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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

A&E Waiting Times

32 replies

roses2 · 21/03/2020 22:07

I've just come back from a visit to A&E as DS (age 4) smacked his head on the table. In and out in 30 minutes which included initial triage followed by glue to his head. Only one other patient waiting to be seen. This was Central London around 8pm.

The doctor said people just aren't going to A&E anymore as they are afraid of catching coronovirus. He said it just goes to show the majority of people who go to A&E don't really need to and if it stayed this way for the future it would free up resources and NHS cash so they could focus where it would make a real difference.

Not really an AIBU I guess but if there was a way they could send patients away that don't really need to see anyone would be such a huge relief to the system.

Where are all these sick people that normally visit A&E now? At home self healing?

OP posts:
ivykaty44 · 21/03/2020 22:10

Most accidents happen in the home - apparently, so perhaps everyone has gone to Snowden’s, Devon and the highlands 🙄

PinkiOcelot · 21/03/2020 22:10

It certainly makes you wonder doesn’t it?!

Redglitter · 21/03/2020 22:15

Just shows how many people who usually trot off to a&e dont actually need to be there

Frigginella · 21/03/2020 22:17

This is not surprising at all. It really does go to show. The last time I went to A&E (also for head glueing) there were so many people getting triaged and sent elsewhere as they didn’t need A&E.

maggiecate · 21/03/2020 22:24

It's Saturday night but the pubs are closed - it must be very strange working in A&E tonight, I'd imagine it would be kicking off by now normally.

MindfullWWer · 21/03/2020 22:25

That is a good news story. Unfortunately, as the A&E staff know, this is the calm before the storm, the tide out beach before the Tsunami and the birds flying high before something equally disastrous happens. The people in hospital now got sick 10 days ago at least. They now need critical care. Please protect our NHS by social distancing so in another ten days time we are not mourning the death of thousands of loved ones like Italy is doing now. #Social distancing saves lives.

Office365 · 21/03/2020 22:30

It definitely could also be a few semi/serious injuries are going untreated though!
People are genuinely scared.

DrFoxtrot · 21/03/2020 22:32

Very similar to A+E waiting rooms during important World Cup Games.

Sparklesocks · 21/03/2020 22:41

Interesting. I wonder if more data will come out showing that.

Personally I hate the idea of sitting in A&E for hours on end so only go if absolutely needed. I have no idea how people don’t get bored out of their skull sitting for hours if they go because they slightly banged their elbow or whatever.

rosiejaune · 21/03/2020 22:54

It doesn't necessarily show any such thing.

It could just mean people are hobbling round injured at home, doing themselves worse damage which will cost the NHS more time and money long-term to fix later.

Or that fewer people are getting injured, because they're staying at home more.

The five times I've gone to A&E, I would still have gone in this situation too. They were:

-Toe fracture (it was sticking out at 45 degrees to normal; I haven't gone for other broken toes which were still straight)
-Head injury (my ex pushed me backwards into a doorframe and I got a giant bump on my head and felt nauseous)
-3 year old injured her face falling off the settee (looked worse than it was, but I had no way of knowing that without going)
-Knee injury (couldn't walk around, had to bump myself downstairs and hop to the bus stop)
-Chest pains and impending sense of doom (taken by ambulance, they found some anomalies in the tests but don't know what was wrong; I don't get panic attacks)

There is not a separate urgent treatment or minor injuries centre here, so A&E is the only place to go for this stuff - they triage you and then direct as appropriate to each level of service in that building.

Lifeisabeach09 · 21/03/2020 22:57

I worked in A & E a few years ago when the junior doctors went on strike due to Hunt's contract changes. It was dead! People stayed away because they thought they wouldn't be seen by a doctor.
It was so ironic because it was, literally, the best time to be seen if needed because all the doctors on duty (and there were lots) were consultants!! Grin

BackforGood · 21/03/2020 23:04

Don't forget there aren't the people drinking in pubs for hours, and there aren't all the sporting injuries or even injuries at work happening.

I do agree an incredible awful number of people do use A&E as a sort of 'drop in Doctor Surgery' and shouldn't be there at all but I think you might be over simplifying.

