Stop telling people to go to A&E!

[Miriad]

I see it on here a lot. Someone is getting fobbed off by their GP and not getting diagnosed. So they get told to go to A&E, where they have the ability to do blood tests and urine tests and scans to figure out what’s going on.

I’ve been sobbing in agony for three weeks and my GP isn’t helping me, and I can’t get another GP appointment for a fortnight, so posters advised me to go to A&E.

I waited six hours only to get yelled at by an angry doctor, saying my condition is neither an accident nor an emergency. According to him I don’t need urgent treatment even if I’m crying with pain - because pain isn’t urgent. If I’m stable and not at risk then I need to go home and see my GP.

A&E can not be used to bypass a useless GP and access tests and scans. They will not diagnose you or refer you. Their job is to give you the minimum care to make you stable so you’re not at risk, then send you home.

So stop telling people to go there. Maybe in the olden days you could go there for help if your GP was rubbish, but not any more.

Op. If you can afford to see a private go please go. It is actually more affordable than you think.

My parents are using private GPs often to get the treatment she needs.

Yes I know she shouldn’t have to so back off vipers but if you are in pain and have the resources please make an appointment

I disagree OP. I can't get through to my GP - you ring and it says "there is a high volume of calls. If this is an emergency, call 999" then hangs up. Doesn't matter if you call at 8am/9am/10am. My surgery merged with 3 others, which unknown to me had 3 separate numbers. Lo and behold, 2 of those numbers ACTUALLY RING but not the other 2. So you still have a postcode lottery.

In the meantime, before I knew this and while I was daily trying to get through, I had sharp pains in my chest. Thinking I was over reacting (as your post might convince me I was doing) I asked on here. Told to go to the walk in or A&E. Luckily have a walk in so went. Seen in 2 hrs, high D dimer and was told probably an embolism and to drive to A&E, give them paperwork with high D dimer scores. Waited there for 18 hrs, told it was anxiety and costochondria and sent home. 2 days later blue lighted back in and finally diagnosed as having a pulmonary embolism.

I now find that I have hyperthyroidism which results it a high likelyhood of pulmonary embolism. This is as a result of me badgering the GP, once I finally figured out only 2 areas numbers work, that I am still not well, despite being taken off Apixaban. Heamatology hadn't noticed or checked for it, just took me off thinners after 3 months because I had only had 2 miscarriages, not 3 (which is the point when they test for other blood disorders apparently). All of this despite me having had all of the symptoms for over 2 years.

If your GP isn't doing their job or you can't get through to them, you should still see a healthcare professional. Walk in centre over A&E (for time reasons should be a no brainer) so I'd say to everyone, drive to your nearest walk in instead.

It depends on what it is. My DP found out that he'd had a heart attack (Nstemi) because he went to A&E. In cardiac rehab going to A&E got a diagnosis to a range of symptoms (all with a heart/artery condition as the source). You can get a diagnosis for pneumonia etc, as well as other conditions. You should be emailing your practice manager and going down the complaints procedure. For many conditions pain management Is done via A&E.

OP, your advice to others is not reasonable. The only time I went to A&E with severe pain, I was admitted immediately to women's surgical with a necrotic ovary and a raging abdo infection, and spent a week there.

If you are genuinely in that much pain, even after alternating paracetamol and ibuprofen, you need to call 111 now, and explain what is happening. Explain that the pain is stopping you sleeping and that you have already been seen by a nurse who has ruled out a UTI.

Ask for their advice and help. They should organise access to a doctor in some way, either OOO or on Tuesday.

Once that is done, contact PALS at the hospital you visited and put in a complaint about the A&E doctor.

SUDDEN severe pain is an emergency.

Ongoing pain is not, especially if the OP had not taken a pain killer.

@Miriad go to the doctors surgery and insist on seeing a doctor. This is far more effective at getting an appointment than phoning. In the mean time keep taking pain killers.

Call 111

No, there are numerous conditions that may start off by appearing to be relatively innocuous but are still life threatening.

Any severe pain of an undetermined cause requires prompt assessment.

Is the paracetamol working? Can you get any stronger painkillers? You said that people can’t afford private healthcare. Can you afford to see a GP privately?

This whole thread reads like what would happen in a war or emergency setting or a third world country. Not in one if the richest countries in the world. What a disgrace, and none of us should just accept this is how it is. In Italy, France, Spain, Germany, Netherlands (which I visit and where friends and family live) medical services are easily accessed so a&e departments are not in emergency mode. We should ask ourselves how we've got here and demand an immediate response from the next Labour government. Not accept the situation and judge people for going to a&e!

No one HAS to do what a random person on the Internet tells them to

Have you tried an consult on the NHS app? 111? A&E stands for accident and emergency, pain for over a month is neither of these I'm afraid.

