If you work in A and E, when is the quietest time for a patient to come in?

[applejack18]

I know IABU to ask, as the NHS is unimaginably stretched all of the time.

But if there was a least busy time of day/night, or time of week, which would it be?

Is there a pattern?

I ask because I had to call 111 yesterday at 10pm and the upshot was I should get seen for my symptoms within 12 hours. The clinician said I could go to A and E that evening or see the GP in the morning. I'm lucky it wasn't urgent but it got me thinking.

I've had to go a few times recently with an ongoing issue that flares up at random, and I've found 4am-5am on a Monday morning tends to be best.
(Auntie worked there for 30+years and agreed)

I’m not sure about quietest but I went with a broken limb at about 11am one Monday and expressed surprise at how busy it was. The nurse told me lots of people “don’t want to waste their weekend sitting in A&E, but are happy to miss a day of work.”

10 years ago.

Early in the morning, unless there’s a resus coming in. I work in Paeds though, not adults.

Or Christmas Day, it’s amazing how illnesses can be put off when it comes to it.

Early mornings/before 0900 are generally are quietist period to arrive since most of the evening/overnight patients will be sorted, fresh daystaff on and get in just before the rush 09-12. Friday is the quietist. Monday I think is the busiest. But if anyone can schedule when they go to A&E/time it for the least busy times then they probably don't need to go at all, so save the most time!!

There are so many factors though, reduced access to GP at weekends pushes some to A&E who might have been managed in community, many services not available OOH so reduced referral opportunities. Would expect more RTCs in commuter times when more on the road. Weekends more people drinking/adventure/leisure activities which can involve injury....

Monday and Tuesday mornings/afternoons are our busiest in the A&AE I work at. Saturday nights usually the quietest. Yes you get the occasional drunk but they're seen and treated quickly. After midnight it's a lovely shift usually. Also Sunday mornings up until the afternoon are fairly quiet

It's not just how many people, you aren't treated in order of who came in first, but level of severity of your problem.

So it might not look "busy" but you could wait longer if everyone else is more serious.

Or it can look "busy" but you get seen first as your symptoms are more concerning

I had to go to A&E a few weeks ago around 3.30pm on a Thursday. From ringing 111 to be diagnosed in A&E took an hour! I do live 15 minutes from the hospital but even so.

I went in on a Thursday afternoon a few weeks ago - the wait was 18 hours. I was sent back on a Sunday by the OOH GP a few weeks later and the wait was even longer

Demographics and the law of averages would still indicate it's best to go during a quieter day/time.

8am is good, because it's a convenient time to arrive, the day crowd aren't in yet, and if you need tests or specialist staff you can be shunted onward.

I worked in A&E in the 80s and we always knew a major football match would reduce attendance markedly. Cup Final Saturday we hardly saw a soul.

It is not a good time in our local hospital, as the staff stop seeing patients between 6.30 and 8.30 due to the shift changeover- so there is a build up while that goes on

18 HOURS?! Was that the advertised waiting time? That's horrendous...what area of the country are you in?

England - the advertised waiting time was varying between about 16 -18 hours during the time I was sitting there

We had to take a 10 month in one Christmas Day - there were about half a dozen of us there, mostly toddlers, and it was so quiet and efficient. And they insisted on giving both DCs a gift.

That was 18 yrs ago though.

It wont be the quietest but the best time to go I would say is around midday. Morning backlog has been caught up as more staff on and patients have been rerouted directly to specialtys and ambulatory care. Imo the worst time to go is early hours of the morning, there might be less patients but the waits are huge (8 hours plus) as clinician numbers drop dramatically after midnight and they can't keep up.

I had to wait 14 hours a year ago but I was high as a kite on painkillers after the initial triage so I didn’t really care.

Always early morning weekday when I worked in paeds A&E
Adults I dunno
probably early early morning some weird weekday not a weekend

It doesn't quite answer the question but
I had to go into UCH A&E midweek in the day (like 10-11am) it was surprisingly busy.

They took a while to triage me (about 40 mins due number of people and they triage sequentially)
But once that happened I was seen basically immediately due to a combo of being heavily pregnant, my symptoms & my stats when they triaged me 😵‍💫😵‍💫
do
While I wf meas waiting to be triaged they announced wait times were severe up to 3 hours plus.
I am not joking when I say over half of the waiting room stood up and just walked out.
I was utterly godsmacked.

Former A&E nurse, now intensive care. There is never really a “good” time, but first thing in the morning 6am is usually more reasonable when it comes to “fit to sit” patients. That and the doctors strikes.

Early morning. DS put his hand through a pane of glass at night and we bandaged it up but it was bleeding again in the morning. Went in at 8 and home by 9.

We were 7 hrs into waiting with a head injury recently, and were told at 2am it would still be another 8 hrs.

According to our GP it’s a way of clearing the waiting room.

@NachosAndCheese paeds here also. I hate working Boxing Day as sick kept at home over Christmas turn up clapped out!

Mondays have always been the busiest, nothing like missing work but not giving up your weekend.

Saturday night is broken bones / fights / drunks etc

Quietest i have found is Friday (other than later into the evening), everyone has that Friday feeling and doesn’t want to wait time being in a&e