I'm so fucking sick of a and e wait times

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As a working mother to a toddler in nursery, I'm just fucking done with how long it takes to get help in a and e for my child.

It's starting to make me not want to go, in situations that I would have maybe gone in the past.

I'm absolutely exhausted. It's always 3/4 hours wait, at least.

I'm just so done with it. It's a disgrace.

a depressing fact about my local A&E, yesterday there were 23 ambulances queuing outside waiting to handover patients. Some crews waited 8 hours to handover 🙁

Says it all

Not being funny but don’t ask here, especially considering all the responses you’ve had! Call gp or 111. Hope they get better soon

Jakers we've never had that many at one hospital. We've three so between them could probably beat that figure.

We're never told the figures but do people die in A&Eawaiting admission or in ambulances ?

Reason I've been in A&E this year:
5 year old broke his arm at school
3 year old dislocated his elbow (again)
My face dropped and I experienced partial paralysis (Bells Palsy)
Related to the above, I was in excruciating pain and needed painkillers so I attended again
I broke my toe and after a few days it went grey and numb and was sticking out at a weird angle.

I don't think any of those were unreasonable?

That’ll be the same consultants who are creaming it in with their private work having gone part time in the NHS 😉

Well to be fair our consultants and surgeons in Wales are management led so rationed as to what clinics, operations they can do. There's plenty of time for private work.

If you choke their hours and theatre time it's to be expected

Again I've no idea how it works in England

The same consultants clearing NHS lists in private clinics and getting paid NHS rates to do so. Make it make sense!

Perhaps step away from anecdotal stuff? abuse happens everywhere, in every health system around the world.

Lack of social care is widely acknowledged whatever your personal anecdotes, its why it was put on the skilled worker shortage list and now we can see some of the abhorrent practices "some" care providers are using.

In your case, being in hospital, its likely they needed nursing care, something that is extreme short supply in Wales.

From a recent Welsh Government report.
There are now substantial challenges in relation to recruitment and retention across the social care sector, both for local authorities and independent providers, particularly in relation to domiciliary care
Shortages of staff and difficulties recruiting in the social care sector have a big impact. A lack of care staff in the community has led to delays in discharging patients from hospital and can lead to patients being admitted to hospital whilst waiting for homecare to be arranged. This in turn can create pressures elsewhere in the health system such as emergency departments, due to a lack of beds for patients

Not allowed in most Trusts I don’t think. Certainly where my dh is a Consultant you have to be on a full time NHS contract to do any private work.

If you have retired and then returned part time then that’s obviously different.

Ah but government report propaganda is fine. Oh give me a break 🙄

Consultants fore fill their contractual obligations, NHS theatre time is restricted by lack of facilities, ICU & HD beds, theatre staff and general ward space... caused by failure to discharge healthy people.

Once they ve done their NHS work, they are free to do whatever they like in their spare time, just as you are able too.

Might be worth considering that todays junior Doctors are tomo's Consultants, Junior Doctors are on strike, they are pissed off with low pay and are leaving the NHS in high numbers.
If the Tories carry on like this, the NHS will have even less consultants in a few years time and those that are still in the UK will move into private work as that becomes even more lucrative.

@justasking111 Plenty more evidence of lack of social care.
https://www.nursinginpractice.com/latest-news/nurse-shortages-and-increased-demands-in-care-homes-deeply-concerning/

Its good you have a sceptical mind but i think on this issue, you re wrong.

I also find it odd you are so often in A&E. Even odder you say are being sent there by GP's regularly as they don't tend to do that (they will advise you to go 'if it gets worse' during closing hours but thats standard boiler plate they have to say to cover their ass).

I have never known an ill toddler be kept in 'A&E' for hours, they are almost always sent instantly to other child specific departments or referred direct from GP if they are actually need investigations/admission. Hospitals almost always have a pediatric assessment unit which is completely separate from A&E walk in (which is usually for adults accidents).

I don't want to see dismissive but it does kind of sounds like the reason the wait is so long is because your not actually an A&E priority (meaning you are there incorrectly) which pushes up the wait time.

People often rush to A&E as a catch all but its often the wrong department, for example: many people go to A&E for miscarriages but A&E cannot deal with miscarriages so they will be left sitting as a 'low priority' (non life or death) when really they should have attended the EMU/EPU department to be seen and treated instantly.

My other half went in a few weeks ago at about 3pm. He arrived back home at 7:30 the next morning.
It's an absolute joke.

My DU was left bed blocking for 9 months as he couldn’t go home but there wasn’t anywhere for him to go. Due to mental health issues and autism new environments can stress him out and if he isn’t taking his medication he can become violent. Like a child it can be difficult to reason with him but he has the strength of an adult. There needs to be more residential care facilities away from hospitals to relieve some of the pressure but that is unlikely to happen anytime soon.

Sorry but this sounds mad! If I found blood in a child's poo I would certainly not be waiting a couple of days, and nor should anyone!

@Pigglycat I also love how that poster said that I shouldn't even go to the GP.. not even the GP. Full stop.

Dunno. I work 100% in the NHS as a consultant and last took a day off sick in March 26 years ago. I remember it well.

When I try and do the job of others in an under-resourced team and feel exhausted, I wonder if I am just a fool. I just really hate letting patients and colleagues down and would feel so guilty.

Private work has never tempted me. Despite the stereotypes, there are more of us around than you would think.

No chronic condition but just always random stuff that requires me going there. Like trouble breathing or fevers that are just ridiculously high for ages and don't respond well to medicine. Constipation with blood in poo.

Are you going a lot? A&e is for absolutely critical illness. When you say "trouble breathing" how low are their oxygen sats going? Generally noisy breathing & wheezing is really common in toddlers, it has to be where a child is really working hard to breathe before they cam do anything in hospital. If you are regularly going in and your child isn't actually needing oxygen you might be rushing there a bit prematurely.

Constipation with fresh red blood in poo is also quite common, constipation/straining can cause small tears which bleed easily. It doesn't take a lot of blood to look bad.

Generally speaking when you need to be seen, you are seen fast. When dc 1 was in struggling to breathe, she was seen within a few minutes & on oxygen. When dc2 had severe croup & couldn't breathe he was given steroids within about 3 mins of arrival.

They can't actually do a lot for a high fever when you've already given paracetamol etc.

Why is any of that any of your business?

111 send everyone to a&e.

They've sent ambulances for dC1 several times for her breathing. The paramedics have only actually taken her in once.

Both my dc have had fevers over 40 loads of times. Some kids run hot.

The point is it is triage. When it gets critical, you move up the priority list. Generally if you are waiting there hours without moving up the priority list, its not a critical emergency.

There are a lot of things we did in the olden days that we thankfully don’t do anymore.

Yet.

The crucial thing with healthcare is that things are caught in a timely manner, not left until crisis point