Why is A&E empty but building 4000 people hospitals?

[Luci459]

Been to A&E and it was dead!

Went to a children's hospital and it was also dead. We were the only people in there.

The media are saying the hospitals are over run? Groups of nurses and doctors huddling round in the hospitals I was in.

Oh,and the rest of the hospital we have over 50% covid and we are now using ITU overflow areas,and we have yet to hit the surge.

Sorry, this is such a silly thing to nitpick but I much prefer the "red" and "green" separation rather than "clean" or "dirty"

Ater this has all calmed down hopefully people will have their minds changed as to what constitutes an emergency or urgent case. It should help take pressure off the NHS going forward.

"@Bubblebu please be sensible. Please listen to your nurse. As others have said, the reason she’s asking all this of you is two-fold: firstly, it’s really crucial to keep you out of hospital if at all possible to avoid you picking up COVID on site. Secondly, if you have been exposed to COVID some other way, you would need to be monitored and treated as soon as possible"

I have done it - I have submitted my temperature by email to my nurse.

But as per my posts above, if I do have C19 I suspect I caught it because I spent so much time on public transport travelling to appointments intensively up until 10 March..... I basically have been staying at home on chemotherapy apart from that....

And yes you CAN say "well no body knew when the lockdown was going to come" but I really did have serious reservations about requests for me to go on multiple occasions to A&E and hospital to test for neutropenia (I did go) precisely because I had to travel on public transport and I did tell the professionals who were telling me to go I was worried about C19 but they told me to go anyway.

Well maybe this is all a bit circular but can you see how KNOWING I had a reduced immunity and yet being told to travel repeatedly on public transport would be scary?? Of course it is not the NHS's fault I do not have a car etc but they did know I had done 6 rounds of chemo and they did know my white blood cell count was low.

Because people are not attending. Wonder how many people with chest pains are staying home. Likewise, people avoiding doctor surgeries.
The reaction to this thing will kill several times more people than it saves.
Meanwhile Sweden goes on as normal. Because they have sense.

We had this conversation at home only this morning. As my DH pointed out, lots of the cases in A&E are either sport or work related injuries. No one is playing sport and lots of people are unable to work (ie builders, double glazing people, etc). Maybe this is why?

Are you saying all other NHS patients will not be abandoned at some point in the next few weeks / months?

I'm asking you if it's a fear of feeling abandoned that means you're choosing to not following some simple instructions.

@crunchymum things have changed to be red and green, initially it was clean and dirty. Apologies, I hadn't RTFT and seen that this had been explained to be red and green.

I went to a&e last month (it was for a very good reason!) and it was dead because according to staff, all the time wasters were keeping away!

User149, that must be very upsetting. I can see why it might feel it doesn't matter anymore though it may be the risk of the patient catching COVID or the availability of ITU in case of post-surgical complications (if the treatment they would receive may require that) may mean it is now in the best interests of the patient to wait. I hope communications improve and good luck.

Less traffic accidents too.

Fewer!!

Well I was in a and e Monday night with my son (referred to by a Dr before any one jumps on me for time wasting!) and to the untrained eye it looked dead but they were placing patients in separate rooms rather than letting us wait in the waiting rooms. To all intents and purposes it looked empty but every room was full and they were taking our temperatures and asking about covid symptoms, I assume to separate us if we potentially had it. Hospitals are having to alter their protocols a little, things are different from wht they seem.

They’re preparing for the huge spike in cases and have built temporary hospitals to deal specifically with Covid to keep The patients Out of normal hospitals as much as possible.
Would you rather that they didn’t prep?
A&E is quiet because for once people are listening to the accident and emergency only part - there aren’t the normal Injured drunks In there cos the pubs are shut, there are t the normal sports injuries as there are no activities going on, there are less victims of road traffic accidents and there’s less traffic, there are less workplace injuries as no-one is at work...

"I'm asking you if it's a fear of feeling abandoned that means you're choosing to not following some simple instructions"

No, it is a fear that she, knowing full well I rely on public transport, and knowing full well I have reduced immunity, will order me into A&E anyway.

And also, yes, I do know I am not alone as a member of the public being worried that literally nothing whatsoever apart from C19 cases will be treated by the NHS in the coming weeks/months.

Our hospital has literally never been emptier as we wait for the surge (Covid cases still reasonably few and hardly any heading to ICU yet). After a winter of being slammed there are now hundreds of empty beds. This is partly that stranded medically fit patients, of which there were many, have now been shipped out as referral protocols have changed to simplify/speed up the process, and partly that all non-urgent elective stuff has been cancelled. ED attendances are also right down.

However, the Director of Nursing did wonder out loud the other day where everyone else is. It is a concern that there are people currently not in hospital who probably should be.

I think there will be alot of interesting stuff come out of this around NHS use. I saw it suggested you will never just make an appointment to see a GP again, it will all be phone triaged in future.

My dc is under 3 consultants, and all the regular apps are changed to the phone apps. I'd imagine hospital must be empty. But it doesn't mean the drs and nurses aren't busy. We have been communicating with specialist nurse prior to lock down, got enough meds to last 3/4 months.
Just because there aren't many attending hospital, it doesn't mean they are not busy dealing with patients.

No, it is a fear that she, knowing full well I rely on public transport, and knowing full well I have reduced immunity, will order me into A&E anyway.

You don't know that. You're not a mind reader or a future-teller. All you have to do is email her your temperature and stop giving her extra work to do.

If you are worried about being out in public, you would be following the instruction that you stay indoors.

Luc

Sigh.

I am staying indoors as I have said on my posts above.

I saw it suggested you will never just make an appointment to see a GP again, it will all be phone triaged in future.

GPs have been wanting that for years. This is an ideal opportunity for them. Funny how all those essential things they insisted were vital are now not necessary any more. I think it's time the traditional GP surgery model was scrapped and we move to the more European model of clinics instead.

Just because there aren't many attending hospital, it doesn't mean they are not busy dealing with patients.

But we've been told for years that face to face is vital, now apparently phone calls are just as good. ?????

Yes, all the time wasters are too scared for their own lives to go to A&E.
When I rushed my dm into hospital a few months ago I was queuing behind two such time wasters. One had a sty in her fucking eye and the other stubbed his toe 🙄
‘Yes, I’ll just wait whilst my dm has breathing and heart problems you fucking oxygen thieves!’ 😡
A&E is overrun with these idiots. We have a massive walk in centre. Last time I was there, it was empty, just before Christmas as dd had an infection. We got seen straight away.

My very own GP surgery has a phone only policy and has done for years - if what you tell them on the phone is deemed serious enough they then might then let you have a face to face.

Hence my cancer was missed for months - maybe up to 18 months as trying to describe a lump to a GP on the phone somehow does not work....

OMG @Bubblebu

If your nurse ‘orders’ you into A&E it will be because as a highly trained medical expert she thinks that is the best thing for your health, not because she is in some way out to get you or trying to put you in harms way.

If you are immunocompromised you should be isolating not going for walks through your deserted village, it will only take one infected person thinking they can also walk through the ‘deserted’ village to pass the virus on to you.