To say that the NHS a and e team are fucking heroes

[Ragingoverlife]

They all are. But I've particularly noticed how well they cope under pressure tonight. They are so short staffed and receiving so much shit in children's A and E. I feel so bad for them x

Nurses and sisters apologising because their doctors have been borrowed back by another department and not returning for hours..

I've been here since 9pm. 1st hospital turned me away, as I had a child and they had no docs. 1.5 hours to triage into children Been waiting for doc since. (Which is fine) they are mentally busy, and my child has reduced in temp etc. Im happy waiting But wow there is so many upset parents. Waiting hours I can see why they are so frustrated. There is also lots of Strep A panic also I think we've got another 3 hours to go yet, thankfully we have a bed and a chair. Others aren't so lucky. Thank you NHS.

The whole nhs needs restructuring- yes governments have run it into the ground- but it’s also abused by members of the public and quite frankly the whole model is unsustainable given the age people live to.

Sorry if you thought my post was aimed at you. It really wasn't. Your child has excessive blood loss. That's an emergency.

A high temperature that's already come down is what I was saying was part of the problem.

You’d think it was an emergency wouldn’t you but it’s very clear we are waaaaay down the list.

It does appear to be mainly respiratory viruses though which is a problem for a child who
is meant to be actively avoiding eg school in case he gets one!

The staff are amazing but the NHS needs help.

I spent 9.5 hours in a and e with a head injury last weekend and the whole experience made me so sad. The children a and e had at least a 6 hour wait and there were so many worried and anxious parents waiting. My heart went out to them.

My experience of the waiting room was that everyone there should have been and I felt so sad for the wait times for those coming off ambulances.

I also spoke to a relative of a really poorly old man who had refused to come in for ages because he didn't want to sit there for 10 hours. People are not seeking help because of the wait times .

It's just so sad that such an incredible service is in such a dire state but the staff . They were all wonderful when had any interactions even after watching them be verbally abused countless times by patients relatives

🙄 Your sister is in the wrong job.

Sorry but only had bad experiences. I repeatedly took one of my children to an and e once. I knew they were seriously unwell. I was fobbed off, told they looked fine to them - I said this is the only time you’ve seen them and I’m telling you this isn’t their usual complexion or how they present and listed symptoms - I was then accused of faking illness to get attention for myself and they wouldn’t even do bloods because it would be hurting my child for my gratification apparently.

I went to 2 different an and es over the following days . Same kind of thing ‘looks fine’ and ‘nothings wrong’ ‘probably viral’ I begged and begged for specific tests and was told no (they weren’t expensive tests I think the drs didn’t like being told how to do their job but my child was going to die if i didn’t get help soon )

In the end I went and sat back at my gp and told them again everything they sent me away as said it was in my mind that dd would be unconscious if she was that unwell but an hour later they called me and said just this once due to my distress they’d do tests so bring her back but they made it clear it was to put my mind at rest and then I had to stop . We had the tests and the gp apologised to me and called an ambulance

when I complained the a and e department lied and said they’d done tests and added a page to dds notes to look like they did it and the result had been normal which was an absolute lie

Please do.

She's not the only one with an opinion informed by experience.

And if she genuinely works in a department that doesn't have literally hundreds of completely appropriate attendances every day ie people from care homes with falls, broken hips, chest infections, children with RSV bronchiolitis, teens with suicidal ideation, large dental abscesses, throat infections that mean you can't swallow, slips, trips and falls resulting in grim fractures, nosebleeds on anticoagulated patients.....that they can't get out of the ambulance for ages, see in a timely manner, nor admit to hospital when needed because there aren't beds, then she's working in a very unusual place. And if she genuinely thinks that those hundreds of people are solely being held up because of the handful of people that have come for their false nail cracking or the splinter in their finger, and not by the people who could and should have been seen in a non existent preventative primary care and dental programme, then fair play to her.

