she may had got a Dr anyways.

I wondered what the OP did for a living herself? She seems very invested in her DD's status.

The OP said her DD could had worked at hospital x while waiting for care. So why didn't she just not go after? It's so millenial Dr to be accompanied by one's mother to a&e.

From a strategic patient welfare point of view I can actually see why it would have been for the greater good to treat your daughter first and free her up to spend time treating other patients.

I can see form a cost benefit perspective that there would be merit in prioritising an on duty doctor over other non critical cases.

Nothing to do with social justice etc, just common sense. However I can see that people wouldn’t see it form that view point.

If all the patients were triaged the same category ie they were all the same seriousness & none were more urgent than the other, then absolutely she should have been sooner if it meant she could get back to her patients.
Obviously if there was someone who had a higher priority injury then of course they should be seen sooner, i would never dispute that.

Part of the ridiculousness and inefficiency of the NHS is that instead of common sense, it panders to doing what appears to the correct thing by the braying public when actually its ridiculous and inefficient.

For example and a similar situation to the OP where the majority are saying she should wait her turn......

2 Nurses on a ward i worked on were injured on shift ( assaulted by a patient) they were both able and expected to keep on working but both had to attend a&e downstairs in their own hospital to get their injuries treated first

The wait in a&e was over 3 hours.

That meant 2 nurses were off the ward for over 3 hours and patients on that ward absolutely suffered, didnt get their meds on time, lay in their own urine etc etc all because the NHS wanted to be seen to do the "correct" thing so the public didnt complain.

The majority of patients in the queue in front of these nurses were all the same triage category of injury ie there was no-one more serious than them, they had just arrived there before them. I am absolutely not disputing that higher priority patients should be seen first. but common sense should prevail in situations like this.

DD didn’t ask for priority treatment - and wouldn’t dream of expecting to be seen before anybody requiring urgent treatment. She did ask what the waiting time was and explained she was due on shift in A&E at hospital X.

If she didn't 'dream' of expecting priority treatment, why did she not only mention she had to get to work but also exactly where she worked?

Rp30. I would have gone to an optician with this myself. However, we are not fully aware of all the medical issues involved so I am sure this lady made the right choice for herself at that time

The thread is about he daughter being a doctor, so I think it’s okay for the poster to mention her daughter is a doctor.

I don’t think it’s millennial at all for an adult to go to casualty with a parent. If he can’t see properly surely you should take someone. As a single woman I hate this type of comment. I have been laughed at for car shopping with my dad, but none of my friends are ever laughed at for car shopping with their husbands.

If they put in drops to check for a corneal abrasion, she won't be going to work today- she won't be able to drive. It actually annoys me more when medical staff request (and often get ) priority treatment for them and family members for non acute presentations because they see it as being 'owed' by the system. She should have taken the day off, and be prepared to sit and wait like everyone else there. You can't assume her role majors her more important. It doesn't.

@Dollymixture22 maybe but it seems extra. I think it would had been more normal to give a call to a friend from work or medical school that works in opthamology. See what they say and then act.

Also, you are ignoring that the OP said her DD could had gone to the hospital she is employed at and worked until she was called in. So perhaps she could had worked and gone to whoever after? This is not clear.

By the OP riding the status of her DD, I do not mean in relation to this thread but that she is posting on MN that her DD should had been seen as she had a shift coming up. I just could not imagine a nurse's mother doing that. I say this as someone who knows of DR's and their families and I think some parents see it as overly important. This is also tied into mollycoddling.

Sure it is fine to go car shopping or a&e with parents or whatever else. But few people are in the position where they are accompanied for hours by a parent. I think most would get a lift and then sort it. Not that it is wrong but it is pretty pampered to me. She was not blind. It was one eye and as stated above, her mother felt she was able to work for atleast some duration.

No. Until a patient is fully assessed, you can't be sure their case is not urgent. Triage only addresses immediate issues. The only fair and safe way to do it is: emergency/urgent first, everyone else in order of arrival.

