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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to be angry at A&E?

434 replies

fashu · 28/12/2023 09:46

I'm currently in hospital A&E, I've been here for 9 and a half hours. I'm 35 weeks pregnant. AIBU for getting upset or should I just suck it up?

At 8pm last night I had the oncoming of a migraine, funny vision, light-headedness etc.
I went to tell my husband and called the midwife, then started having a chat with DH. Mid conversation I started talking nonsense. Instead of car I was was saying mayonnaise, on top of other things I was just talking crap.
I tried to Google the symptoms and I couldn't type either. I couldn't think of what I wanted to write, although I knew what I was doing and when I did think of the words it looked like this 'hdhcjsk'

I panicked a bit and went back to my husband and then I went completely numb on in my hands and my mouth. I panicked and told him to call an ambulance. Ambulance came just over an hour later and said I needed to go to hospital as it sounds like a mini stroke.
Queue major panic mode!

Paramedics called maternity unit they said its not for them but keep them updated.

So I arrived in an ambulance at A&E just after 12am. Went to majors and the triage said to wait in waiting room and they will tell senior doctors.

Well I'm still waiting. 35 weeks pregnant on a hard metal chair. For 9 and a half hours. Panicking that I've had a mini stroke.

I've told the reception and nurses several times that my belly is now hurting from sitting for so long and being awake for 26 hours. I asked for water and they said I had to use the vending machine for a can of coke.
Receptionist told me I'm not poorly enough for a bed or the arm chairs.

I'm so upset, emotional and scared. DH has dropped kids off at my mums now as they were asleep and didn't want to disturb them in the night.

But, am I right to be upset or is this just how it is? Surely a pregnant woman with suspected mini stroke should be left for this long alone without treatment?

OP posts:
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7
stressedoutstudent · 28/12/2023 18:28

Thecatmaster · 28/12/2023 18:15

I don't understand why they don't have comfortable chairs that slightly recline in A&E. My Dad has leukemia and has had a stem cell transplant so has very low immunity. If he gets a temperature spike, I have to get him to hospital within an hour. He bypasses A&E and goes straight through to Acute A&E. Both times he has sat in a hard chair for 4-5 hours before being even triaged (no temperature taken, BP etc). No water available. He went in with a temperature of 38 and it had climbed to over 40 by the time he was seen. He had severe flu like symptoms and couldn't keep awake. When he was eventually seen, he was put on a bed that was quite literally dripping with blood. Nurse was very apologetic and cleaned it when I pointed it out, but these are really high risk acutely ill patients. A comfortable chair for patients to lie back on would make the world of difference. It's just simple basic care.

Until a drunk visitor to A&E urinates all over it and its all in the folds where the recliner is and it gets condemned. Or a fight breaks out - we had a patients literally throw a computer out of triage into the waiting area recently, despite having 10 plus police in the waiting area with patients they brought in, anything not connected to the floor is a risk in a waiting room. Plus the space they take up, not everyone can be seated with the small seating currently provided, with larger chairs too much space will be taken up. And the cost of these chairs, trusts are already at breaking point.

The issue isnt the provided seating, its the wait, if the wait was reasonable then the chairs would be fine. But the wait is growing year on year. The amount of patients waiting over 12 hours has grown something like 5000% in the past decade. Its closure of departments, growing population, aging population, unable to access social care, unable to discharge to the old cottage rehab hospitals as they are closed, GP's being overwhelmed and unable to see patients so more come to A&E with milder infections a GP could treat, having ambulances queuing the entire duration of a paramedics shift meaning ambulances cant then get to those in need, and these patients have priority over patients in waiting areas for bed spaces, the amount of patients nurses have to care for at the same time meaning basic caring tasks take much longer as they cant get through patients quick enough to get them discharged, nursing in none clinical areas to try and create bed spaces taking nurses and dr's away from areas designed to see patients, there are 100s of reasons why the wait is how it is at the minute, the chairs arent the issue.

NIKKIDs · 28/12/2023 18:32

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Original poster
fashu · 28/12/2023 18:41

I'm sorry, I'm not sure what you mean by its not such of a big problem? Whilst I'm a lot more comfortable now, I'm still very scared because I don't knkw the results. I'm just being optimistic.

OP posts:
PostItInABook · 28/12/2023 18:41

@fashu They haven’t read the thread. Ignore.

Princesspollyyy · 28/12/2023 18:43

Thecatmaster · 28/12/2023 18:15

I don't understand why they don't have comfortable chairs that slightly recline in A&E. My Dad has leukemia and has had a stem cell transplant so has very low immunity. If he gets a temperature spike, I have to get him to hospital within an hour. He bypasses A&E and goes straight through to Acute A&E. Both times he has sat in a hard chair for 4-5 hours before being even triaged (no temperature taken, BP etc). No water available. He went in with a temperature of 38 and it had climbed to over 40 by the time he was seen. He had severe flu like symptoms and couldn't keep awake. When he was eventually seen, he was put on a bed that was quite literally dripping with blood. Nurse was very apologetic and cleaned it when I pointed it out, but these are really high risk acutely ill patients. A comfortable chair for patients to lie back on would make the world of difference. It's just simple basic care.