The system is falling apart. The lack of social care, care homes, dentists, gps, pharmacies, the overwhelm services such as mental health/CAMHS are experiencing, it all leads people to need to go to the one place that is open - A&E. Even when those people have bent over backwards to help themselves - no dentists taking anyone on even if you pay, no pharmacies able to fill prescriptions for certain drugs within a week and none open evenings and weekends, no face to face gp appointments available until after Christmas now ...

It is easy, and lazy, unkind and inaccurate to claim that if people were just 'better' then they wouldn't go to A&E.

@Ragingoverlife
I have to agree, I was in hospital last week as my waters went 4 weeks early, the care I had from consultant to midwifes was outstanding, even thou they where run of there feet, I ended up with an emcs and could not prise Al the staff domestics an Al for the caring they did.

It takes a toll on people, having to face the carnage that can be A&E and the endless stream of patients that you end up not being able to give the care that you want to, due to an extreme mismatch between demand and supply.

The stories on this thread highlight that and it's awful to hear of vulnerable people recieving substandard care.

As to whether the staff are 'heroes', I expect that they got into the job because they like caring for people and the state of the system now means they're trying to do that with their metaphorical hands tied behind their backs. Those that have stuck it out have some of the qualities I'd list if I was listing the 'attributes of a hero' however the NHS has a monopoly on healthcare in the UK so many just don't have a choice to move on and are now apathetic and lost their drive to 'care'.

Ultimately, I think we need to be fighting with the staff to improve the NHS as a whole.

I’m not saying every person, but many.

We also have a massive problem with binge drinking and anti social behaviour and the government is doing very little to address the issues. They’re more interested in keeping the drinks industry happy than addressing a real health issue and the pressure it puts on the NHS.

An old friend has cancer and is receiving treatment, his local hospital doesn’t have a 24/7 A&E, he presented to A&E last week as his wife thought he’d suffered a stroke. He waited for hours in A&E, when he was seen he didn’t even have his blood pressure taken, nevermind anything else and was sent home. They were so worried they went round to the chemo ward for advice, a nurse rang A&E and they still refused to see him.

His wife then drove him 50 minutes to the next A&E, due to his symptoms he was seen within 20 minutes, he had suffered a stroke, as so much time had past all they could do was monitor him, it was too late for blood thinning medicine to prevent worsening.

All jobs have people who are great and people who are awful, in medicine people who are awful can cost people their lives, or seriously destroy the quality of someones life.

I was in urgent care for 3 hours yesterday then A&E for another 5 hours (sent by urgent care as they thought my DC might have appendicitis). A&E has been on its knees for years but now it is barely functioning. I have, through a series of unfortunate events, had to go three times in the last two months with my two DC. It's been a number of years since I've had to go previously and the difference is stark. Each time I've been, there has been only one doctor available. There seem to be several nurses and healthcare assistants, all working hard, but no doctors. The working conditions seem terrible so no doubt that will lead to more staff leaving.

Another issue I've had is that one DC was referred for an urgent ultrasound scan by paediatric A&E after they saw her. The scan was done within 3 weeks but I heard nothing more until I was able to get a GP to log in to the hospital system and check a month later. The report had been sent to paediatric A&E marked for an urgent referral to urology but nobody had made the referral. GP thought the report had just slipped through the cracks. This is no doubt because they are so busy, but now my DC's treatment (which will require surgery) will have been further delayed.

I fully blame the government for the state the NHS and A&E in particular are in and agree with PP that the major issue is a lack of access to primary care.

All of this. If that posters sister really is a nurse, she’s very ignorant. My friend was a nurse, another is a doctor, they are more than aware of these issues, how could they not be when they’ve seen it all. Desperate patients that are either correctly using a&e or using it because there’s just no other options for them because it’s all gone to shit elsewhere.

Lack of mental health services in the UK has put a major strain on a and e. We cannot discharge a patient who is telling us they will kill themselves( usually about two patients a night), trying to get a mental health team at ten o clock at night is like hen's teeth, we need to pull the little staff we have to sit with them for the rest of the shift.

Can’t we make changes without the government, we’re a bit hopeless when it comes to realising how to look after health etc

Exactly this. I spoke to one of our a&e staff yesterday she said it was carnage. Patients are waiting hours just for triage. I think it’s pretty much the same across the hospital.

