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.

I work on a paeds assessment unit and we have not missed the time wasters and the shit GP referrals.

Unfortunately I think it will go back to exactly how it was (I also works in Paeds). Personally I think the people who used to turn up at a&e unnecessarily are the ones who are now panic buying. They have a new focus. Just my theory!

Am guessing as it was a childrens hospital and children are seemingly less affected by covid that could be why it was quieter. Hope your little one is recovered soon

And is my cancer nurse allowed to email me to say "yes you can go for a half an hour walk outside provided you keep very strictly to the social distancing guidelines" or "no you absolutely may not go outside your front or back door not even for the authorised exercise categories until I say".
Bubblebu
Yes, she is. Ask her

Cancer nurses and oncologists do that even in normal circumstances.

If you need to get on a bus to go to hospital you can get in a taxi to go to hospital. How would people without a bus service get there.

I used to have a high level volunteer position with our local NHS trust and the head of A&E presented at a meeting that up to 80% of people who turn up at A&E don’t actually need to.

It will be interesting to see if, after this has blown over somewhat...the people who go to a+e for superficial cuts..or sometmes eve for company will refrain still. I dubt it, but if A+Es are dead, it kind of shows how many go there for no reason, as for the past 8 years whenever I have been in a hospital, A+E has been stuffed full, usually nt nough seats for everyone!

suspect the nightingale hospital will barely be used. But..better t ohave it and not need it than need it and not have it!

Bubble, either do what the nurse says or tell them you are refusing any further treatment so they don't have to waste time trying to get you to do simple things like sending in your temp reading...

Shows you how many real accidents and emergencies there are. How much better our NHS would be if people showed that respect all the time!

it sounds like the NHS are far far more certain of the way C19 is diagnosed than the general public is.

I should certainly hope so!

DS2 is an A&E nurse. Last week he told me that on one shift that had a projected attendance of 450 patients but what they really had was 190.

There are no schools on, gatherings are banned, bars are shut, hardly any cars on the road, all sports cancelled, children's parks closed. All this will naturally bring the accident rate down.

I would have expected A&E to be busier with people who can't access a GP face to face, though.

Perhaps people are holding off? I had a gynae appt but I have cancelled it as I really don't want to be anywhere near a hospital right now.

My best friend is a sister of an A&E department. She said it’s funny that people do actually understand now what A&E is for - people with heart attacks/strokes/burns/meningitis/ emergencies.

Apart from now people are thinking ‘is it worth catching covid-19’ for when really it should be like that all the time.

I know someone who regularly goes for a bad headache.

My mum was admitted to A&E by ambulance during the last World Cup. I commented to the paramedic how quiet it was. He laughed and said yes, people don’t have medical emergencies when the football’s on. That we misuse the NHS is evident at times like this.

Op, the children's hospital I work in is so dead, that we've merged 4 wards because of a lack of patients and staff are having to take annual leave/ time owing. Elective surgery is cancelled and kids are getting less injuries/ less road accidents. I was amazed to learn that London hospitals are not at capacity yet.

It is scary thinking of the really sick kids who should be brought in, who are sitting at home and who will eventually roll up very very sick.

@Bubblebu it's important that she knows your readings in case you have an infection. If she's asking it's because she needs it!

I must admit I had a huge asthma attack on Friday night and my inhaler wasn’t shifting it, but I still didn’t go to A&E for fear I wouldn’t leave the hospital again

"it sounds like the NHS are far far more certain of the way C19 is diagnosed than the general public is.

I should certainly hope so!"

of course.

But that does not take away the fact that the public have to read conflicting and ever changing information about diagnosis of the virus in the press every day (because what else do you do indoors all day long apart from read the press for information).

@Toddlerteaplease I’ve been wondering if sepsis is getting missed. It’ll be interesting to see what learning and discussion comes out of this, eventually.

Toddlerteaplease
Yes I know. I have just taken it again and it is now 35.6 which seems low - I don't know.

I was on 2 lots of anti biotics after my surgery but still this hot cold thing persists.

Things have got better in my GP and no doubt countless others. Twice i haven't been able to get appointments and by the time I went to A&E i needed admitting, once with the original corona virus which had turned into a deep chest infection. I've been able for the first time in years to get antibiotics via my GP. I usually go to the walk in.

Whenever I've been through A&E, which is many times as a carer, there have been lots if people who should have been able to be seen in the community. A fair few who needed pain relief injections for sever conditions.

They may now be able to access other routes of treatments.

As well as what has been said, routine operations have been cancelled, so there's no one coming through A&E with complications.

There's usually a fair few pregnant women needing treatment for non pregnancy stuff, who their GP won't see, so i don't know whose now seeing them.

We'll get the data on the effect of this a year down the line. I think there probably will be an increase in deaths, in general. It will be interesting to see if it has affected maternity care. I know early data is saying that suicides are up.

I agree that there is a, level of timewasters, but just because you don't need admitting etc doesn't mean that you are a timewaster.

Yes I think most people are staying at home and therefore less accidents

I worry that because coughing often does cause chest pain from muscle injury, that heart attacks are not being recognised.

Either it’s low or you aren’t taking it correctly. The first thing you should do is take it again. How are you taking it?