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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Phoned 111 last night for a broken wrist and was told to see GP

104 replies

whenwillthemadnessend · 25/09/2021 22:47

Seriously!!!

I wasn't worried before about the NHS as my docs were getting back to normal but I really am now

111 too busy. Told to try see GP on a Friday night at 5.30 Hmm if I'm mistaken gps don't have X-ray even if they were open.
Son with school football injury

It was broken. I ignored them and went to a&e

God help anyone that is seriously ill.

OP posts:
PinkFootstool · 25/09/2021 22:49

Why on earth did you phone them then? 🤔

BurntO · 25/09/2021 22:49

If your wrist was broken you would go to A&E? Perhaps they thought if it was painless enough for you to call 111 it wasn’t broken

vodkaredbullgirl · 25/09/2021 22:50
Hmm
Rolypolybabies · 25/09/2021 22:50

In this area we are directed to call 111 before going to A and E so I would imagine OP was following directions!

dementedpixie · 25/09/2021 22:51

I would have gone to A&E without phoning 111 first

Salacia · 25/09/2021 22:51

Why would you call 111? Surely out of hours if you suspected a broken wrist you’d go straight to A&E/minor injuries? What were you expecting from 111?

texarkana · 25/09/2021 22:51

At one point there was a rule that you weren’t meant to go to A&E without calling first unless life threatening so don’t think OP did anything wrong by calling.

Sunshinebuttercups · 25/09/2021 22:51

In a lot of places you are now being told you have to go through 111 to attend A and E.

EnjoyingTheSilence · 25/09/2021 22:52

Why on earth didn’t you go straight to a&e. That’s what they’re there for

texarkana · 25/09/2021 22:52

@Rolypolybabies

In this area we are directed to call 111 before going to A and E so I would imagine OP was following directions!
Exactly!
ArielFelix · 25/09/2021 22:52

111 don’t have x-ray machines either so I’m also unsure why you didn’t go straight to a&e

XenoBitch · 25/09/2021 22:52

Suspected break is an A&E job... like you said, GPs can't X-ray. If you got through to one, they would say A&E anyway.

JanglyBeads · 25/09/2021 22:52

Think OP means it was her son’s wrist.
I suppose they get many parents thinking their child has a fracture when they don’t, so at least the GP/ nurse could triage. Some surgeries are open until 6 or later?

Presumably local hospital v v busy so they’re doing anything to stop A&E being overwhelmed. How old is yr DS?

But yes, that is a bit worrying.

Original poster
whenwillthemadnessend · 25/09/2021 22:52

Yes we have two a&e in my area and I wanted to make sure I got referred to the right one as I knew one didn't always run X-ray.

I'm Not a complete idiot.

OP posts:
josephfrancistribbiani · 25/09/2021 22:53

@texarkana

At one point there was a rule that you weren’t meant to go to A&E without calling first unless life threatening so don’t think OP did anything wrong by calling.
Was going to say, our local A&E will not allow walk ins at all unless immediately very serious or life threatening, everything else - fractures, burns, etc - you have to phone 111 for an arrival time .
ArielFelix · 25/09/2021 22:53

Just read @Rolypolybabies reply, fair enough if that’s the case, never heard of that before!

Cuddlyrottweiler · 25/09/2021 22:59

Stuff like this has always happened. It's far from a perfect system. They'd be better off googling it than using the script they're given. My mum rang when I was bitten by a pet, she was told that since it was a domestic animal it would be fine and nothing was needed to be done... it got infected and I ended up having surgery to save the part.
They clearly thought she was being dramatic, infection aside, it definitely needed stitches.

BoredZelda · 25/09/2021 23:16

In a lot of places you are now being told you have to go through 111 to attend A and E.

This is nonsense. Do you think if you have a heart attack, you need to call 111 before you head to A&E? Of course not.

People might be advised to check with 111 whether A&E is necessary, but it is never a requirement to call 111 first. And for a known broken wrist you would go to A&E. Although, a friend’s son broke his wrist after a fall. She (Mum) didn’t know it was broken and it was a week before he was in pain enough to go to A&E, so in some cases, it might be fine to wait til the next day.

pinkcarnations · 25/09/2021 23:23

We have Urgent care centres in this area (midlands), I think they used to be called walk-in centres. They have x-ray facilities and are a great alternative to a&e especially for children. I'm surprised 111 didn't suggest this unless of course they aren't uk wide.