If they had those chairs, they would all be taken up by the large groups of family members that come with the patient to a&e.

The times I have had to go, I've seen other people's mum, dad, auntie, uncle, several brothers and sisters, grandparents not to mention distant cousins. Absolutely ridiculous.

Itsyoouu · 28/12/2023 18:52

Try not to worry, I had exactly what you are describing several times when I was pregnant, I was told they were just bad migraines and not to stress about them. I know its hard but try to relax.

IWantAShitzu · 28/12/2023 18:57

Sending lots of love to you.
I really don’t want to scare you but just want to let you know what happened with my husband just so they don’t fob you off.

he went in with very similar symptoms, it was almost like he was drunk. Doctors straight away said it was a hemiplegic migraine. They were going to send him home but i pushed for further tests.

he had two CT scans which were clear, then after 4 days they did an MRI and confirmed he had a stroke.

He is doing well now and I didn’t want to scare you but sometimes these doctors need a bit of a push xx

TemporaryName123 · 28/12/2023 18:59

Sending you good wishes, hope you get home with a very manageable diagnosis very soon!

Lilacanemone · 28/12/2023 19:01

x2boys · 28/12/2023 12:39

Have you heard of irony ?

Show quote history

Yes. This isn’t it.

LondonLass91 · 28/12/2023 19:02

A & E is an absolute shitshow. They get you through triage in about 30 mins just so they can tick that box which says 'been seen'.

Namerequired · 28/12/2023 19:03

Yanbu and it’s wrong, but it’s also just how it is now. I was admitted to hospital recently and I have never seen things so bad. I was put through and admitted quite fast tbh, but was still in a&e 2 days later because of no beds. Most of it in a metal chair, though I was at least getting all the care and medication I needed. Got a trolley for a few hours but then they needed it back. Finally got a trolley on a ward on day 3.
Elderly people in chairs in corridors was common. One elderly woman had been there nearly 24hrs and had 1 cup of tea. She also was supposed to be on a drip but it had ran out of battery and there was nowhere to plug it in, so they stopped it. 12 hours later it still wasn’t in use.
A while back there was uproar about people in corridors on trolleys, now they are in every corridor on metal chairs to the point people including doctors/nurses can’t move freely. People were being admitted and then sent back out to the main waiting room as there was no more room on the side where you get seen. A wee woman died in the waiting area the 1st night I was in waiting to be seen.
It was overwhelming. I can’t fault the staff, I really can’t. They are ran off their feet and all but one was still so pleasant and professional. They were seeing people in a store cupboard when they couldn’t do it in the corridor in front of people!! All the rooms were taken. It was like something out of a bad movie. It’s actually scary. Scary what has become accepted as the norm. Something has to change.
I hope you’re doing ok now and it isn’t anything too serious.

fourelementary · 28/12/2023 19:05

@fashu I really hope you’ve had reassuring news now and are comfortable. I am saddened to read of the treatment the nurses have given you and others. As a nurse myself, I hate to read about how hardened other nurses have become to the patients in their “care”… the compassion fatigue is real but it’s still awful and a disgrace to the profession.
Wishing you all the best and I hope the results for you are swift and positive. And you get home and Comfy soon.

x2boys · 28/12/2023 19:18

Lilacanemone · 28/12/2023 19:01

Yes. This isn’t it.

Show quote history

It was supposed to be .

jasflowers · 28/12/2023 19:56

DewHopper · 28/12/2023 16:51

Yes I had heard how appalling it is in Wales. That just sounds inhumane.

Show quote history

My Mum waited for 3 days before being seen by a stroke specialist, in England and that was in 2019.

No meds issued for over a week, by that time she was end of life, they deemed capacity and she had refused but if treated earlier...... We will never know.

FiL, again in England sent to AE following vascular surgery, he sat in a chair for over 24hours, then 30 hours in a chair off a ward, v fortunately recognised by the consultant who did surgery (both ex navy) he got him a bed.

Wales or England, the NHS has been systematically run down over the last 13 years, the differences are hens teeth between the two.

Hope you get sorted @fashu Flowers

41quid · 28/12/2023 20:06

stressedoutstudent · 28/12/2023 10:42

For context im an A&E nurse.

If you have been assessed and triaged, it must mean they have ruled out a TIA/stroke. Chairs have to be hard in a waiting room so they are easily cleanable and sustainable. Water fountains are an infection risk. Staff changes do not delay you being seen or treated.

However!

At 35 weeks pregnant you should have been prioritised on a wait list due to possible complications arising with the baby if youre presenting with an illness not an injury.
Drinks should be offered, our trust has a housekeeper on duty 24 hours a day, who literally circles the department including waiting rooms with drinks and sandwiches all day now due to these horrendous waiting times. We also have stations in the waiting room with jugs of water and disposable cups for patients to help themselves to.
You should have had observations at triage, someone should have now rechecked to your obs whilst you were waiting to be seen to make sure they were still in range if you have presented with an illness - again we have a HCA allocated for this for patients experiencing long waiting times, as well as one to do bloods and one to do ECGs, and one stationed in waiting rooms to assist patients with whatever else they need.

