A&E person getting seen sooner because they knew one of the nurses

[PrincessHoneysuckle]

Aibu to say we'd probably all take advantage of this scenario but for christ sake have some discretion.

In a&e today for several hours a woman came in an hour or so after me.
After a short while one of the A&e nurses came up to her "hi sue aah didn't know you were in here"
don't worry I'll ask the Dr to see you next.
Everyone in waiting room was like wtaf.

I once turned up to do a Saturday in pathology but I’d scratched my eye the night before, it was weeping and my manager sent me to A&E.
The A&E nurse said you won’t get treated any quicker because you work in pathology.
At the time all A&E blood samples had to be turned around in 2 hours.
I told her that I understood but that none of their blood samples would be entered into the system until I got back to work as I was the weekend lab assistant, the biochemists wouldn’t test samples until I processed the blood requests.
I got seen and returned to work within 20 minutes. And by doing so I saved all the other A& E patients a longer wait.
Sometimes seeing staff first actually makes sense.

You have no idea what the story is though.
my daughter attends a&e 1-3 times a month and has a protocol in place that she is taken in immediately.
we go in to waiting room and every nurses know us very well and will be like hey to me and call me by name ask how I am etc then we are called in.
the stares we get 🙈

I can think of loads of 'genuine' things which might need managed in a&e as opposed to GP where the person might go to work after.

Have had friends get needle stick injuries, get checked out in a&e and back to work after.

Have also gone myself to a&e for management of a chronic condition (life threatening if untreated) and gone into work after once I've had all clear/got emergency treatment.

Last time I went to A&E I was sent up to the Acute Assesment Unit. There was a waiting room full of people. When I got there 2 separate nurses said hello to keep by name & I was told to go through to the ward & Mr (name) would see me.

I'm quite sure a few folk weren't happy but it wasn't nepotism or favouritism it was because they knew the consultant I see was in the department seeing someone else. They wanted him to see me before he left, knowing it would potentially be hours before they could get him back

It probably didn't look like it to the waiting room but it was more efficient pushing me through first. You don't know what else might have been going on that the staff knew but you didn't

Yes but say you have conjunctivitis or something else that you might be ok to work with, but you might not.

Pop to A&E to get it looked it and then onto the ward to work (or not, as the case may be)

I know a surgeon whose appendix ruptured whilst he was waiting in chairs in A&E. He knew it was about to rupture (and explained to the staff that) and also knew when it had ruptured (felt it go and knew exactly what that meant) but they still wouldn’t see him out of order.

Result - touch and go operation and over a month off (NHS) work for something that had they believed him when he came in saying that he had appendicitis would have led to him being back at work in a few days.

These sound like same day gp appointment scenarios (although I do appreciate not every area can get a same day urgent gp appointment/phone call).

Also regarding the whole it was a foot injury it doesn’t matter without knowing her history.
we took DD in for a broken arm and we were in and out including x ray and temp cast in an hour.
she went in with the start of tonsillitis and we were in and out in 30 minutes with antibiotics but even the nurse knew if we walked back out the waiting room it would cause havoc so they snuck us out the back !
it doesn’t matter what my daughter attends she has full access to the back within minutes.

People are going to a&e with conjunctivitis?

Yes because of the nature of their work, this person was told by a manager they had to go and get it looked at before they could go on shift in another area of the hospital.

But that's not an accident nor an emergency

Exactly I'm not knocking nurses at all.it was the lack of discretion

No but the alternative is an already short staffed ward becomes more short staffed because someone stays off with conjunctivitis (or another similar, not particularly serious, ailment)

Anyway, I don't know all the ins and outs or the whys and wherefores of it. All I know is what I've been told and I know it wasn't the first time.

But what IF?!

YANBU OP, the lack of discretion, especially for those waiting a very long time, isn't good.

Well recognised prioritisation of patients
1)proper sick night die
2)anyone who is going suck up loads of resources and needs moved on promptly - people in with police/autistic patients/significant mental health issues needing urgent care elsewhere
3)kids after their presumed bedtime especially if department full of aggressive hooligan types as it helps keep them safe
4)everyone else but occasionally people may get prioritised as you might need them back at work in your department next day having had as much of a full nights sleep as possible.

as people say this one if not the only perks of the job and is not generally abused - a&e staff would generally need their arm hanging off before coming in as we know how crap it is just now… also it’s not like she asked to be prioritised is it?

If someone is unwell enough to be presenting at A&E then they shouldn't be going on to do a 12 hour shift afterwards, or any shift.

@PumpkiPie I disagree.

A needle stick injury could be a same day GP appointment yes but the NHS website also lists A&E. Plus to my mind makes much more sense for a nurse who is working to pop down to a&e to be seen to, rather than have to leave work and try to get a GP appointment unless of course by their own choice.

The second example I used - a condition that is life threatening if not treated imminently is clearly not a same day appointment scenario - under any circumstances. That does not however mean I wasn't able to go to work once I'd had suitable treatment. Management of chronic conditions is complex and people do often need emergency medical attention while also just having no option but to get on with life.

Yep.

Same way my colleague got bumped up to 1st in the queue for his knee replacement 'cos his DW works in that department.

Not sure why people are so quick to deny that nepotism and queue jumping takes place.

I appreciate that's what you were told to do so not blaming you. I just think of scenarios like when my mother was sent straight to a&e from her gp (who we got an urgent appointment for) with suspected pneumonia) and could barely sit in the chair and time was certainly of the essence for her health. After a long time waiting to be seen she was taken to intensive care and put to sleep for a week on a ventilator with double pneumonia and nearly died. The thought that people are being seen in the same department for things such as conjunctivitis whilst people are sat in absolute pain and agony or with life threatening emergencies and made to wait longer is a complete piss take (not blaming you just saying the system is very flawed).

I think it was totally wrong for her to do that FWIW.

The woman could have been a colleague so maybe thats why? Got to be some perks to make up for the rubbish pay

To be fair if it sounded like it was, could they not have been a bit less loud about it!

A&E in some areas, has to be a service for the overspill who can't get GP appointments. In the wake of a lack of GP services gone is the accident and emergency. Many have to go for antibiotics.

Can't have been that bad an injury if you were sitting and waiting rather than being wheeled in with your head securely fixed to a board.

Anyhow, if we're going for pulling diagnoses out of the air like you are in diagnosing her as having a little bump, might as well go for the patient with metastatic cancer in her bones. Or osteoporosis. Or being on chemo and really needing not to be sat in the waiting room with all and sundry as the next covid and flu seasons kick off.

I was going to say same thing.
they may have been a regular attender for something that needs urgent medical attention.
just because the nurse knew the name doesn’t mean that got thrown through quicker.
I recently had sit 7 hours in A&E to be seen, even though I’m friends with the A&E staff It didn’t get me through any quicker 🤷🏻‍♀️