To be cynical about empty A&E

[Cinders29]

So my son has to come to A&E / be admitted to children's wards fairly regularly and usually children's A&E is HEAVING , wards are busy etc however came yesterday and completely empty. Literally just us ( big city hospital )

AIBU to think this proves that people totally misuse the NHS and come in when they really don't need to.

On a plus PICU is really quiet due to lack of accidents etc so it's great to see they're not stretched. The staff from PICU are helping out on my sons ward due to lack of work.

[Caucasianchalkcircles]

8 nurses to turn a ventilated patient ? I think you mean to prone position a patient rather than a simple change of position for pressure area relief.
And the person above saying ICU nurses are caring for 6 patients instead of 1 in some units ? Sorry but that is physically impossible and if they are genuinely doing so, they are not level 2 or 3 patients.
I was in work (ICU) the other day and we were no busier in terms of patient numbers than normal although it was more time consuming having to gown up etc and working conditions were not good (masks tight, sweaty and uncomfortable, isolated in a bay etc). This however could well have changed and massive preparations have been made to deal with this.

[showmethegin]

I'm sure this is the case, but please remember a lot of people that need medical care are being told they can't be helped at this time. I miscarried on Thursday and all I got was a call from the GP who told me that I wouldn't be seen at EPAU. That was it, no care at all.

[notanotherjigsawpiece]

And the person above saying ICU nurses are caring for 6 patients instead of 1 in some units ? Sorry but that is physically impossible and if they are genuinely doing so, they are not level 2 or 3 patients.

[Applesandpears23]

With the kids all at home there must be lots of illnesses that aren’t circulating as much as usual too.eg measles

[itsgettingweird]

Agree. I've said the same re GP surgery.

It's amazing how many people don't actually need to see a GP.

[oakleaffy]

I heard the same from a friend who works as a Nurse ...Casualty empty. {compared to normal}..An awful lot of Casualty visits really aren't necessary, Maybe people are now ''thinking'' before turning up en famille with the entire family for a grazed knee.

[Looneytune253]

I completely agree with you. I'd defo think twice about going to A&E now say if one of the children had hurt their leg I'd be more inclined to wait a day or two (as long as they weren't properly in pain of course. I also think it may also be down to GPs being more likely to speak and prescribe to people down the phone at this time. I've been hospitalised or had to go into the (walk in part) of the A&E with water infections or kidney infections but I have a feeling, given the current climate, a GP would prescribe with a phone consultation

[LaneBoy]

I am really hoping that one potential long lasting effect from this crisis is that people will start thinking more carefully about when to visit doctors (eg not for a cold 🙄) and A&E for things that can be treated at home or checked by a pharmacist.

I do sadly think it will return to normal soon enough though.

[Duchessofblandings]

YANBU

[Duchessofblandings]

(Imagine closed pubs have quite a lot to do with night time admissions)

[SlothMama]

Hopefully this will change peoples mindsets about using services like A&E, but I doubt it. The CF who misuse it are probably too busy panic buying.

[Gumbo]

I had an ambulance called for me a couple of days ago (I was unconscious and not breathing - so priority 1). They arrived within 10 minutes from the next town; during this time some wonderful people had managed to get me breathing again and I was conscious. The paramedics (who were really lovely) checked me over and told me that the usual protocol after such a situation would be to take me to hospital and get me monitored/checked for broken ribs etc, but given the circumstances they advised me against it, and (although it was obviously still my choice) encouraged me to sign a disclaimer to say that I had refused to go to hospital.

I think it was absolutely the right thing to do - but it also suggests that even people who would normally be admitted to hospital as a precautionary measure aren't going, which would add to why things are quieter....

[KatnissMellark]

I do agree with you, however not only are we not doing things we'd normally do: long commutes (so no chance of car accidents) nursery and work attendance (so low chance of picking up bugs/illnesses), playgrounds, softplay, long hikes etc (so lower chance of injury) we are also being SO SUPER CAREFUL around the home and garden- doubly ensuring food is defrosted and cooked properly (not that I'm normally lax but being extra careful now) and watching our toddler more closely (have never been a helicopter parent but making sure DS3 is very careful on climbing frame, stairs etc) as we don't want a trip to a+e either for our own sakes (infection risk) or to put pressure on the NHS at this time.

