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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To ask if it’s normal to be kept in a&e for so long

46 replies

Christmaslover67 · 02/10/2021 23:00

Went in due to my heart rate and chest pains. I got there at 4pm. I was in resus for about an hour then in majors till 12 pm the next day. Is this normal I always thought the aim was only a few hours spent in a&e

OP posts:

AveryGoodlay · 03/10/2021 01:35

Pre pandemic ( 4 years ago) my then 18 month old was suspected to have meningitis. There was no bed for him so we spent over 20hrs inbetween a&e and examination rooms.

HoppingPavlova · 03/10/2021 02:12

I was admitted yes. Do you have to be stable medically before they send you to a ward?

To a point but the main factor is scoring a bed on the ward, it’s generally the rate limiting factor.

ThinWomansBrain · 03/10/2021 02:23

Not ideal, but you were seen, treated, and I hope that you're now feeling better.
Maybe they didn't want to transfer you to a ward of COVID patients?

housemdwaswrong · 03/10/2021 03:41

Depends. Last time I got there at 1pm, was on a ward at 11am the next day. They were waiting for beds to become available then it becomes a catch 22: I'm taking a bed in a&e waiting for a ward bed, thus reducing capacity in a%e causing people to wait longer. I was fed up, hungry and tired, but pleased to be getting the medical attention necessary.

Redsquirrel5 · 03/10/2021 08:36

A couple of years ago I was in A&E three times in a week. The first time I went in myself from work kept from around 3:30 pm in waiting room with chest pain for 4hrs 30 mins then kept until following day. Second time rang 111 and ambulance sent as it was on its way back from one hospital to another. Paramedic assessed and took me in. Kept on A&E from about 7pm - 11am. Third time taken from work where I was deathly colour and nearly collapsed 4 pm - midnight in A&E then transferred to a bed in a mixed ward. Not previously admitted because there wasn’t a bed. Several wards on this hospital had been closed due to lack of staff.

Diagnosed with high blood pressure. G P said it was on the ceiling and pulse was extremely fast.

Hope you make a speedy recovery.

FierceS221 · 03/10/2021 09:30

I began having quite severe seizures (would loose consciousness) earlier this year, completely out of the blue . After my first seizure I was taken to a&e.

The seizure happened early hours of the morning. I was kept there until around tea time the next day waiting for a ward bed, which I know obviously can't be helped.

The worst part was, I was in a room completely alone and not checked on very often, which is obviously dangerous giving I'd had a seizure for no apparent reason.

I was offered 1 sandwich and had 1 glass of water the whole time I was in this room.

I've unfortunately had a few more severe seizures since and I absolutely dread being taken to hospital for the reasons above

Sorry I trailed off topic abot there

FierceS221 · 03/10/2021 09:32

I would like to add that after my 2nd seizure, the a&e to ward transition was a lot quicker, however I had suffered quite a bad injury during my seizure

UmbilicusProfundus · 03/10/2021 09:34

Don’t worry. I’ve heard that Boris is personally building 100 brand new hospitals so everything will be ok in a few weeks.

CottonSock · 03/10/2021 09:35

I was in a&e last month for 36 hours. It was hell. I had a reclining chair, bit struggled to recline it due to appendix.

Doubledoorsontogarden · 03/10/2021 09:37

My blood tests took 3 hours in a&e then funnily enough sent home at 4 hours. Same as you heart rate and chest pain. Be thankful you’ve got a bed

drinkingwineoutofamug · 03/10/2021 09:42

We had 16 on beds in the corridors yesterday. No beds in the trust. Trying to discharge patients but no care in the community, residential/nursing homes keep having out breaks of either COVID or norovirus. This has a knock on effect.
Have patients who need transfers to other hospitals for specialised treatment and can't because our ward had a COVID outbreak so that set discharges back a month.
We are having our usual winter pressures now during autumn. Winter will be worse.
Hope you feel better soon OP.
(Not read the full thread)

FreedomFaith · 03/10/2021 09:46

You're complaining because you were treated and cared for, but not in a ward?

Does it matter where you are as long as you are being treated?

containsnuts · 03/10/2021 09:54

I was actualy admitted to a ward once for no other reason than that I'd hit the 4 hour A&E limit. I sat on the edge of a bed for 20 minutes and was discharged as soon as I go my prescription. Wishing you a speedy recovery, OP.

CorrBlimeyGG · 03/10/2021 09:58

Does it matter where you are as long as you are being treated?

It does because it's blocking space in A&E, and it's symptomatic of a much larger problem. We're not even in winter and many hospitals are full. Covid is very much still an issue. And what the hell are the government doing about it? Fuck all.

Woeismethischristmas · 03/10/2021 10:03

I was there for ten hours recently. They admitted me at four am.

Ponoka7 · 03/10/2021 10:09

@FreedomFaith, people have died in ambulances because the closest A&Es are full. Care has also been compromised because for some reason, computer software contracts for friends and not for purpose, being one, patient records still can't be accessed. That's more relevant now visitors aren't allowed, so can't verbally fill in the blanks for the Nursing Staff.

Covidwoes · 03/10/2021 10:12

Hi @Christmaslover67. I haven't been to A&E for myself in quite a few years now, but I used to have an SVT arrhythmia (cured by ablation) which would land me up in resus, and often end in admission. If the hospital was particularly busy, I'd be in A&E ages, even when my heart rate had stabilised. I guess though it depends on what the problem is. A heart attack (if that's what the issue is) would need stabilising I guess which would likely take longer than 'just' an arrhythmia (provided the arrhythmia didn't restart again).

MilduraS · 03/10/2021 10:16

It might not be unusual for a heart attack. When my Dad went to A&E years ago he was there until late the next morning then transferred to a specialist hospital about an hour away to have a stent fitted. He never saw a ward at our local hospital.

LindaEllen · 03/10/2021 10:51

DP went in with chest pains and was in for 7 hours. Luckily they didn't want to keep him in as they decided it was muscular, but it was a long day. Even worse because I was worried about him and couldn't go in with him due to covid and he had no phone signal in the hospital.

MorganKitten · 03/10/2021 10:58

That’s normal

LIZS · 03/10/2021 11:08

It is supposed to be four hours target. However our local hospital declared a critical incident last week with over 50 more patients than beds so can imagine you might be held in A and E pending a suitable bed coming available. As long as your care there was appropriate and timely you won't get far with a complaint.

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