Even with long waiting times, there are things staff and departments can do to make patients comfortable. Leaving patients on cold hard chairs, with no reassessing, and no access to water is unacceptable which ever way you look at it and trusts need to be putting into place measures to ensure these patients are as comfortable as possible.

Edited

Not sure where in he country you work, but certainly not my experience of A&E in 2023.
My experience over 5 visits is NO prioritisation, simple deli-counter, first come, first served queuing. In my case this led to sepsis (twice) and another relative witnessed a stroke victim (paralysis down one side, face fallen) waiting more than five hours to be seen.

dijonketchup · 28/12/2023 20:11

I had to reply as I have had this a few times. The first was during an extremely stressful time, and I thought I was having a mini stroke. Symptoms exactly as you describe: vision, numbness starting in the fingers of one hand and going up to my face, then loss of coherent speech lasting a few minutes.

Anyway, I had several hospital appointments and was fully checked out, they concluded it was a migraine with aura. It’s quite rare, but not that uncommon. Very scary if you have never heard of it though.

I will get one once in a blue moon but know the vision sign to look for and to stay somewhere calm and dark until it’s over. Afterwards I just feel weirdly tired and hungry.

Good luck OP, you are doing the right thing getting checked for the sake of your baby.

blackpanth · 28/12/2023 20:14

Hope you're okay x

Hotpolarbear · 28/12/2023 20:18

I had something similar. I went to bed and hoped for the best as baby was moving normally.
Went to see the doctor the day after and was told it sounded like a migraine. Apparently there's 3 dofferant types of migraines and one of them has the same symptoms as a stroke.

stressedoutstudent · 28/12/2023 20:19

41quid · 28/12/2023 20:06

Not sure where in he country you work, but certainly not my experience of A&E in 2023.
My experience over 5 visits is NO prioritisation, simple deli-counter, first come, first served queuing. In my case this led to sepsis (twice) and another relative witnessed a stroke victim (paralysis down one side, face fallen) waiting more than five hours to be seen.

Show quote history

Having read a fair few posts on here regarding A&E, and news reports in the media, im aware my trust is in a minority, it is a very large city A&E covering numerous large towns as well as the city it is located in. In the last 12 months the department has trialled many initiatives to try and improve patient comfort and experiences whilst in the department and many are working, the hope is trusts follow suit and some are rolled out nationally, but it is down to the individual trusts to make those decisions. Theres nothing we can do to aid wait times across the trust and the wider community, but if we can improve satisfaction and comfort, then we will do what we can. In the meantime, when threads like this arise, mentioning the small, achievable solutions we have in place that are helping with patient comfort, maybe, some of these will be taken by patients to their A&E department in feedback forms and some could possibly be instigated within the wider NHS.

StillWantingADog · 28/12/2023 20:26

When you’re recovered I think you need to complain- not so much about the long wait though that’s obviously unacceptable - but I think no water or comfy seat for a heavily pregnant woman is totally unacceptable. They could have got you some water from a staff room surely.

grapesandplums · 28/12/2023 20:44

This happened to me, EXACTLY as you describe, when I was 40 weeks pregnant. I, however, had extremely high blood pressure so the symptoms of being unable to read, write or talk weren't at all investigated and instead labour was induced. After talking to an experienced nurse practitioner about it some weeks later, she actually believed the BP was a red herring and that actually I had had a migraine in the wernicke area of my brain. I had aura before it all started and history of migraine. Maybe that's what's happened to you too, probably a hormonal trigger. All the best x

enchantedsquirrelwood · 28/12/2023 20:46

I'm sure you can understand

this is an MN expression I HATE!

So patronising and I am not even the OP!

Hope you are ok now OP.

justasking111 · 28/12/2023 20:48

Was reading last week that 530k people had signed up for private healthcare since January 2023. This won't help A&E unfortunately.

HappyHamsters · 28/12/2023 21:01

justasking111 · 28/12/2023 20:48

Was reading last week that 530k people had signed up for private healthcare since January 2023. This won't help A&E unfortunately.

Edited

I am waiting 6 weeks to initially see a private doctor, same doctor who works for the NHS. About time private hospitals had their own a&e departments, doctors and full facilities.

CrazyHedgehogLover · 28/12/2023 21:08

I also had this when I was pregnant with my daughter! Your in the best place, I was told they was really bad migraines, my vision went, I couldn’t see! My face and hands etc went numb aswell! I also couldn’t text or anything until the migraine attack had worn off.. the doctors said to me due to the hormones it can trigger them.

just ask the midwife to keep an eye out throughout the pregnancy on preeclampsia (I know you’ve had blood pressure etc) but with preeclampsia I was told by my midwife you don’t always have to have high blood pressure, she said even having one of the symptoms such as funny vision etc can also be a sign of having it aswell, even without high BP.. hopefully they’ll be testing you regularly for that now this has happened.

your in the best place! I hope you get the answers you need soon & get plenty of rest, wishing you the best❤️

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