Although I probably would have taken her to her place of work, where a colleague would have probably quickly helped her out as a favour instead!

If they put in drops to check for a corneal abrasion, she won't be going to work today- she won't be able to drive.

Not true. The drops used to test for a corneal abrasion are just dye (fluorescin) and don't dilate the pupils or cause any changes to vision.

Rp30 - i take your points. But I can see a spouse sitting for a few hours in a hospital waiting room so why not a parent?

It may be something I am overly sensitive to - I just think people look down on people who are close to their parents and don’t have a partner.

I am a successful business woman, but when I view houses I take a parent or sibling rather than go alone. It give a different perspective. I take them when buying a car. My sister cam with me when I had some big medical tests done. It’s hard when you are single, And you don’t have that one go to person for all this stuff. So it’s great when a parent or sibling or friend is there. I don’t see how that makes me any different to the person supporting beside a husband or wife😊

Although I probably would have taken her to her place of work, where a colleague would have probably quickly helped her out as a favour instead!

But by the reasoning of many on this thread (not myself) that would also mean she should still have to sit and wait to be seen in her own a&e as being seen quicker by her colleague as a favour in order that she could get back to work treating patients would still be deemed jumping the queue .

@Dollymixture22 because it is babbyish when a parent does it but partnership when a partner does it. Likewise with friends. Sorry, that's just how it is. But I'm not saying a parent sshould not, but it is so millenial Dr.

What is a succesful business woman? You are able to run a business? Or you have made tens of millions from business? Or you run a large corporation?

Input from people when seeing a house is all useful and it is company. A hous epurchase is personal and is emotional, it is not alwyas just business. I don't think many people would had bene accompanied by their spouse in this situation either. It is 4 hours (was it?) for something straightforward with not too much pain or disturbance. Most people have to do it solo but kudos that she did not. But is so millenial Dr. It is that level of support that sees most of them get into the profession but also then complain a lot as exams are one thing and life is another.

That's not the way it works.

But I would have taken her to the A&E she works at.

When I was doing my nurse training one of the doctors noticed I couldn’t put weight on my foot. At the end of my shift she took me down to A&E to be seen by one of her friends. I was put straight to the front of the queue and seen within five minutes.

Rp30 - by successful I mean I provide myself with a good lifestyle, support myself and employ others.

I think we will disagree on this. You seem quite angry and I am clearly not going to change your opinion - we have very different relationships with our parents and very different outlooks on life.

If they put in drops to check for a corneal abrasion, she won't be going to work today- she won't be able to drive

Of course she’ll be able to work and drive. The drops to check for corneal abrasion merely stain the cornea with fluorescein which will show up any abrasions. They are not drops to dilate the pupil so as to see inside the eye. I think you’re confusing the two.

@Dollymixture22 that's pretty much like most people who function in our society - and is not linked to getting advice or company.

Not at all, I'm not angry. It is just my own observations on this sort of thing.

You seem to have an issue about being single and doing stuff with family. Maybe you have a chip on your shoulder about this. No idea why people laugh at you about it. The former World champion heavyweight boxer Lennox Leiws, used to go to business meetings with just his mother who allegedly decided that he would retire and not take on a fight for tens of millions. I do a lot with family and am single too. What I said has nothign to dow ith this but rather how the OP seems to be seeing this, given that she is posting on MN about her dd's situation. like I said, I have Dr's in the family and our circles so this is my take on it.

We don't have much to disagree about. We both agree it may be fine for OP to had accompanied her, but perhaps you can agree that few people are fortunate to have this level of support for 4 hours, probably int he working day. Also you failed to respond to the point that the OP had said her DD could work while waiting to be seen by her own A&E so I wondered how comes she did not just get it seen to later.

Like I said, my family is very involved in my life but I could not imagine them posting and pondering such issues about my life. But I can easily a millenial Dr's mother. To reiterate I am not angry but also do nto have much more to say.