70isaLimitNotaTarget · 21/03/2020 23:07

He said it just goes to show the majority of people who go to A&E don't really need to and if it stayed this way for the future it would free up resources and NHS cash so they could focus where it would make a real difference

Actually it does not .
I treat patients in Community ( Podiatrist) who are High Risk - mainly diabetes and al the complications that go with.
It is hard enough to convince a patient to attend A&E even with a letter for admission and I.V. antibiotics or urgent Vascular opinion.
Xtay or referal to MRI

I predict a lot of them will NOT attend due to the risk of Covid 19 and either put themselves at risk.
Or assume a temperature is CV when it could be an infection.
Or they'll leave it expecting us to email the GP for antibiotics (which may take a clinical day to arrange ) and miss the window of opprtunity .

So no, they don't clutter up A&E just because .
And I really worry , because often they should .

edwinbear · 21/03/2020 23:09

I’m also in a London hospital tonight having just been admitted from A&E. The doctors and nurses were saying the exact same thing about how quiet it is because people are staying away.

Cremebrule · 21/03/2020 23:12

We’ve been in and it was dead. In and out in less than 20 mins but we were pretty delayed in going with lots of umming as to whether we should. 111 and ooh took hours though.

Kahlua4me · 21/03/2020 23:15

Hope you are ok edwinbear and not in too much pain.

Squidsister · 21/03/2020 23:15

Maybe because Saturday sports events are cancelled? So fewer injuries?
Last time I was in A&E on a Saturday (had an an ill child) there were a few guys in football kits hobbling round with bust ankles / knees etc!

Mind you there will probably be lots of DIY injuries now everyone is at home for the foreseeable future...

nedtherobbot · 22/03/2020 00:01

My gp sent me for a chest x Ray yesterday, thanks to a chest infection that doesn't seem to want to clear. Between both children having hip issues and ds and other family members being anual visitors to the MRI suite, I've spent hours and hours waiting in the radiology waiting room. When I went up yesterday afternoon there was one other person in the waiting room and I was in and out within 15 minutes. While I know none urget appointments have been mostly cancelled by the hospital there is usually a good amount of injured people waiting to be seen.

Ouch44 · 22/03/2020 00:23

My DH is an A&E Dr in the North West. It has been very quiet. The staff don't like it. It's stressing them even more.

He was on call last Saturday night. He normally comes back in the early hours but he came back at 7pm as it was quiet.

He says the staff are gearing up ready and expecting next weekend to be when things willl change. Their clinics are also the quiet due to people cancelling. They are going to change their shift patterns soon so more Drs on throughout the night. RTAs down apparently.

Northernsoullover · 22/03/2020 00:26

I will be interested to see the figures for alcohol related crime for this period.

PotholeParadise · 22/03/2020 03:43

People have very poor judgement. Notmally you get people turning up to A&E with broken false nails that were broken in an 'accident', and people with fractures dismiss them as muscle wrenches.

Right now, I guarantee you that there are people convincing themselves that broken bones are sprains and bruises, because they're scared of coronavirus.

If your doctor friend wants to work out what proportion of A&E visits should be there, he would be better off taking notes of his professional conclusion after every patient, in collaboration with the rest of the department, and tallying the ratios of "why the fuck were they here?":"they were fine but they were right to get checked out":"oh my god, they hesitated over coming with this? His arm was hanging off!"

NewYearNewJob123 · 22/03/2020 03:57

My local huge A and E has been quiet for a week so its not because pubs are shut.

A small number of genuinely ill people will be staying away when they shouldnt but on the whole its just filtered out the time wasters

PotholeParadise · 22/03/2020 04:21

I'm not sure how significant the numbers are, but according to MN threads elsewhere, 111 seems to be screening out potential A&E patients as suspected coronavirus because of a temperature, and telling them to stay home, when the temperature is caused by something else.

So far I've read one thread about a child who turned out to have meningitis, and another thread about a child whose fever sounded like it could potentially be either a localised heat around an infected wound, or a symptom of sepsis.

PotholeParadise · 22/03/2020 04:23

I do recognize 111 is between a rock and a hard place. How does one tell the difference between a viral fever from coronavirus and any other fever over the phone with 100% accuracy? A magic wand?

Mummyoflittledragon · 22/03/2020 04:38

Wow that’s amazing! Have only ever been to A&E for actual proper reasons.... but yes, the last time it went it was heaving. I was misdiagnosed (which I knew but it’s not possible to argue with staff when you’re as ill as me) and went ASAP to a private consultant, who transferred me directly to hospital from his office.