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 went in Christmas morning as I was having an asthma attack, thought I'd need a nebuliser and home before the teenager woke up. Actually came out on
January 6th.
Anyway, A&E was completely empty. Just me and my mum who drove me in. Remember commenting to one of the nurses that it made me wonder how many A&E visits were absolutely necessary.

Yup - I've done the Saturday evening broken bone shift (on the side of the break, not the diagnosing!) - perfectly sober I might add.

Waiting room wasn't too horrendous and I got taken through to X-ray within an hour, then sat in a second waiting room in what appeared to be a deserted A&E department for the next 7 hours. There was only a maximum of 4 of us in this waiting room at a time, and we'd occasionally see someone walking past the door, or someone would pop in and give me more painkillers, but it was weirdly really, really quiet!

I ended up assuming that they were massively understaffed so weren't just dealing with as many patients as they had the capacity to.

Got there around 6pm, eventually left at about 2am.

Thankfully no drunks to be seen in my quiet little waiting area!

@InAMess2023 no,a doctor discharged me despite evidence there was a clot and a specialist saying I should have a CT. I then had to call 999 as I deteriorated a week later as he had MISSED a PE.

More like 40 years ago.

@InAMess2023 it is when you say anyone who can wait 12hrs doesn't need to be in A&E. I mean, I'm not dead, but I'd rather have known a week before to possibly save some lung function. Or is the bar set so low now you need to be literally dying within 12hrs to be accepted into your magical world of A&E?

I'd only go to AE if it were an emergency and that means i have to go or risk serious illness or death.

The idea of picking a time to go is crazy, thats what minor injuries are for.

My DD has a done a placement in AE, she was shocked at what people turn up for.

@Aaaalrightythen your story has zero relevance to my comment whatsoever though. You were sent home by a doctor after you'd already been to hospital. Nothing to do with waiting 12 hours before going to A&E

No, I waited over 18hrs and still wasn't properly looked after.So yes I waited over 12hrs and did need to be there. Your comment suggests otherwise.

Well I can see from various other replies to your unclear comment that I wasn't the only one who misinterpreted.

You made a standard blanket comment that if you're waiting for 18 hours you don't need to be in A&E, which was a couple of posts down from someone who specifically said they waited 18 hours IN A&E.

Perhaps you need to make yourself clearer.

Also, you're fucking rude.

@Aaaalrightythen I have repeatedly said my comment was about waiting 12 hours BEFORE going to A&E rather than waiting 12 hours IN A&E. I'm not repeating myself yet again so hopefully you get it now

@baldpenguine 'what an absolutely fucking ridiculous post' also @baldpenguine 'you're rude' - really?! And I actually said 12 hours

Sorry that should have said 'you're fucking rude'. Oh the irony

@InAMess2023 and you are repeatedly ignoring that I waited well over 12 hrs in pain in the week after I attempted to get help, when I STILL NEEDED TO BE IN A&E. Unless you are telling me I didn't need to be in A&E or that I didn't wait for over 12hrs before getting treatment you are being willfully idiotic in saying anyone who can wait over 12hrs before going to A&E doesn't need it.
And I won't repeat it either. I seriously hope you aren't a medical professional!

@Aaaalrightythen and I'm guessing you must be a medical professional since you know you still should have been in A&E and not sent home like the actual doctor did. If it was that bad then you should have gone sooner. And I won't be replying to you any further other than to say ODFOD

Fell one morning and split my scalp open. Went to a&e arrived at 9ish and was walking bs knout with a glued wound at 10ish. From triage to treatment it was really fast.

And this is why our NHS has sunk so low.

Unfortunately been twice in the last year once via car and once via ambulance. Our nearest hospital is 40 minutes away.
On both occasions I was triaged almost immediately. Waits were advertised as 3 - 4 hours which turned out to be pretty accurate, though for me I was seen by a doctor, had various tests, seen by the doctor again and discharged within that time frame.
First visit was a Monday afternoon and the second a midweek evening when I fully expected I'd be there all night.
I felt very fortunate and was very impressed with the care and attention I received on both occasions.
DSs partner is an A&E nurse in London and says mental health/drug/drink related patients are definitely on the increase and can cause significant disruption.

It depends on what's wrong with you I think. I went with my Mum on a Tuesday at 8pm, and she was actually seen by doctors who could solve her issues at 8am. Some people there had been waiting since 11am and were still there at 11pm. When I was admitted it was Sunday at about 7pm, I had a broken hip and shoulder so it felt like they helped me quite quickly, but I had to wait till 8am the next morning for surgery as they only have one theatre open on Sundays. It seemed really busy both times though, we were shunted into a corridor both times.

Yeah you are fucking rude. You've been rude to a few posters on here.

Pipe down.

@baldpenguine wow. Please go back and re-read your first post to me again. Who's the one who's been swearing... clue... it wasn't me. Don't @ me further as I won't be replying to someone who has been so rude to me

If you've got a clearly broken but not instantly threatening issue, or something in a child too young for minor injuries you can absolutely choose the time...

Things like broken fingers can wait a couple of hours, broken ankles/wrists you're not sure about, other things that need hospital imaging but aren't a risk to life or limb.

It's more a case of avoiding obvious peaks so if something happened Friday night you might wait until early Saturday to avoid drunks/kicking out time fight related patients or might wait and see/ostrich until morning. That said you'd want to be early before local rugby/football matches kicked off.

Likely to be quieter early hours as ability to get there will be reduced, cost of taxi/need to drive or be sober limits numbers a bit.

Avoid if at all possible Boxing Day, later New Years Day/early 2nd Jan...

I hate some of the attitudes on here

Most people have a spectrum of ability to cope with pain, illness and injuries and to think that they are ok or it will get better. Many have to be convinced to go in by relatives as "they're not dying" in part because of attitudes and campaigns of if you're well enough to think about you don't need it.

I waited almost a year to go to emergency from the first inset of acute and then chronic pain having exhausted my family doctor (who just offered me anxiety medication) and the urgent care center who said it was an ovarian cyst that would sort itself out.

Turned out I was dying very slowly and painfully. As in I would have died if I had not gone to emergency. When I did I felt like I shouldn't be there and was treated as such until I had a CT and suddenly a surgeon was being called over the talon for me. I was only 33 years old.

So yes people can need to go and can try to figure out when would be the least busy time to go. Not just for themselves but to out less strain on others.

If you're able to schedule your trip to A+E for when it's most convenient for you, you almost certainly don't need A+E.

Try the GP, out of hours GP service or 111. A+E is for emergencies, it's in the name.

I can think of many things that have no alternative to A&E but could wait before heading in. Assuming A&E waits are around 10h and you're competent monitoring a broken limb for circulation or nerve damage you might well be able to "schedule" your visit away from a peak and wait say 10% longer in total to be seen but if you're waiting on your sofa at home rather than the floor of a waiting room you'd probably be better off!

If I broke my arm falling on the stairs at home at 10pm tonight I'd wait until morning if I had no red flag symptoms because I'd probably be treated at the exact same time...