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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

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

163 replies

PrincessHoneysuckle · 22/09/2023 19:27

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.

OP posts:
quietlysad · 22/09/2023 20:52

I happen to have a lot of friends who are consultants or doctors and they all tell me when they go in to a&e with their kids etc if they are noticed by the doctors/nurses they get seen straight away and don’t have to wait. It happens, a lot. And no it’s absolutely not okay.

mumofteenss · 22/09/2023 20:53

I work in A&E and have been twice with children in recent months.

Child 1, suspected fractured wrist, sat in the waiting room for 4 hours then sent for xray, went back to waiting room for a further 2 hours before being seen and offered pain relief. I was addressed by name and was chatting to the receptionist when no one was waiting to be seen. It was obvious they knew me but no special treatment

Child 2, took to reception where i was greeted by name and "why are u back here" by the same receptionist, explained the issue, she immediately went to the triage nurse, waited all of 7 seconds before the triage nurse, also calling me by name, called us through to go straight to resus. Son had a displaced tib/fib fracture, but his long trousers meant no one in the waiting room could actually see and as it compromised blood flow to his foot, he was seen immediately and probably much to the disgust of the 30 or so people in the waiting room.

Neither was special treatment, but may have appeared to have been to outsiders not knowing exactly what was happening on was the second visit.

Redwineislife · 22/09/2023 20:54

You are being so so unreasonable!!! I am a nurse and you have zero knowledge about the person or the reason they are there.

How dare you assume we are so stupid as to let a ‘friend’ in without proper triage.

shame on you.

JoshLymanIsHotterThanSam · 22/09/2023 20:57

It happens. I work in the nhs, have been told to use my position to queue jump. Perks of an otherwise unrelenting underpaid job 🤷🏻‍♀️

Original poster
PrincessHoneysuckle · 22/09/2023 20:57

Redwineislife · 22/09/2023 20:54

You are being so so unreasonable!!! I am a nurse and you have zero knowledge about the person or the reason they are there.

How dare you assume we are so stupid as to let a ‘friend’ in without proper triage.

shame on you.

I know she was friends with the a&e nurse
And I know she was seen before others due to that.As I said they weren't discreet.Its good that you're not like that but that nurse was.

OP posts:
Legale · 22/09/2023 20:58

OP isn't complaining that it happened, she is complaining about the lack of discretion.

Also, others upthread have confirmed it does happen.

Alopeciabop · 22/09/2023 20:59

Omg. The responses on here are so annoying. Honestly the whole world is full of nepotism and shit like this and, yes, sometimes it’s misconstrued but in all likelihood the op knows what she saw and she’s right to eyeroll - hard

OchonAgusOchonOh · 22/09/2023 21:02

PumpkiPie · 22/09/2023 19:52

Isn't A&E for genuine accidents and emergencies though? ie: you don't go there for injuries where you can "get back to work asap" for? Surely, if the problem is non-urgent enough that you can rush back to work after, the GP is who you should be seeing as a non emergency?

My dd passed out. Her pulse rate and blood pressure were all over the place. A&E was exactly where she should have gone. It had happened to her once before and the GP was the person who said to go to A&E.

She recovered quickly and was able to return to work. She has since received a diagnosis that explains it and is on meds so no, the GP is not always the appropriate route for incidents after which you can return to work.

Axcis · 22/09/2023 21:02

I had a much better experience of nurses attending a&e. A lady came in with a young nan, everyone knew her, and him, both working as nurses. He was given medication straight away. But his companion, as soon as he'd fallen asleep looked around and started nursing people! She helped everyone and then got the tea cart and got everyone a cuppa. It was absolutely lovely.

FYI I was brought in for some tests as a Covid patient, so wasn't top of the list anyway, just very cold due to raging fever and meanie paramedics took my jumper away.

CatNoBag · 22/09/2023 21:03

I have a family member who’s an A&E nurse. I know in the past she’s managed to finagle getting my Mum seen quicker (which I’m thankful for, as she was elderly with broken bones). When I needed to go in recently, unbeknownst to me she’d phoned in, and I think got me moved up the triage list, but apparently they have a new system now that can’t be manipulated without the hospital manager finding out and asking questions. So it doesn’t matter who you know, you’re seeing the doctor when it’s your turn to see the doctor (in my case 7 hours after I arrived).

Original poster
PrincessHoneysuckle · 22/09/2023 21:05

Alopeciabop · 22/09/2023 20:59

Omg. The responses on here are so annoying. Honestly the whole world is full of nepotism and shit like this and, yes, sometimes it’s misconstrued but in all likelihood the op knows what she saw and she’s right to eyeroll - hard

Thank god someone gets it!