Mollymalone123 · 25/09/2021 23:28

I remember back in 1979 going to a and e for broken toes and waiting for 5/6 hours and sitting next to an elderly lady who had been hit by a car and she was sat with blood pouring down one leg. The waiting time really isn’t any worse-if anything it’s better!

BabbleBee · 25/09/2021 23:31

GPs can make direct referrals for x-rays so the advice wasn’t incorrect.

Becca19962014 · 25/09/2021 23:33

@BoredZelda

In a lot of places you are now being told you have to go through 111 to attend A and E.

This is nonsense. Do you think if you have a heart attack, you need to call 111 before you head to A&E? Of course not.

People might be advised to check with 111 whether A&E is necessary, but it is never a requirement to call 111 first. And for a known broken wrist you would go to A&E. Although, a friend’s son broke his wrist after a fall. She (Mum) didn’t know it was broken and it was a week before he was in pain enough to go to A&E, so in some cases, it might be fine to wait til the next day.

It's not nonsense.

My sister was left to lose her baby and nearly die of a haemorrhage on the steps of A&E whilst some bitch demanded over the intercom she rang 111 for an appointment from the fucking steps. After she was denied the medical care she needed due to her medical condition at maternity because they didn't feel it serious enough.

She's been left with permanent disability and severe depression that meant she needed to go into hospital on a section. She's never been the same since. Complete shell of a person. All she was offered upon leaving mental health ward was mindfulness.

She has complained but that won't bring her child back. Nor will it bring back her faith and peace of mind that there is a "safety net" when ill, or fix the physical injuries she was left to struggle with as they got her sent home with just a referral to her GP who could do nothing at all. God knows what would have happened if her fiancé wasn't with her giving them hell via their bloody intercom whilst the fucking door remained locked to protect them.

It's been like that where I live for almost eighteen months now and no let up.

It can take 111 hours to phone back as where I am they're run by the ambulance service. If you lack the knowledge to explain your needs properly then you can be waiting 12 hours plus; even then A&E must be convinced it's necessary. You'd have thought phoning whilst bleeding and pregnant would have been a serious issue but no, rough wait time was 12 hours. She'd be dead if she had done that.

RichardMarxisinnocent · 25/09/2021 23:33

@BoredZelda

In a lot of places you are now being told you have to go through 111 to attend A and E.

This is nonsense. Do you think if you have a heart attack, you need to call 111 before you head to A&E? Of course not.

People might be advised to check with 111 whether A&E is necessary, but it is never a requirement to call 111 first. And for a known broken wrist you would go to A&E. Although, a friend’s son broke his wrist after a fall. She (Mum) didn’t know it was broken and it was a week before he was in pain enough to go to A&E, so in some cases, it might be fine to wait til the next day.

While it may not be a requirement in many areas it is strongly encouraged to call 111 if you have a non life threatening issue, and be allocated an arrival time in A&E. Google "111 First RCEM" and have a read of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine's info and FAQs about it. Obviously you don't need to phone if you're having a heart attack.
Heathcliff27 · 25/09/2021 23:33

@BoredZelda

In a lot of places you are now being told you have to go through 111 to attend A and E.

This is nonsense. Do you think if you have a heart attack, you need to call 111 before you head to A&E? Of course not.

People might be advised to check with 111 whether A&E is necessary, but it is never a requirement to call 111 first. And for a known broken wrist you would go to A&E. Although, a friend’s son broke his wrist after a fall. She (Mum) didn’t know it was broken and it was a week before he was in pain enough to go to A&E, so in some cases, it might be fine to wait til the next day.

This is true in our area. My friend took her vomiting blood child to A&E and was sent outside to her car to phone 111 to be given a time to go in.
Dsandnappies · 25/09/2021 23:39

Jesus, Becca. That is absolutely unforgivable your poor poor sister Sad