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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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

553 replies

cutrtain · 17/12/2023 21:30

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.

OP posts:
Thread gallery
9
BrilliantEarth · 17/12/2023 22:29

My youngest child spent a fair bit of time in A&E - but for things like falling out of trees.

I want to know where you are if you only have a 3-4 hour wait. I had to wait for 10 hours last time I had cause to go to A&E (blood infection caused by a minor injury). Once A&E finally referred me to Urgent Care, I only had to wait about an hour to see someone so that bit was better.

SatanClaws · 17/12/2023 22:30

User14March · 17/12/2023 22:27

Do private A&Es exist?

No. It's the great healthcare leveller.

sahm9 · 17/12/2023 22:30

I completely agree.
the GP sent my child to A&E last week, we waited 9.5 hours for the doctor to tell us to go back to our GP, they didn’t even look at him. Just said they were not treating anything ENT. But the GP had literally sent us there 😵‍💫

LuluBlakey1 · 17/12/2023 22:31

Do you need to go to A and E? It is for emergency situations. I have 3 DC and have only ever been to A and E twice- once when both DS1 (who was tiny) and I fell down stone stairs and he landed on a stone patio hitting his head and once when DS2 had breathing problems and 111 told me to go to A and E. Anything else has been dealt with by GP.

namnamnam22 · 17/12/2023 22:31

As an A&E staff member yes we are fed up too! And equally as fed up with people using the service when not necessarily required!

MrsMorrisey · 17/12/2023 22:31

sahm9 · 17/12/2023 22:30

I completely agree.
the GP sent my child to A&E last week, we waited 9.5 hours for the doctor to tell us to go back to our GP, they didn’t even look at him. Just said they were not treating anything ENT. But the GP had literally sent us there 😵‍💫

Oh man how bad is that!!!????

BrilliantEarth · 17/12/2023 22:32

HungryandIknowit · 17/12/2023 22:28

This is making me wonder if I am being too lax about high temps. It is not unusual for my child to have temps that stay above 40 after medicine. Wondering if I should be more cautious and take them to A&E although we have been ok so far. What is the guidance - only if breathing difficulties as well?

My neighbour was a retired GP when my DC were little, so I used to consult him a fair bit. He wasn't worried by high temps (my DC1 used to get sudden temperatures of 104-5 - I don't know what this is in celsius) unless they coincided with other symptoms. He told me to buy an oscillating fan and use this with calpol and calprofen. I know this is now outdated advice, but it did work.

PremiumRaa · 17/12/2023 22:32

I agree.

Also in my experience 111 is nothing more than a marketing tool to try and make out like the NHS are offering some kind of service. They have invariably directed me to A&E, that's all they do. Usually they read through the NHS website multiple times, repeat questions over and over then say go to A&E.

Boomarang · 17/12/2023 22:32

SatanClaws · 17/12/2023 22:30

No. It's the great healthcare leveller.

Too expensive, too unfiltered, too high risk, too many variables and not enough profit.

JRTfan · 17/12/2023 22:33

A&E is absolutely the right place if you are concerned for your child's health and I doubt anyone there would accuse you of time wasting. However patients are prioritised according to how quickly they need treatment not how long they have been there, if you are waiting hours then good news your kid isn't too sick..I once waited 9 hours for an x-ray and results on a broken ankle. Another time 4 hours with a miscarriage both very unpleasant experiences but weren't going to kill me.

User14March · 17/12/2023 22:33

@SatanClaws that’s not the case overseas in some places & then the pubic ones not over crowded. Will it ever happen here?

Daz57 · 17/12/2023 22:33

I have worked in ED and am shocked at the trivial complaints that people come in with. Almost all of them could be treated by their GP, the 111 system or their pharmacist. There should be someone triaging everyone before they even get through the door. The NHS needs to get tougher.

Lilacanemone · 17/12/2023 22:34

namnamnam22 · 17/12/2023 22:31

As an A&E staff member yes we are fed up too! And equally as fed up with people using the service when not necessarily required!

As everyone has to see a triage on the way in, they are obviously making the decision that anyone who is let in needs to be there.

mrshoho · 17/12/2023 22:36

No but you can bet your life that Rishi's kids wouldn't be waiting like us in the hell hole waiting room.

Fernsfernsferns · 17/12/2023 22:36

cutrtain · 17/12/2023 22:22

I sometimes get to go to the out of hours GP- I love it. They sometimes send us to and e for fast breathing rate.

I tried to get an out of hours appointment yesterday but because I also mentioned breathing issues to 111, they sent me to 111 ( after seeing my child breathing on video and being concerned ). When I got there I told the nurse that I think it's tonsillitis and we just need some antibiotics, but I was told to go there by 111. In fact 111 wanted to send an ambulance.

If I hadn't mentioned breathing issues, I would have been able to get an out of hours appointment. But I genuinely was a bit worried about the breathing.