OP posts:
Stressfordays · 22/09/2023 21:08

Perk of the job. We all have them. I'm no longer a&e but I now work closely with GPS. I use this to my advantage all the time. I don't feel even slightly guilty. I give a lot of myself to care for others and put my patients first all the time so why should I?

The general public uses us like it all the time too 'oh you're a nurse, whats this rash?' Or my friends asking me to come stick their kids back together after a minor injury to save them a wait in a&e.

DoubleTequilaSunrise · 22/09/2023 21:11

I agree that people should have the decency to be discreet, but that said, what's the problem?

Of course it happens all the time, once critical cases are seen first, even private rooms etc.. are given to staff in priority.

But so what? Every job has its perks. You work somewhere, you prioritise your own. As long as no one is put at risk because of it, it's human nature and everybody does the same. It would be weird otherwise. We are not bloody robots.

Dacadactyl · 22/09/2023 21:12

@PumpkiPie I've got no skin in the game. It wasn't me who was told to go to a&e with conjunctivitis, but a relative.

Shadypaws23 · 22/09/2023 21:15

You just don't know
I went for my covid and flu vaccine this week, there was a big queue. I skipped the queue and I could hear the tutting as I went past
Guaranteed some of them went home and said "we were all elderly and this young woman skipped the queue/we were waiting ages" etc etc
But it's none of their business

TerfTalking · 22/09/2023 21:15

Dacadactyl · 22/09/2023 19:33

Lol...for a start you have no idea whether she was in there havign been triaged as worse off than you.

And secondly, for all you know she could've been a nurse who'd turned up to A&E with an issue prior to starting her shift.

This happened to my relative the other day...she was seen in A&E as a patient before heading to do a 12 hour shift. And that would be the 3rd time that has happened where my relative has gone to A&E with an issue prior to starting work elsewhere in the hospital.

Agree with this! DD was seen in A&E in between her shift! And they rushed her through to get her back on the job!

quietlysad · 22/09/2023 21:17

.

TGGreen · 22/09/2023 21:17

I'm a frequent flier, am always triaged immediately to majors and seen very quickly. I've heard comments before from others about queue jumping/waiting longer. There's a very good reason, one that often saves my life but you wouldn't know it to look at me...Be careful what you wish for.

IamMoodyBlue · 22/09/2023 21:18

Incredible reading all these excuses for queue jumping ny by healthcare 'professionals'.
How pathetic they are.
All part of the insidious way our perceptions of the NHS are manipulated.

There is nothing wonderful or special about hospital staff, they are people just like the rest of us. And just like the rest of us, some are hard working, some are lazy. Some are caring, some are abusive. Some are wonderful at their job, some shouldn't be allowed near a Barbie doll.
So it shouldn't be a surprise if some are cheats.
If your instincts told you 'Unfair!' you were almost certainly absolutely right.

TorqueWrench · 22/09/2023 21:19

Lol definitely not worse that me I'd been in an RTA this morning.

Tbf, maybe she was too.

XlemonX · 22/09/2023 21:19

Everyone attending a&e will be given a score for their urgency… though me as a staff myself, I do think staff should prioritise staff as my own patients otherwise will be suffering from waiting to be seen by me…

londonrach · 22/09/2023 21:21

Sounds like a regular with a huge back history ..the fact the nurse mentioned the doctor.

Scutterbug · 22/09/2023 21:21

I get seen quicker. I have a MH condition and have in the past run away from hospital so I am considered high risk. If I go I’m given the hospital wrist band thing the minute I check in., am triaged then always taken to a cubicle or made to sit by the nurses station. You just never know what other people’s situations are.

0hNoNotAgain · 22/09/2023 21:22

Ridiculous to assume that you know what the actual situation was

I've also been in an RTA a few times and luckily the worst I had was whiplash, which didn't need A&E
A friend had a slight fall and broke her ankle badly.

DoubleTequilaSunrise · 22/09/2023 21:22

quietlysad · 22/09/2023 21:17

.

Edited

well, it's our interest if doctors are back in the job as quickly as possible, so I can't begrudge that either.

I have no idea if Grey's Anatomy is realistic or not when they staff always give priority to injured cops or injured firemen, but that wouldn't be outrageous either.

I trust the medical personal not to abandon a critically injured child to rush to help the swollen ankle of a surgeon.. a little jump in the queue when safe is hardly a big deal. Annoying when I am the one who is waiting to be seen, but fair enough.