To think if you can wait for a GP you shouldn't be in A&E

[Alfenstein]

Was in A&E overnight last night and was confused and then a bit annoyed about a situation and wanted to see what others thought

I arrived at A&E for 18:00, was told it was very busy (when is it not) and the waits were 5+ hours. I was triaged and sat in the waiting room

At 02:00 a nurse came in and made an announcement. Saying that waits were still really long because they've got 15 ambulances waiting but there is a GP based at the hospital who will be in from 08:00, if people would prefer to go home and come back they would be seen by the GP.

And half of the waiting room got up and left!

AIBU to think that if you can wait until morning you don't need to be in A&E.

Surely the issue isn't that urgent or an emergency if you can bugger off home and come back in the morning!

It depends what you’re in with.

I’m currently in hospital with calcium deficiency - a potential side effect of thyroid surgery. I’ve been in one night and looking at being in two because calcium deficiency can potentially cause heart issues. I was told in no uncertain terms that if certain side effects happened I was to report to a&e - no ifs and buts - and they would deal with it.

Those side effects? Basically pins and needles. Do you feel ridiculous waiting in A&E with “I mostly feel fine but have pins and needles”? Damn right you do. Would I be tempted to go home if I wasn’t going to be seen for hours anyway? Yes indeed. But the consequences of leaving it entirely are higher than the symptom would suggest.

I’ve previously been hospitalised for gallstones and pancreatitis and on that occasion would have been tempted to go home because waiting in an A&E chair was agonising and I just wanted to go be miserable at home. I needed three days in hospital though.

Who said they're seen straight away? It's a similar triage system to A&E so some will wait but in the day time

Also round here people don't wait days to see their practice GP

The only way this situation makes sense is for people who aren't local or new to the area, but I doubt all of them fall into those categories

Well if over 70 people where going to turn up at 8am to see a GP I am guessing they wouldn’t all be seen unless he is working at lightening speed!

Everyone know about A and E because it’s a basic service available across the whole country. There are tv programmes set in a and e. Can you really not see the difference? There are no signs for urgent care in any local city. I have never seen a post on social media talking about “urgent care”.

”Urgent care” does not sound like somewhere people could just turn up to to me. That sounds like somewhere your gp/111 would send you if they were concerned.

I'm assuming your urgent need to be seen was due to the issue with your delightful attitude?

I also wasn't aware there was a GP service at the hospital because I've never had to access it 🤷🏻‍♀️

I don't think OP wants to do anything others than argue they are right. There has been no attempt to address completely valid comments about why people might leave when they shouldn't, what a waste of a potentially good thread.

I would say many people don't know about the whole range of services in their area, and the differences between them - A&E; urgent care; minor injuries etc etc because they don't actually use them very often.

If you phone 111 you will be directed to the most appropriate option available.

Twice in the last month my dd has needed emergency same day appointments for her child with her gp and has been unable to get one. 111 then directs her to A&E where she has then seen a gp there. It's nuts!

Oh the mind is open, I have already emailed the local hospital off the back of this thread to see if they'd be able to make it clearer at A&E there is an on site GP to reduce wait times overnight

There were other areas where efficiency could be improved which I also included. For example there is only one check in desk, but overnight it's used to check out random people from the main hospital. And those people are priorities over new check ins, for example Johnny can be stood there bleeding from the skull and little old Mary being discharge from her 1 week stay in hospital will be pushed to the front and go through a 5 min check out process, including asking all the details of who is collecting her etc.

There is desk before check in which is manned and all that person does is listen to your symptoms and seems to tell everyone to go to check in, one desk should be for check in and the other for check out.

Many things can be done better tbh

I had no idea there was a GP in a&e daily.
however if I was desperate for urgent medical care I’d go to my out of hours. I avoid a&e at all costs unless there is immediate life threatening need or a potential broken bone and OOH is shut.

I've had to use services regularly over the last 10 years for elderly parents

we have never been signposted to urgent care, I don't know what they deal with in fact

however, when I see all the options, I think it should be clearer

if you just had an accident and hit your head, you are not in a fit state to figure out where to go...or even if you have sudden pain and think it's your appendix.

I had no idea a GP was available at hospitals . Maybe they should advertise this service a bit better .

I was calling my GP 30 times per day and couldn't get through, nor could get through on 111 so had to go to A&E to get antibiotics for my 6 year old. It took us 2 days and over 12 hours of waiting to see someone for a 3 minute appointment.

Ok, seeing as you are happy to judge whether other people were worthy of the service, why don't you let us judge what you were there for?

If you were sat waiting from 6pm till 2am without treatment then could be argued that you shouldn't have gone either and just waited till the morning gp...

Agree many things can be done better but blaming patients...?

we def don't have a GP at A&E btw.

That's my view

I see A&E as an absolute last resort

We have a great one here. You call 111 go through the call handler then a nurse/ medical professional wi call you back and get you an appointment with a Dr in the hospital 5 mins down the road from me. I have watched the time and called the at 18:01 before.

Well yes

As some people are just stupid or selfish

Unless all those who got up and left weren't local (doubtful) there is no excuse to claim ignorance around the services available locally in the day time

Including the urgent care center

Even if they didn't know about the on site GP I don't see how they wouldn't know that exists

Just googled urgent care

it says they deal with broken bones but my friend's son was turned away from urgent care and sent to A&E when he broke his arm.

I didn't know about gp service on hospitals.
I doubt the people there at 2am were there for the fun of it.

Who said I was sat there without treatment?

You go through the process in stages, going back to the waiting room in between blood tests and triage nurses.

I was in for a blood clot in my leg, was told I needed to go to A&E urgently by my consultant.

2 recent experiences with A&E/MIU with children with "minor" fractures. Younger one as an under 5 had to go to A&E at the children's hospital. Late Saturday night we were constantly (and sensibly) bumped down the order to be seen by a Dr by sick children coming in. Apart from a swollen finger at a weird angle he was fine in himself and could probably have been seen in the morning, assuming he didn't roll over and displace it - but an x-ray was definitely required...

Older one was seen at MIU, in order of arrival, pretty well everyone there had an injury to hand, wrist or foot. Some could probably have waited overnight but given GPs don't have access to x-ray where else could you go if there's no A&E or pain is bad enough to prevent sleep. Also some fractures would have a much worse outcome if left overnight and it's kind of tough for a lay person to judge which as some of the bad signs are less obvious...

OP "Unless all those who got up and left weren't local (doubtful) there is no excuse to claim ignorance around the services available locally in the day time"

but why should they know? It's not the norm to have a GP at A&E is it?

At my local A&E in London, you have to stand in a long queue to get in and then you are seen by a nurse in the doorway to assess and then admin, then another nurse and then told where to go. Presume those that can be seen by a GP are then sent there.

Urgent care and minor injuries were closed as a cost cutting measure around here more than two years ago. There is an ooo assessment centre but you can only attend if referred by 111. Otherwise it’s GP or A&E