Also you say they gave you painkillers, so they didn't actually ignore you and do nothing did they? They can't do investigations into chronic illness in A&E, it's not set up for that. They deal with presenting problems, in this case pain, and your GP does the rest.

I'm really sorry you are in pain, it sucks, but you need to access care via the GP.

I have had chronic pain recently, a frozen shoulder. I couldn't sleep for the pain, couldn't move my arm, was having to be washed and dressed. I was also crying with pain. It sounds like such an inoccuous thing but the pain is off the scale. It's got me thinking.

I had to wait 2 months for a cortisone injection after which I got my life back and could start working again. But to be unable to work for those months has a financial impact on the overall economy when you multiply it by all the people waiting. It doesn't seem like joined up thinking to me.

It's shocking that unless what you have is life threatening you seemingly can't be seen these days.

Pharmacists can prescribe things like some antibiotics. They can't supply prescription-only painkillers.

They can't do investigations into chronic illness in A&E, it's not set up for that. They deal with presenting problems, in this case pain, and your GP does the rest.
Well then posters need to stop telling people to go to A&E for a diagnosis if their GP won’t help them.

Wouldn’t you try the out of hours GP before A&E?

I'm sorry that you felt he was unreasonable and angry, but A&E is massively stretched too. It must make them dizzy how many people don’t need to be there; but by being there, are making it so much worse for the doctors and nurses and the other patients.

I was really ill 2 summers ago with a UTI, which I'm prone to and under a consultant. I have a pop up on my medical record at my surgery to give me antibiotics without an appointment if I bring a sample in to be tested and it shows up on a dip test that I have an infection and I'm symptomatic.
My body just seemed to have stop responding to the antibiotics I was normally given and I woke up in excruciating pain one morning and couldn't get an appointment with my GP so I went to A&E. I was there around 9 hours and had blood tests, sample sent off and was given pain relief and felt a little better. I was told by the Dr I could go home so off I went. A few hours later, I received a phone call from my consultant telling me to get myself back to A&E immediately as I had uro-sepsis and needed a 7 day course of IV antibiotics. By this point, the pain killers had worn off and I was the pain was more extreme.

The NHS can sometimes be wonderful, especially if you are seen by a medical professional who still cares about their patients and hasn't been dragged down by the pressures faced by the ever mounting patients and workload. But sadly those are very rare and you almost always end up seeing overworked Drs who are pressured to discharge as soon as possible.

I don't visit the doctor often, but when I've phoned up and been unable to secure an appointment they have told me to contact 111.

When I have done that, they have always offered me an appointment at another surgery the same day. Is this not common? I'm in London.

Personally I wouldn't visit A&E unless it was life threatening or something that required immediate attention (broken bones etc).

If you think it could be a uti I recommend if you have one a sexual health clinic, when I had mysterious pain, trouble peeing etc they saw me, did swabs, bloods etc and then posted the prescription to me (as I lived a decent drive away from the clinic)

i get you are frustrated but your shoddy experience is not the fault of MN user suggesting a&e at times

I was disagreeing with you to start with, but now I am agreeing that you should not be going to A&E for a diagnosis of a ongoing issue.
I am "lucky" where I am that you can often get a same day appointment for a potentially serious issue (for example my DD had a tick bite and got seen that afternoon), although it's not always at your own surgery - getting a routine appointment is a totally different ball game (impossible).
Sudden onset of pain though, or severe pain and not been able to see anyone at surgery, then sadly, I'd go to A&E.
(I wouldn't ask on mumsnet though!)

most of the "shall I go to A&E get a mixed bag of replies form Yes/No to call 111.
Mine are generally along the liens of "it doesn't sound like an accident or an emergency"

I woke up in excruciating pain one morning and couldn't get an appointment with my GP so I went to A&E
My pain became so much worse last night, I called 111 and they didn’t offer an OOH GP, they told me to go to A&E. A&E confirmed that I’m stable and gave me a painkiller, but no diagnosis or treatment, they just got really angry that I’d gone there when I wasn’t at immediate risk. I thought severe pain was an emergency but they said it isn’t.

You can get antibiotics for UTI's online without a prescription. I got some from Boots and collected them the next day but lots of the on line pharmacies do them.

It turned out I actually had vaginal atrophy and HRT has sorted me out.

Has the painkiller helped?

‘In Italy, France, Spain, Germany, Netherlands (which I visit and where friends and family live) medical services are easily accessed so a&e departments are not in emergency mode. We should ask ourselves how we've got here and demand an immediate response from the next Labour government. ‘

in all those countries, those who are ‘able’ to subscribe to Health Insurance by a regular financial contribution are obliged to do so _ and that means almost everyone. The health services therefore have greater resources than a taxation only funded service.

Why do I think the next Labour Government won’t be introducing a similar scheme as a priority?