NHS - this is why people don't care

[br0kenankle]

In peads A&E with daughter as went over on ankle and it swelled up like a balloon. Been hear 1 hr 30 mins. Paeds A&E not busy - maybe 3-4 patients. Staff everywhere - must be about 10 people milling around tbe computers doing very little. No wheel chair so have been carrying her round the hospital to X-ray , toilet etc.

Just seem to be on a go slow. If I were this slow at my job, i would be in trouble. 🤷‍♀️

Expect to get flames for this of course. We were sat outside X-ray for 10 mins and when they came out, they didn't realise we had been sitting there. I have a hungry grumpy in pain 6yr old.

Let's be honest, the OP isn't going to take anything on board regarding attempted explanations from people who ACTUALLY work in A&E.

I wish people like you WOULD do a day in a nurse/hca/doctors shoes, maybe you would have a better understanding. But then saying that... probably not.

OP?

Yeah, they're human. In every job there are some great at what they do and some not so much. Some real angels and some arse holes. Some who work hard and some who are lazy.
It's not that all NHS workers can do no wrong but 2 hours is within normal I reckon and I do think that sometimes they look less busy than they are.

But the staff you are waiting for are busy elsewhere in the hospital with other patients that you cannot see

For example, they may have a large emergency trauma who has been admitted upstairs who is occupying orthopaedics (including those staff who would look at your daughters X-ray)

Agreed. No one is this stupid.

Tbh I kind of agree, nobody in a&e ever seems to be rushed unless there is a crash call. They do seem to spend a lot of time chatting shit. I worked on a medical ward in an NHS hospital, we had 2 weeks training and then were left to get on with it.

Nobody in emergency ever seems to have any urgency, it's all glacial. I think the lack of doctors is the bottleneck. Cant give medication or do anything useful without that Dr's signature.

The consultant just bimbled past eating some biscuits.

I am sorry your daughter is in pain. However, on the scale of acuteness, she is not a serious case. You have no idea what is going on elsewhere in paeds. Wait your turn and be quiet.

Again, because you are not acknowledging it!

A RADIOLOGIST WILL NEED TO LOOK AT YOUR DAUGHTER’S X-RAY!!

A&E will likely be staffed by one radiologist, who may or may not be dealing with an actual life threatened patient

Is there not a junior doctors strike on until tomorrow at 7am? So they'll be waiting for a consultant to report on the x-ray and decide the plan. And there won't be many of them covering A&E.

I mean if you want a HCA to take a look then they could probably speed it up a bit but then your daughter could end up being discharged with a broken ankle. Your choice I guess.

This is complete nonsense! We all (well those of us that work and pay into the system!) PAY for the NHS and there is NO alternative! We have private health insurance but no private A&E services exist!

Shocking that OP is serious. You sound like a nightmare there's nothing worse than a patient thinking they know what's going on with other patients. Entitled much there's probably someone in a much unfortunate position right now or perhaps an emergency 🤔

Name change fail OP as well 🤣

The X-ray may go to a radiologist for reporting. They will also be reporting out of hours CT scans (eg for unconscious patients, suspected pulmonary embolism etc) and other X-rays/imaging modalities in the hospital from the wards. Therefore that’s a bottle neck even though you can’t see other people going in for imaging.

the paeds drs often cover paeds A&E, paeds resus and NICU/paeds ward so if you can’t see them or are waiting for them they may be in any of those places.

it could be that the nurses/reception staff you can see have nothing to do at the moment in time that will accelerate the path of any of the patients waiting - ie people are waiting to see dr/scan reports etc.

Of course A&E do have their own doctors, they are trained in Emergency Medicine or Paediatric emergency medicine. What they don't have there all the time is doctors from other specialties such as T&O specialists, stroke/neuro doctors, gynaecologists, ENT surgeons etc etc. If one is needed to come and see and assess a patient a decide whether then need to be admitted, they will be bleeped or phoned and requested to come to ED to see the patient.

It's possible that a small paeds ED may have general paediatric doctors staffing it, who also work on the paeds wards (I know more about adult ED that I do about paeds ED) but adult ED and any large paeds ED will have their own doctors.

OFFS probably not eaten all day, been too busy.

Only my personal experience but most NHS hospital staff I've seen seem to be on the go slow. Lot's of chatting and not much working.

NHS actually has a zero tolerance policy towards their staff including verbal abuse as such. Is that why you were only venting online?

This has to be a wind up now.

You are hopelessly entitled...

Staff are daring to EAT??! I'd call the police if I was you OP this is out of control now.

🙄

Go home and stick a bag of frozen peas on the ankle if you re not happy?

Would you stay at a bad restaurant? Go and pay for an x-ray at a private hospital.

The X-ray dept was empty. The X-ray takes 10 mins max. Why does it take 90 mins? Why do we see the staff stood yapping for that time? We understand waiting for the one junior doctor, what we don’t understand are all the nurses stood chatting socially while people wait. If everyone is waiting for the doctors maybeless nurses and more doctors? The nurses aren’t ‘nursing’. The waiting list of folders sits there, a nurse picks it up, looks at it, puts it back. No communication and you darent ask anything. Can someone explain why the number of nurses is required when there’s 1-2 on triage, HCAs do the scut, and doctors do the medicine - what duties are the nurses carrying out on Paeds A and E?

I carry around food in my pocket to eat whilst walking places because we don’t get breaks.