[Whatevah]

We are being trained up for ICU at the min, and it is x 5 people (people, not nurses) to prone a patient. 1 at the head, the other 4 are 2 to a side.
I think it is that if things get really bad, the likes of me (no ICU experience) will have a patient and there will be 1 ICU nurse over looking the likes of me and 5 others. That’s what has happened in other countries.
There are not enough ICU trained nurses for all these ventilators, who do you think is going to man them? There won’t be 1 ICU nurse per patient. Not if things get bad.

[Whatevah]

newDOOFUSfor20 hope you don’t get it and can get back soon.
I’m not saying no one is isolating btw, just that in my experience, there really are not many if any nurses isolating.

[Cinders29]

Completely get the point about 'better to be safe than sorry ' but , ( and maybe I'm hardened to this ) I see so many kids with temps and just general run of the mill illnesses in A&E , illnesses that can be treated at home ( I know I may be shot down for that, cus of course I'm not a doctor but when you're in there and speaking to parents and see them walk out an hour later... )

I think it just gets my back up because my child has complex medical issues so I've seen what a 'real' emergency looks like time and time again - and maybe that's why it's easier for me to make that judgement call. If any of my children get temps etc I treat at home and monitor symptoms whereas I think a lot automatically ring 111 who then advise a&e - it is absolutely not just parents faults but GPs and 111 that send to a&e.

[Caucasianchalkcircles]

notanotherjigsawpiece sorry but 1 to 6 in ICU really would be dangerous.
We are talking about about tubed sedated patients, probably on inotropic support, hourly obs who literally need all care. This may be predicted later when it hits its peak but cannot imagine now. And even then 1:6 is pretty extreme.

[Cinders29]

I really hope that after all of this people really do think twice and become more confident in managing their children's symptoms if they are presenting with no concerning symptoms.

[Antipodeancousin]

I work in oncology/haematology and the hospital is cancelling a lot of treatment in outpatient clinics and on the wards due to coronavirus. We are already seeing a huge drop in our patients attending emergency - a share of them always come back to hospital via emergency with complications.
One of our long term patients died last week, which was not unexpected. Her husband said she had refused to come to the hospital when she started to deteriorate because she didn’t want to be a burden but at the very end her pain was not managed at home.

[SpoonfulofDragon]

ICU teams normally work twelve hours a day in most trusts - it has been proven to be better for families and patients if the care is not swapped during the day. During break times care can be down to 1 nurse to 2 patients. This is level 3 care.

In HDU it's often 1 doctor for several patients, and nursing care is the same.

A military rota is actually usually based on 24/48 hour shift patterns, unless the rotation is an NHS rotation or Community rotation (or base GP etc.)

[Didkdt]

You can't get into A&e if you or a member of your family has Covid symptoms and at this time if year that rules out a lot of people.

[Beckyboom]

I do wonder what kind of increase we’ll see in later stage cancer diagnosis after this pandemic as people aren’t going to their GP at the moment as they don’t want to waste resources.

[Oakmaiden]

@NotPawPatrolAgain

If you are in pain, please phone your GP for advice - tell him what has happened. And if he advises you, again, to go to A&E then please do. You could ask him to phone them on your behalf to let them know you are coming in, if you are afraid they will turn you away again....

[ginghamstarfish]

Yes, it's well known that anything free is abused, and the NHS is no different. Amazing that all those 'emergencies' have suddenly stopped happening.

[Potionqueen]

Don’t forget the nhs was already 40,000 short of nurses. Nurses where telling people, but no one listened. With staff sickness, isolation etc you can bet they are overwhelmed and overworked.

Some nasty goody comments on here. Let’s hope they all volunteer to work on the wards when needed hey.