Nearly twenty years of being in the NHS and I’m looking for an exit as are many I know. It’s truly awful. If anyone has had a horrid experience recently please know the majority ( bad apples in every workplace!) of staff are working their backsides off to try and help you. Extra shifts, no breaks and then comes burnout and sickness. There’s not enough of anyone including doctors, patients continuing pouring in but no beds or movement. The NHS has never been perfect but we are failing and collapsing right now.

I can. Some people can’t unfortunately and there’s many complex reasons for that. It’ll take a lot of resources to have a society where more people are capable of making good decisions and take control of their health. I can’t see it happening.

i was impressed with emergency services when i was stuck in an accident, two fire engines, at least one ambulance, dont know how many police.
flashing blue lights
all sorted, well done to them ,

My son was in A@E on Tuesday (children's) with suspected meningitis. Firstly I drove him there myself as ambulance was a 2 hour wait. When we arrived I was met by the most ignorant, rude, Ward Sister I have ever met. She was absolutely disgusting in the way she spoke to us and dealt with us. We were the only people in there, we then had to wait over 2 hours to see a doctor. Remember this is with a suspected life threatening infection. We were left in the waiting room while my son moaned in pain, when I got up to find someone the Sister and her 2 HCA's were sat in the Triage room talking about what they'd done the previous weekend and laughing and joking. Luckily my son didn't have meningitis in the end but there was absolutely no urgency or care about him from people who are children's nurses! The whole NHS is a shambles and I find it hard to have sympathy for some nurses when they treat their patients like shit on their shoe.

I had reasonable care in a&e in the summer. The nurse who assessed me said it was ‘quiet’ which meant a 5 hour wait (was at 3am). Loads more people trickled in at around 8am once the world woke up.
GPs are just massively overstretched although my surgery is quite good, if you get a nice receptionist they’ll book you with a duty/IOH GP if needs be. Plus we have a local minor injuries/illness unit which I’ve used a lot esp w the DCs and their childhood accidents. Would never go to a&e unless in the night with absolutely no other option (when I went I had chest pain - it was horrific heartburn though).

@Tonsiltrouble Hope he’s treated soon and all goes well for you.
I just wanted to say I was in your position 16 years ago but how the times have changed. Dd was seen immediately and started on iv antibiotics for an infection. She was on a ward within a few hours and kept for several days.
I will never forget how scary it was but can’t imagine how I would have felt if she had not been quickly treated.

I think the whole system needs an overhaul, but no political party dare do it. A and E needs proper triage. GP services need sorting properly. I have a suspected broken big toe, NHS online says to seek advice (as big toe) so I do an econsult form for my GP and an out of hours (support team) call back and say go to A and E. I don’t want to sit in A and E for 12 hours for what might be wasting their time, so I tried to get a referral letter from my GP to go private. Can’t be seen for a week and out of hours doctor (who didn’t call me out of hours but that’s the support team name) not authorised to give an imaging request form. Eventually came to a work around with the receptionist, only to have the form not signed (apparently a legal requirement for imaging). A week to get a referral to go privately to avoid putting strain on A and E is not ideal.
Throwing more money at the NHS is not the way to fix this, we need to restart and decide what care we can afford to give and how to make it work best. I’m not saying that we shouldn’t have free healthcare at point of use, but maybe we do need to charge some people for some services.

I (perhaps naively) think a decent triage system would go a long way (I don’t necessarily mean at A and E but in general). I also think you should be able to self refer for private care, even if they have to have a triage doctor themselves see you first.

Two things could help look at social care so people are moved out (not easy we’re getting older as population) and improve population health so fewer going in.

Real terms spending has gone up over years but our needs are greater. Funding could go up by a fair bit to match need, higher for taxpayers year on year, or the situation is looked at clearly. Unfortunately it’s a political hot potato and the NHS was created for a different demographic.

Sorry, didn't mean to upset you and I hope you get some rest soon.