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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

12 hours waiting for emergency hospital admission

120 replies

shad0wm00n · 17/08/2022 01:05

I am utterly desperate and don’t know what I can do!

My Father has been poorly lately, losing weight and feeling generally unwell. He had a doctors appointment today and the doctors said his liver is failing and they suspect stomach cancer. She said he needs to be admitted to hospital for tests and fluids etc immediately.

The surgery called an ambulance and was advised there was a 4 hour wait! So told us to drive him there instead and they printed off an admissions letter and off we rushed.

That was 12 hours ago and my parents have been sat at the hospital ever since, as apparently there are no beds ok wards.

Dad has had an X-ray and bloods and he’s waiting for a CT scan and a few more tests but they’ve confirmed he has cancer and 2 additional and serious issues, all of which will require admission.

Dad is not on a drip and has had no food for 3 days, he H’s just been left in a waiting room.

He’s been told he will have to spend the next 24 hours sitting in A&E waiting for a trolley (he can’t even lie down at the moment and his legs are very swollen) and if he’s lucky, after that he may get a bed within 48 hours.

I can’t believe my dearly loved father is being treated like this and I don’t know how I can help. If he is still alive by the time he gets a bed it will be a miracle!

AIBU to say the NHS has already collapsed and that more people need to know just how bad it is.

if anyone knows anything I can do. Please let me know. Is this a PALs issue? Surely they’re failing in their duty of care?

OP posts:
Original poster
shad0wm00n · 17/08/2022 01:06

Typos due to tears.

OP posts:
Threelittlelambs · 17/08/2022 01:09

This is appalling. I’m so sorry you are going through this. Are there any other hospitals? Can PALS ring round and check?

Battlecat98 · 17/08/2022 01:09

As a sister in the NHS I wholeheartedly agree with everything you say. It's broken. We genuinely care, it is the worst I have ever seen it. I am so sorry for your poor dad. It is not acceptable. We do have a duty of care but resources and staff are scarce. I would contact PALS they can in my experience often help.

Again I am so sorry for your father, it's so sad to see people being treated like this. The government wanted this and covid accelerated it. I hope you get some positive news soon.

kissmelittleass · 17/08/2022 01:14

No advice but I'm so sorry you're all going through this its terrible 🙏🏻

Threelittlelambs · 17/08/2022 01:15

nhsquicker.co.uk

found an app - might be useful?

WinterMusings · 17/08/2022 01:24

I'm SO sorry to hear about your Dads cancer (etc) but also that he's going through this at the hospital.

I had an accident last year & was taken in by ambulance. I waited about 10 hours in A&E, in a chair with serious (but not life threatening) injuries, I was finally assessed and then waited another couple of hours as the didn't have a bed on the ward)

I won't go into the rest, it was concerning.

is there anyway your Dad can go home while they organise a bed on a ward & your dad can go in when it's available?

the good news is that the people I know who had gone in for cancer treatment have had all the treatment they needed & they're doing very well, I hope your dad gets looked after well once he's through this assessment phase xx

PeloAddict · 17/08/2022 01:25

Apparently it's 70hrs in my nearest hospital

Iwanttoliveonamountain · 17/08/2022 01:25

that app only works in Cornwall. I hope your dad is in a bed by the time you read this.

TwoShades1 · 17/08/2022 01:30

Are you able to take anything in or go and be with them? Even some pillows or blankets to help make him more comfortable or some foods that he likes in case he feels up to eating something.

Original poster
shad0wm00n · 17/08/2022 01:31

Thank you all, I’m just heartbroken.

He’s still there, nothing has changed: No bed and still no scan.

Still no fluids and the staff keep apologising, but nothing is changing.

OP posts:
haveiever · 17/08/2022 01:41

Terrible news about your dad, I’m really sorry. I hope he’s admitted and comfortable soon

Mummyoflittledragon · 17/08/2022 01:44

This is awful. Your poor dad. Flowers

plinkypots · 17/08/2022 01:46

The U.K. is well on its way to losing its global standing. We can no longer provide basic services. And yet people do nothing except shrug...

KalvinPhillipsBoots · 17/08/2022 01:57

Take him home and request district nurse intervention. The hospital can ring you when a bed is available.

EmmaH2022 · 17/08/2022 01:59

Seconding a pp comment about the possibility of him waiting at home for a bed.

Do you mean he needs IV dextrose? Is he drinking fluids?

