A&E time wasters.

[ConfusedMumma99]

I don’t know if I’m just thinking like this because I’ve not been in a situation. But are people genuinely being ridiculous for the reasons of going to A&E

a friend took her son (20 months) to a&e because he got a temperature of 38.8. By the time the nurse took it at a&e it was normal and she said it was because she’d given him Calpol??????? She then said he was running round the waiting room eating snacks.

am i a cow???? Or why would use a&e for this? I appreciate lots in the news about strep A. But surely you would wait and see if temp came down with Calpol/nurofen? That’s what I’d do with my child.

however I am a first time mum so im worried I should take illness more seriously? Do you really need a hospital visit just for a temperature?

our local A&E had wait times of 14 hours the other day??? Is this a combo of lack of
staff or people going unnecessarily.

I know GP’s are notoriously bad for appointments?

how are people seen in A&E? By time spent or by severity?? It seems scary that if you actually needed a&e that you might not get seen.

@Kendodd the problem with having a senior Dr at the front door is once word gets out can you imagine how many people would join that queue?? It would make it worse, just to have a quick consult with a senior Dr rock up to A&E and wait for a while.

But was there any reason you didn't wait half an hour or so for the paracetamol to kick in before you rang for advice? I thought most parents would medicate at home first (home thermometers are sometimes a bit inaccurate) and then only seek advice if the temp wasn't coming down after meds?

111 often send to A and E when someone wouldnt necessarily go otherwise

@CurlyhairedAssassin 41.6 is a very high temperature - it's rare in fact for it to go that high. Getting the child seen in this scenario is absolutely the right call.

YABU these days nhs advise to get your child checked if intuitively you feel something is wrong. Mum sometimes does know best and children can deteriorate very quickly.

Previous poster was spot on about people in some European countries expecting and getting more from their doctors.

People end up at A&E because they can’t get an appointment with a GP.

Don’t blame the public for the broken NHS. I pay a lot of tax and expect to see a doctor when my child has a fever and I’m concerned. A fever approaching 39 degrees is concerning.

Also just because meds bring a temperature down doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be concerned. You shouldn’t be giving pain meds for more than 2-3 days without consulting a Doctor and if you can’t get an appointment what choice do you have? Posts like yours make me annoyed. It’s like victim blaming

This is quite common in A&E - known as "see and treat". It does work well, in terms of early decision-making about who needs admission vs discharge. But no system in A&E will work effectively, if the wards cannot accept patients who need admission (because beds are full due to discharge delays). As soon as you run out of space in A&E, you cannot do anything efficiently.

The last time I went to A&E (in a taxi) was when I had a severely broken arm, in multiple places, which required surgery. I was the only person in the waiting room from my culture. The entire A&E was mostly from one particular culture, many of whom required interpreters. My friend from this culture said that their cultural norm was to go to the doctor at a the drop of a hat and that they go to A&E for the slightest thing and also, many don't know where else to go. Most did not need to be there (according to the doctor and the nurses that I spoke to) and the person in front of me (who did not speak English) told the receptionist (via his wife) that he was there because he 'was feeling anxious'. We have to be able to have discussions about immigration, the expanding population, and expectations of services etc without being branded racist or a bigot.

@katienana you have no idea about that man’s medical history or if he was suffering from something like testicular torsion or had issues in the past. Not everyone shouts and screams when they are in pain.

Normally I’d agree but for example our whole GP surgery has closed this week as they’re all sick. So what are you supposed to do, even if it’s a simple uti or a chest infection. We don’t have an urgent treatment centre here. It’s gp or a&e, nothing inbetween.

I don't think people are the problem, the NHS is the problem. You should be able to take your sick kid to the doctor if you suspect they might need antibiotics. But it seems that many are unable to get an appointment and then end up in A&E.
I live in Switzerland where you have to pay for health insurance but healthcare here is amazing. My son had a fever last month, stopped eating, stopped speaking. On day 3 I rang his pediatrician in the morning, had an appointment 2 hours later. She said it was viral, nothing wrong with him. By end of day 4 he had slept all day, seemed to be worse, lethargic. So I took him to pediatric A&E at the local hospital, I left the house at 4.30 and was home with antibiotics by 5.45pm. No waiting. Turns out my son had Strep A & an ear infection. Kids can go from being fine to not being well in a flash and everyone should be able to access healthcare when they need to.
NHS is not fit for purpose. I know other mums who's kids have had minor health issues then developed sepsis so I don't think any parent should feel bad for taking their kids to be checked out. The problem is the NHS is broken. It just doesn't work anymore.

Also just to add, last week my 46y year old brother had a stroke. His wife rang for an ambulance, was told it was an 8 hour wait. He'd had 2 TIAs (minor strokes) previously so knew it was a full blown stroke. His wife drove him to A&E as she knew it would be quicker. Got there, he had a seizure. Then got dumped in the waiting room, alongside someone who had been there for 7 hours waiting. So he left and went home because he didn't want to sit there all night. Just shocking really.

14% of people in the UK are foreign born compared to 16.5% of NHS staff who are foreign born. They add more to the NHS than they take.
I can understand why you want to discuss immigration with accusations of racism though because frankly, you sound quite racist.

YANBU

Switzerland spends 12% of its GDP in healthcare - only the US spends more link

For most of the last 15 years, the UK has spent around 8% of GDP (it has risen since Covid, but is still nowhere near the Swiss total). If we had spent the same as Switzerland, we would have spent another £40 billion every year. An NHS that had had an extra £600 billion over the last 15 years would look very different from what we have now. It's not just about the money, but a lot of it is the money.

And this is part of the problem. People like you refusing to admit that many people needing interpreters slows things down, refusing to see that different cultures have different expectations about healthcare. And that parts of the UK have too many people for limited services.

me and my DH are very seriously looking into private healthcare. Not something we are in a comfortable position to afford however I few cut backs we might be able to do it.

Very grateful for the NHS but the struggle for appointments etc is becoming harder and harder

@Supernormative re the man with anxiety, you do know that people often get signposted to A&E for mental health crises don't you?

That sounds amazing. If we spent as much as Switzerland on healthcare we might have something comparable.

When I was a kid I never knew anybody who ever went to A&E because people knew that childhood ailments were exactly that, and could be treated at home. They also didn't need to see a GP, on the whole.
Now it seems that common sense has disappeared and medical friends of mine have told me about people attending for insect bites or questions about baby formula - zero concept of the word "emergency".

I completely agree that different cultures have different expectations of healthcare. Many of our neighbours actually expect to see a doctor or dentist when they're sick.

I don’t think I’m victim blaming at all. I’m just merely making a point. And as many others have said, people have been scared into not thinking they can treat their child without seeing a medical professional immediately.

My friends child woke from a nap at 3pm had been snotty all day, by 4pm had a temperature and they went straight to A&E. I am most CERTAINLY not victim blaming.

When I was a kid I remember being taken to a and e for a banged/cut head, a tetanus jab after a hamster bite, a sprained wrist, and a septic finger which got lanced.

Extremely unprofessional of the doctors and nurses to discuss any other patient with you.

I've got private healthcare through my husband's work, its shit.
My daughter needed a minor operation and we had numerous administrative hurdles to get over while they looked for any way possible they could get out of paying for it.