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.

At least you won't have a long wait for the wah-mbulance.

Has anyone read 'Bullshit Jobs' by David Graeber? He has an interesting theory that in general people who are disparaging about lower paid but genuinely societally useful jobs, like nurses, supermarket staff and the like are only like that because they are subconsciously guilty that their own, higher paid, jobs have no real value and so are, in a weird kind of way, jealous of those people who actually do 'proper' jobs. Certainly makes you think.

I agree with everything that is so true about underfunding, and usually I am a stalwart defender of the nhs. But specifically I have had the exact same experiences as the op with Paeds A and E. Not with general A and E, only Paeds. VERY BUSY Doctors (and utmost respect, apologies for ‘student’ I’m old, police officer trainees are called students, paramedics are called students when they’re still training…). Very busy HCAs too. But nurses, not all on computers. Standing chatting - at length. Giving you daggers if you dare ask ‘how long?’ - the doctor is very busy - I know,I can see the poor bugger - what are you lot doing?!

other experience of the nhs has been exemplary, it is just this I struggle with. Well, other than when DH was unmonitored for 4 hours after falling 40 ft. Finally taken for a scan by the new shift consultant, ripping the staff a new one.

Probably the first thing hes eaten in hours.

I agree - must be a Troll bitter at NHS workers being offered a pay rise they deserve!

You have been in an a and e for 90 minutes with a non life threatening (though obviously painful and distressing) injury and you are criticising the NHS and the staff?

Bloody hell.

This is a wind up?

What a jarring post!

As suggested; entertain your daughter, grab her a sandwich from a vending machine for later and calm down.

Youre dd is entitled to 5 star parenting from you right now 😂

I hope your dd isn’t too badly injured. She is not an emergency though. I think you’d change your mind about the work pace if you witnessed a life threatening paediatric emergency come through the door.

🙄 honestly, a broken ankle isn't a life or death situation, what were you expecting? In and out in 20min with a broken bone? Whenever I've been in with a broken bone I've been there hours, you can wait, you are well down the list of things.

How do you know they're not busy? The ambulances come in through a separate entrance. I was sent home once with my DD at 1 in the morning. After waiting 6 Hours for her to be seen with an infected burn. There had been a big crash and 5 ambuances were coming in with people in critical condition and they never had the staff to see her.

Ours is only a general hospital and because I kinda guess fighting to save 5 people's lives is more important. I am up there with her regularly as she has sudden drop siezures which often result in injuries. Someone having a heart attack, asthma attack or a stroke. Oh and one little girl came in having had an allergic reaction but they didn't know the cause. Her face and neck was was all swollen. So she obviously had to go ahead of us.

Spend days/weeks/months in a ward with your sick child then you'll have an idea of how overworked/understaffed/at breaking point nhs staff are. If you are correct and its quiet today then don't grudge them a rare slower pace for once and a chance to eat/chat/take a breather. There will be plenty days where they cant

It's not free. We all pay for it through tax.

I was seriously ill a few years ago and got blue lighted to hospital a few times. Believe me you used to get seen very fast if they worry your airways are collapsing or anything cardiac is fucking up

I have three kids and have done the usual rounds of hospital trips with broken collar bones, banged heads, stupidly high temps. They get seen slower because clearly they aren't likely to die if they wait a bit. It's a bit rubbish but at least if you have a specialist a and e there's usually some toys to distract them, and if they are really ill they just want to cuddle and flop. All of them got patched up and came home eventually.

This winter we have a really high seasonal death rate partly attributable to pressures on the NHS and the shortage of staff to treat acutely ill patients often older patients with serious health problems. I work in the NHS. I know lots of it is inefficient and poorly managed, although I also work with the criminal justice system and that is much much much worse.

But the consequences of NHS inefficiency and poor management are people dying prematurely in great discomfort alone and their loved ones having to live with that knowledge. Not your 6 yr old waiting 10mins for an x-ray. If you don't care now you are beyond callous and have no sense of perspective.

I never mind waiting in a&e because I've been on the other side with my dc being in resus and the paediatric hdu with all the paediatric consultants around them. I've never felt so sick with fear in my life. So if I'm waiting I'm just glad I'm not in there and I assume the slow progress is because nurses need things checking by junior doctors and they need things checking by consultants and junior radiographers need things checking by someone senior and so on. You can't dispense with the checking because it's life or death. Yes it can be a bit clunky and it's been severely underfunded but the staff in the NHS work incredibly hard.

not sure why people are undermining your experience. I’ve had similarly inefficient ‘care’ which has put my dd at risk. It’s incredibly frustrating.

I’ve also had good care. I’ve had really caring treatment from doctors and nurses.

Recently though- it’s generally been pretty awful.

OP, you ought to be ashamed. You have no idea what they’re doing. Your ignorance is embarrassing.

I mean in tbe whole hospital . Paeds was super quiet

Where else in the world can you get free at the point of care treatment in an hour and an half?

Seriously, you’ve nothing to complain about.

Seriously, youve been there no time in the grand scheme. Dr's aren't in peads specifically, they run all areas of ED, plus often other areas such as assessment units, they are not tied to one area. That dr ay be dealing with someone who is actually in need of emergency treatment, not an ankle injury that is not life threatening. The self importance of people is astounding at times.

In a life threatening emergency trust me they act fast
My 16 year old son collapsed nearly four weeks ago ,the ambulance arrived within minutes they diagnosed himself straight away with diabetic ketoneacidosi s(we had no idea he had diabetes) he was taken straight to resus,and transferred to critical care within an an hour or so he was scanned and they realised he had a necrotic pancreas ,they saved his life
I realise it's frustrating waiting around but in an emergency they are fantastic .

2 hours is not fucking crap service. You obviously do not have a clue.

People like you are why people are leaving the NHS in droves. It was the best thing I ever made so I don't have to pretend to smile at your self important arse while you're being rude AF.

Iv been inpatient on psych wards and there the worst for it out of anyone falling asleep on 1to1s, not doing 15 minute checks, booty juicing patients for no actual reason, slagging patients off behind their back not to mention the abuse of vulnerable patients this is why a significant amount of pysch wards are under investigation. If you are not taking breaks then you are a danger to your patients and if your not speaking up you are as bad as the rest of them

My husband was in A&E recently after a traffic accident. The NHS were absolutely incredible. The hospital felt like a war zone. I watched as they pulled together a multidisciplinary team of about 40 people ready to treat a critical patient being brought in. The dedication and care given to patients was awesome to see.
Many of them would have been doing a 13 hour night shift. I know from talking to friends who are medical professionals that they often don’t get chance to use the toilet regularly or eat anything during their shifts. They are all running on fumes.
I don’t know how you can begrudge A&E staff a chance to chat to a colleague, or catch up on some paperwork, or have five minutes to compose themselves. They are chronically understaffed, and are constantly dealing with trauma. You have no idea what was happening with the other patients in their care, and it sounds as though your daughter’s injury, while distressing for you and her, was not life threatening.

So you were never even close to an emergency and the staff probably knew that better than you. How many hours in total were you in there?

No issue waiting when it is busy. But I can't emphasise brought how there was nothing going on. So if 2.5 hours is tbe norm with no patients then what must it be like when there are people to see