My mum was in A&E for 16+ hours on a trolley after a suspected heart attack. Initially I was told I wasn't allowed to go in but eventually ignored them and went to fetch her.

I think your mum needs to ask if he can wait at home. It doesn't sound like there's any reason for him to wait in A&E.

I am really sorry you are all going through this.

Stopsnowing · 17/08/2022 03:08

ask someone there now for their complaints procedure and contact details for pals. Yes, it may not be their fault but making clear you will be complaining may help. I am so tired of people tolerating this stuff. You should definitely contact your MP and maybe even the local press.

newbiename · 17/08/2022 03:35

It's horrendous atm.
Please don't take him home , they won't ring you when a bed becomes available it doesn't work like that.
I'm afraid PALS won't magically find him bed , there simply aren't any.
The only thing you can try is to try and get through to the nurse in charge of ED and see if they can put him on a trolley in the corridor ( although corridors often full as well ) It's rare beds come up overnight as no one goes home and ED is full of people waiting for beds so they run out of room.
Hope he gets a bed soon, it's awful.

HeyBlaby · 17/08/2022 03:47

Ignore a previous comment about taking him home for district nurse intervention in the meantime - this isn't something that a district nurse can do in this circumstance.

I hope he has a bed very soon.

TimboWimbo · 17/08/2022 04:11

Stopsnowing · 17/08/2022 03:08

ask someone there now for their complaints procedure and contact details for pals. Yes, it may not be their fault but making clear you will be complaining may help. I am so tired of people tolerating this stuff. You should definitely contact your MP and maybe even the local press.

Making it clear you are complaining won’t help. And don’t go home and expect them to contact you when a bed is available, it doesn’t work like that.
Beds get allocated on clinical priority along with what is available in terms of appropriate ward, sex and need for side rooms. It is giant game of complicated Tetris. PALS, rightly, have no input into this, although they may be able to help with communication.

Healthcare is under intense pressure at the moment, it is very difficult. I hope he gets a bed soon.

Nat6999 · 17/08/2022 05:08

Three years ago my dad was admitted for total renal failure, he was dying & was left for 18 hours sat on a hard plastic chair waiting for a bed. It's not just because of covid, the Tories won't be happy until they have run the NHS in to the ground.

haveiever · 17/08/2022 05:19

Stopsnowing · 17/08/2022 03:08

ask someone there now for their complaints procedure and contact details for pals. Yes, it may not be their fault but making clear you will be complaining may help. I am so tired of people tolerating this stuff. You should definitely contact your MP and maybe even the local press.

how is this going to help? you’re acting like the staff are lazily sitting around gossiping rather than there being NO BEDS, and all you need to do is threaten them with a complaint in order to whip those pesky nurses into shape 🙄

Stopsnowing · 17/08/2022 05:28

I am nit suggesting the staff are the issue but the situation is the issue and in my experience raising an issue with PALS can help. Accepting this dangerous poor quality of care is not a solution.

BlodynGwyn · 17/08/2022 05:33

I can't imagine being left on a hard plastic chair on a public place when you are so very ill. It's inhumane. It's cruelty! We would never treat animals like that.

The NHS was great when I lived in the UK, many decades ago. What happened to it?

Pippa12 · 17/08/2022 05:41

You must complain to PALS, however this will not help in the short term.

There are no beds. There is not enough staff.

If you leave you will lose ‘your place’ and have to start all over again. District Nurses will not care for your Father at home, I really don’t know where people dream this bloody rubbish up from. The district nurses are struggling with their own caseload never mind everybody who has to wait in A&E.

It is not for the want of trying. The staff will be getting slaughtered daily with threats of complaints, even tho it will make no difference. It is of no advantage for ED to keep you in the department any longer than needed, it increases their workload.

I’m currently planning my route out of the NHS with many others.

DiscoBadgers · 17/08/2022 05:42

You absolutely should complain, but it won’t help your dad currently. He’s not being left in A&E through incompetence, but the sheer lack of staff and beds. Everyone there is doing the best they can to get people admitted and treated but the Tories have fucked us for years now and it’s reached crisis point.

I am so sorry for your dad. Things you can do proactively: ask if they can start an IV whilst he waits for a bed. Request pain relief. Try and spot one of the department volunteers and introduce yourself - quite a lot of A&Es have these at the moment - they’re usually either retired staff or staff from other departments who are there to provide comfort and assistance. It’s not much, but cups of tea, blankets, an update on waiting times all help while you wait.

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