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.

5pm on Christmas Eve you get seen immediately.

@Eightfour erm what? My response was to the OP saying they need to be seen within 12 hours?

Reading comprehension please

Totally agree.

@Eightfour you completely misunderstood @InAMess2023’s post. She was saying if you can wait 12 hrs at home to plan your visit you don’t need A&E not once you’re there 🙄

@InAMess2023 I'm sorry that's awful! We only ended up in A&E for an hour. Triage was quick, just no beds. When they triaged at the half hour mark they realised there was something very wrong with him an we were moved to an emergency specialist ward. Luckily in our case they did deal with an emergency very quick, but if you'd had an accident and wanted to know if ankle sprained or broken you were stuffed.

5am Tues, Wednesday, Thursday.
11am Friday
9am Sunday.
Or on the second day of a heatwave, anytime in lockdown, or Christmas Day.
Doctor strike days are also very quiet

@NamingConundrum I've ended up in A&E a fair few times due to my endometriosis which is what the cyst was linked to and thankfully that was the worst time and longest wait. I do think there needs to be more strict triage procedures in place though as a lot of people who arrived both before and after me decided they wouldn't wait and went home!

Tuesday, Wednesdays and Thursdays - after rush hours and shift changes and before the schools close

@InAMess2023 - my comprehension was fine. Now you have explained I understand that you were responding specifically to the OP but it looked like just a standalone blanket statement as you hadn’t tagged or quoted anything.

Believe it or not, probably the weekend. Monday is absolute hell because everyone waits over the weekend thinking that that will be the busiest time.

About 8am would be the best time in our department. The day doctors start then and there's a focus to get the night backlog dealt with. It's also shortly before clinics start meaning that many patients in the department are moved to different specialities. It gets busier as the day goes on.

My mum went on a Saturday evening a few months ago and came back after 3 hrs. I was shocked at how quick it was (broken foot).

Yes we had to take DS on Christmas Day a couple of years ago and it was empty. He got so many presents, every time he went to a different place to be tested or was transferred to a different ward the staff gave him something else. He was very seriously ill but still counts it as one of his best Christmases 🤣

@InAMess2023 its hard. Unfortunately a lot of people are put off by the waits that do need to be there also. A friend fell down the stairs. Up and walking but lots of bruises around ribs etc so we basically forced them into A&E and refused to take them home when they wanted to when they heard the wait. Ribs were fine actually, but they had fractured their spine! Likewise there are people who should be at GP but even though not urgent urgent can't wait the 3 weeks for the appointment wait time we now have.

Maybe from around 4-8am it might be quieter sometimes but not always but that tends to be when people have had enough of waiting.

When I worked there it was early morning, around 2 to 7 am.

Went to A&E after being sent there from walk in at local hospital at 6pm. Saw a specialist around 4am who moved me to Rapid as had Ddimer issues and huge breathing problems, seen again by a young doc who discharged me home alone at 8am. Back in 3 days later at 9am via ambulance as couldn't breathe, seen at 2pm for a CT and told I had a pulminory embolism at 8pm. I'd love to know if anyone told the young doc what a fuck up he made sending me home? Does anyone actually learn lessons or is it all to busy for that thesedays?

Went in to A&E on Christmas Day late evening and early hours of Boxing Day. Hardly anyone in, it was great.

I keep a hospital grab bag with snacks, bottles of water, phone chargers, hand gel, baby wipes, change ever since I was stuck there for 15 hours waiting with nothing.

Definitely Christmas. But that usually means it's the sickest and most injured waiting, which can be harder (from a staff perspective) than the rest of the time.

It's not a "first come, first served" service, so it doesn't really matter what time you go at. You'll be seen in order of priority. The waiting room is never empty.

Brilliant idea. I've had 2 A&E visits over the last few weeks and a grab bag would have been a godsend

Our hospital still operates a ring before you are seen policy. Obviously those who have had accidents go straight up, but for the rest of us, you have to ring out of hours and they decide

I had to ring last night, 86 yo mother had a nose bleed and it was pissing out of her. Half an hour later is was still as strong as ever so I rang out of hours and was told up to 6 hours for a clinician to call back. Hour later got a call back, nose still bleeding heavily, told to go up. Triage was quick as she was expected, then settled in for a 6 hour wait. Luckily 2 hours later bleeding stopped and she wanted her bed so we came home

Waiting room was full - 10pm - of those having a mental health crisis , stoned or pissed out of their heads and the queue of patients booking in was out the door

You're right about Saturday nights. My son and his girlfriend recently took their friend who had slipped on the ice and broken her ankle to A&E on a Saturday night. I said "oh dear, you'll probably have a long wait" - she was pretty much in and out. I was so surprised.

I know to my cost that during the day on Saturdays A&E tends to be full of little people who have damaged something playing sport! And big people too!

I found there would be a lull 3am-6am

Hmm, I'm not completely sure of this.

I waited 51 hours at home with abdo pain, unable to eat or pass anything. In A&E when I finally went, a CT revealed a large tumour in the colon and I needed surgery.

I waited at home for so long because I was trying to tough it out, not understanding how serious my situation was. Turned out I didn't just have ordinary gas pain, I had a bowel blockage and incurable cancer.

The surgery saved my life, although for how long isn't clear as of course I still have incurable cancer. But I've been able to get cancer treatment and it's now been a year that I wouldn't otherwise have had.

So I can't really agree that I didn't need A&E. The wait time at home was not diagnostic of the severity of the condition. And there may be others like me.

The staff at my local hospital said that Mondays were always extremely busy which surprised me as I thought it would have been the weekend.

I disagree with some of the above posts re if you can choose the time to go, it's not an emergency.

I was there all day last year, left, next day phoned my GP who went mad and sent me back, but it still took hours to get a drip put in.