To say every hospital should have a children’s A&E

[Wouldloveanother]

I know, it’s pie in the sky and won’t happen.
the state of A&E scares me at the moment. It’s one thing adults waiting 12+ hours alongside people high on drugs or in mental distress (our A&E seems to have a lot of both), it’s another thing for a small child to have to wait in such circumstances. I also feel in general children should take priority over adults (perhaps that’s controversial) and they shouldn’t have to queue with us.
Where we lived before had a dedicated children’s A&E and it was fantastic. AIBU?

my local hospital has a separate A and E for children. I think it’s great. The children are not getting priority over adults though. The adult A and E has its own staff and the Children’s A and E has its own staff.

I hope it was all like you said OP. At least one day.

I don't think they said that at all. It may be unsettling for a child to be around that though so there's nothing wrong with thinking about the children too.

They also didn't say that the people in a mental health crisis didn't deserve treatment either as mentioned on this thread. People pluck out what they want to hear from posts like this and argue needlessly.

I think separate a&e are quite common now. Our two large hospitals have completely separate a&e for children now and the small one has a separate contained waiting area for kids. They also often have their own docs in the dept so sometimes you get seen quicker. Children can decline so rapidly and it's not fun waiting with them.

I also feel in general children should take priority over adults (perhaps that’s controversial)

You literally said you feel they should take priority. And yes, they'd have separate staff, but I'm doing so that would lead to less resources being available for everyone else.

Seperate waiting rooms though, absolutely!

I completely disagree. I would not want my dc to sit for hours on end around someone in mh distress.

Absolutely. Why should a child take priority over a much sicker adult.
On a totally different level, it boils my blood when some airlines let young kids on first - just pay for priority! What about the elderly who don't need wheelchair assistance but find it hard to stand - they would have to pay priority. Sick of this child centred universe some are living in.
Yes, in an ideal world there would be a separate children's A and E, and it would probably be clogged up with 20% genuine emergencies and 80% hysterical mothers and those too lazy to book and wait for a GP appointment.

The last two times I've taken my dc's to A&E we were sent to a different waiting room away from the main A&E waiting room. There wasn't only children in the waiting room, there were adults waiting as well, but it did seem to be the place where children were sent to wait. It was smaller and quieter than the main waiting room.

When we went through to be seen we went to a ward that only had children on it. No adults being treated. The doctors we saw were paediatricians.

Does this mean my local hospital has a children's A&E?

I agree with you. Separate unit with an always on duty pediatrician. And I don't think children should be around someone having a mh episode. It's distressing enough for an adult so I can't imagine for a child.

Ours has a separate waiting room. Children shouldn’t be prioritised simply for being children, though. It must be clinical need, regardless of age.

The posters picking up on ‘mental distress’ are nit-picking. It’s clear it’s not about someone internally struggling or crying.

An example I experienced last week:
A man, over 6 ft, came in and started screaming about them controlling him with a chip. He was holding his head, screaming to ‘drown out their frequencies’, he was holding a bike lock and lashing out with it hitting furniture to punctuate his words. My kids were unsure what was true or not, being kids and were scared. Someone (an idiot) then called out ‘stop that, there are kids here!’ and he then focused on my 6 year old. He said the disguise didn’t fool him, screamed in her face and hit the bike lock on a metal chair. She was terrified.

As an adult I could judge the situation. I knew there were no remote chips. I could judge when I was out of range of being clipped with the bike lock. My hip, not my head, was at the height of him swinging it and generally I could assess the danger and cope. My 6 year old was at more risk, plus had no experience and couldn’t judge the risk at all. She was terrified. (Obviously I removed her to a corridor when safely possible, we were just a bit hemmed in by the layout of the area to quickly move).

I don’t doubt he needed help, I don’t begrudge him help and as an adult I have compassion for him seeking care alongside me.

I think though it’s one of many fair examples of why a separate children’s area is needed for emergency care.

A second point about at least vivo MH a priority to children for at least triage is children can and do deteriorate fast. Their conditions, like brittle asthma, diabetes can swing wildly.

Both A&E departments near me do. DS has been in them both sadly!

Wow @Mariposista - there is some real vitriol in your post there. I would respectfully disagree with you. I don’t think this country is child centred at all. I would suggest you don’t visit any Scandinavian countries, that would be hell for you.

But then the best approach there is having somewhere safe and away from as many people as possible that he can wait until he gets appropriate help rather than a separate waiting room for children.

Our local hospital has a kids A&E and it is brilliant - right next to the standard A&E but has toys etc and a much calmer environment.

Priority should be given by the reason for being at a&e, not by age. A seperate waiting room for kids yes but what would you do if a parent in distress with MH issues turned up with their kids in tow - would it be ok for their kids to sit in the main room.with those high on drugs? Theres one reason why you can't really do what you want. No one should be forced to sit with abusive people but that's how it is on most areas

There's a Paediatric A&E at my local hospital.

YANBU about the dedicated A&E, but YABU about the letting kids queue jump thing. Massively so.

The best approach would be loads of safe areas, for DV victims, trauma, MH episodes et …. but realistically there aren’t the number of staff to supervise or rooms for an average evening.
A children’s area is realistic and achievable for most hospitals though.

No, children should not take priority always. Patients going into A&E are triaged so that those who are most in need get seen first. The state of A&E departments at the moment is entirely due to the clusterfuck that is the Tory govt.

Under 18s are excluded from the age discrimination provisions. Hence why a B&B can say no kids.

Our local hospital has a childrens' A&E. No idea what it is like now, but the one time I had to take my son, it was fantastic.

YANBU - those who are in distress with mental health problems shouldn't have to be kept waiting due to all the parents swamping A&E with their precious darlings needing a splinter being removed.

general children should take priority over adults

Medical need should take priority.

Our A&E has a childrens waiting room with toys. Maybe advocate for that instead which is more practical and affordable.

When I used to work in A+E 10 million years ago we used to triage people into 4 levels of urgency and we would prioritise children over adults within those levels. Partly as PP said because children can deteriorate more quickly. It is also easier to assess a cooperative child so I would always try to see sooner.

🤔 Yes because children never have serious illness or injury that need treating do they? And paediatric doctors and nurses only remove splinters and mend sore fingers - not deliver life saving care to children every single shift. That comment was unnecessary and what many people seem to be missing is that children are often prioritised over adults anyway because their age makes them more vulnerable in certain circumstances. No that does not mean a broken arm in a child is seen quicker than an adult with chest pain - but a child showing signs of respitory distress will be...

Where we live we can opt for one of 2 a&Es as they are the same distance from us. Both have separate childrens areas which I’m definitely grateful for as one of them is in a tourist town known for lots of stag and hen dos as well as having a very high drug and social and mental health issues. Having a separate waiting area for children is definitely something I’m great full for especially when waiting round for hours. Children can play safely without having to worry that a bunch of drunks walk in or someone throwing up or shooting up all over the toilets. The waiting area is locked so no one can just walk in.

Children don’t get seen any faster than adults but it definitely makes it a lot easier and safer for both parents and children waiting in a child friendly environment.

I don’t think the op was criticising people with mental health issues, rather stating that children shouldn’t have to see someone who’s in such a crisis they are in need of immediate medical attention.