But I knew it was tonsillitis and I knew we need antibiotics. I may just not mention breathing next time if I know we need antibiotics for tonsillitis. He's had tonsillitis around 4 times this year but hasn't had the weird breathing with it usually.

The thing is, they say that very high fever that won't go down, plus high breathing and heart rate, could be sepsis. So of course they want to see the child to rule it out. Once they realise that the vitals are ok, they make you wait. But if those are the symptoms, they need to rule out something more serious.

What do they DO when you go to A&E for high temp though?

are you getting any treatment or are you going for reassurance it’s not sepsis?

as if you call for medical advice and list symptoms that hit a check list you’ll be told to go to A&E.

has your child ever actually had any life saving treatment when there?

if not it sounds like you need to learn your child’s illness patterns better and trust yourself to nurse them through diagnosed viruses etc and go less.

why would a standard childhood illness or virus suddenly turn into sepsis?

ivd got two DC under 10 and have never taken either to A&E.

the older one was often ill until aged about 4. Some hardcore viruses like bronchiolitius where she had a temperature that spike over 40 overnight 3 nights in a row. And was off nursery for nearly 2 weeks.

but she runs hot when ill. The fever is the bodies way of fighting the infection. She was drinking fine (and in fact still breast feeding then aged 2.5) so I knew she was hydrated.

i don’t give a lot of paracetamol and very rarely ibuprofen (that’s the one that can be risky if it’s chicken pox).

i give them paracetamol only if their temp spikes over 40. DC1 would sometimes read 41 in one ear. Usually paracetamol would bring it down to under 40 but not to normal.

id watch over them, wipe them with a damp cloth, ride it out until it broke itself. Work was still crap as I barely sleep when they were ill but at least we were at home not spending hours and hours waiting to have it confirmed it’s a standard childhood illness.

Trust yourself more. Ask yourself if you are seriously worried about them. Step away from check lists that send you there to wait for hours to be reassured making you both feel worse!

if you are waiting for hours on arrival clearly your child isn’t that ill. You’re waiting behind all the more urgent cases that are 🤷🏻‍♀️

JenniferBooth · 17/12/2023 22:37

Daz57 · 17/12/2023 22:33

I have worked in ED and am shocked at the trivial complaints that people come in with. Almost all of them could be treated by their GP, the 111 system or their pharmacist. There should be someone triaging everyone before they even get through the door. The NHS needs to get tougher.

Hope another lockdown isnt ever needed and if it is that people remember this attitude. people lost jobs and homes to "protect the NHS" And the thanks for it? Oh we must get tougher with the public Well you already did that!!!! People cant get appointments with their GPs Be fucking told!

NC543210 · 17/12/2023 22:37

The paramedics I know, call NHS direct 111 NHS redirect. They'll send most things to ED and tend to err on the side of caution.

XenoBitch · 17/12/2023 22:37

The longer you wait, it means the less important it is for you to be seen ASAP. It is basic triage. The fact you work does not matter. That will not and should not bump you up any queue.

If you go a lot, then maybe there is a health anxiety issue at play here that needs addressing (yes, I am doing the MN thing of suggesting it).

MrsMorrisey · 17/12/2023 22:38

I work in a regional hospital in Australia and we used to have an emergency department however it was discontinued to not being financially worthwhile. That's "healthcare" for you.

Roundycippae · 17/12/2023 22:38

Accident and EMERGENCY- that’s not a fever or an earache or whatever else you’re dragging your kids there for - they triage.

If you go in with minor injuries you will wait because the people who have had heart attacks, car accidents, serious accidents, wounds, WILL get priority.

Don’t take your kids in. Wait for the GP or go to a walk in centre or minor injuries unit. Leave A&E for the people who really need it.

Stressedafff · 17/12/2023 22:38

Tbf to the OP 111 always end up telling you to go to A&E if it’s a child under 5

@cutrtain sorry you’re having a shit time of it. How old is your little one? Mine was a fast breather with a fever til she turned 3 ❤️

Just1MoreMinute · 17/12/2023 22:38

The problem is GPs don’t have enough capacity so people end up at A&E. there used to be other types of care little small injuries units etc, but the Tories closed them off.

Meadowlands · 17/12/2023 22:39

Well said @Daz57.
Triaging should be stricter.
I was there for a suspected stroke, and a man got through triage with a "clicky thumb"

User14March · 17/12/2023 22:40

@mrshoho presumably unless king etc you can’t jump the queue?

VanityDiesHard · 17/12/2023 22:41

JenniferBooth · 17/12/2023 22:37

Hope another lockdown isnt ever needed and if it is that people remember this attitude. people lost jobs and homes to "protect the NHS" And the thanks for it? Oh we must get tougher with the public Well you already did that!!!! People cant get appointments with their GPs Be fucking told!

I know!! We locked down for two years to help this lot and still they blame the public. Good grief.

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