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AIBU?

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Original poster

What is resus in hospital for?

25 replies

sparklers0 · 21/07/2024 17:47

Recently had to visit a&e (last week). I went in and spoke to the receptionist and then sat down, expecting a lengthy wait as it was extremely busy and I overheard people saying they had been waiting for hours. I was called in for triage within 10 minutes, then I was in triage for about 2 minutes and was taken straight through to resus.

obviously I was really unwell, and I know resus was the correct place for me, but I suppose it got me wondering, what is it that makes someone go to resus? I’ve only ever seen it on 24 hours in a&e and I felt like such a fraud because I was sitting there on my phone scrolling through tiktok whereas I thought that’s where you went if you were basically on deaths door! I was texting away and chatting to the doctors/nurses so felt like such a fraud lol

just wondered out of noseyness tbh what resus actually is and what makes someone go there? I’ve only ever really seen it on 24hr on a&e where people were dying so I was a bit surprised and nervous to be taken straight there haha, hope I wasn’t on deaths door without even realising it lol!

OP posts:
FacingTheWall · 21/07/2024 17:49

It’s where you go if at you’re at risk of quickly deteriorating. They were clearly very concerned about you!

YesThatsATurdOnTheRug · 21/07/2024 17:50

Where you need or may need resuscitation I assume! Hope you're ok!

Wonkywinky · 21/07/2024 17:50

They scored you in triage for various things and you must have hit a number that necessitated reaua

longdistanceclaraclara · 21/07/2024 17:50

In danger of needing resuscitation

PosingPosture20 · 21/07/2024 17:51

I think it's for illnesses or injuries that could be immediately life threatening.

You're probably better placed to know op based on what was wrong with you.

Dotto · 21/07/2024 17:52

Resus, short for resuscitation - an acute care ward dedicated to providing specialist equipment, staff and medications for those who need (or may be more likely to need) resuscitation including defibrillation

Dotto · 21/07/2024 17:54

hope I wasn’t on deaths door without even realising it lol

I hope someone explained to you why you were there, and what your condition was?

ShowOfHands · 21/07/2024 17:55

DH went to an OOH appointment a couple of months ago and was sent to A&E (next door) by the GP. He was there around 10 minutes and then triage sent him through to resus. They said to us that it was because his score indicated he needed constant obs and immediate support with a risk of deterioration.

mitogoshi · 21/07/2024 17:57

Means you need to be seen immediately, it may be they didn't have any cubicles free the next step down

Mrsjayy · 21/07/2024 17:59

This is why A,&E has triage isn't it for people who are seriously ill like you were it isn't a case of queue jumping you must have had something that could have been critical.

Puppiesmakemehappy · 21/07/2024 18:16

Generally for the sickest people in the hospital but sometimes if there’s a space in there and i need a physical spot to see someone I’ll bring them in there. Sometimes there is no resus space and we have to use another area until we get one.
the fact you were seen straight away in itself says you definitely needed to be seen. Hope you’re ok now.

ShopTattsyrup · 21/07/2024 18:17

As an A&E nurse who triages 👋

What other PP have said - you are fine right now but at risk of deterioration, or you may feel fine but your clinical obs say different, or you are super sick.

An example might be (not you OP I pressume) a chap I triaged who had had too much heroin and had been given nasal Narcan by his friend; when I triaged him he was walking and talking and to look at him he looked "fine" but as I know that naloxone has a relatively short shelf life and he is going to need more to stop him stopping breathing and going unconscious, I walked him straight to resus 👍

Baseline14 · 21/07/2024 18:18

It means you need immediate care. So there would be a better nursing ratio (should be 1 nurse to 2 patients), more intensive monitoring as required and everything is ready to be used if needed.

That could be during your triage your clinical observations were worrying (for example if your blood pressure was really low or if your heart rate was really fast or if you needed oxygen or your respiratory rate was really high). Or could be because of the reason you have come in that they need to get bloods immediately to make sure you are not really unwell (eg an overdose or diabetic keto acidosis).

The whole idea is to get you stabilised and moved out of resus as quickly as possible. So if someone has come in with a really high blood sugar and vomiting they could be seen in resus and bloods checked and given 2 bags of IV fluids which might stop them from developing diabetic keto acidosis and they could be moved to a lower care bed as soon as one is ready.

olympicsrock · 21/07/2024 18:19

Were you short of breath very wheezy or having chest pain ?

Miyagi99 · 21/07/2024 18:24

It may be that they only had room for you there, our local resus ward has quite a few beds.

Differentstarts · 21/07/2024 18:24

The times iv been in there were overdoses, bleed on the brain, and when my hr has been over 200. I think its if they think your at high risk of needing intervention fast, the first 2 I was unconscious during and didn't even know I had been in there

elliejjtiny · 21/07/2024 19:52

From my extensive experience of having ds2 go to resus once and watching casualty, I find resus is 80% people who look obviously extremely ill, unconscious, oxygen etc and the rest have what I call "dodgy numbers" where they feel fine or only a bit ill, can play on their phones etc but the machines are showing blood pressure, heart rate or something really high or really low.

My dh was struggling to get our semi conscious then 12 year old ds2 out of the car outside a and e when a member of staff came over, started to say he couldn't park there and then rushed off to get a nurse with a wheelchair. Ds2 was bundled into the wheelchair and rushed straight through to resus with dh running behind. Then you get people who walk in, get trained and it's discovered that they are a lot more ill than they look.

Prinnny · 21/07/2024 19:55

Resus is where the illest patients are, however if it is empty (with no prealerts on route) and there is no other space to assess a patient it is often used for others.

Vallmo47 · 21/07/2024 20:02

I was taken there when I had covid and they wanted to keep me separate from other ill people who also couldn’t risk covid on top of their conditions.
Glad you’re ok Op

FormerlyPathologicallyHappy · 21/07/2024 20:23

Didn’t they tell you what your condition was at the time?

SirWalterElliot · 21/07/2024 20:27

I was taken to resus once and started out playing on my phone/chatting... Then I felt like I really needed to lie down... Vague memory of people rushing over... Woke up in ICU the next day. This thread has actually helped me piece it together/understand it a bit more as I was on my own in an unfamiliar hospital.

IncessantNameChanger · 21/07/2024 20:35

I felt good when I went into resus too. However looking back at my discharge notes ( I asked for them) I had a score of "very likely to die" so that was nice.

I could talk, walk, scroll on my phone. Being close to death doesn't always look as you imagine it will.

I hope your OK now

Blobblobblob · 21/07/2024 20:36

I went there once, I was sitting up and capable of talking but my oxygen was at 90 and as they quickly discovered, my lungs were 95% full of fluid

If I hadn't been taken straight in, I'd probably be dead.

I remember asking one of the doctors if I'd be OK, and he didn't look me in the eye, he just said "we're doing everything we can"

I had no idea how sick I was before then. I thought that my partner was being daft to call 999 and the paramedics being dramatic with the blue lights and sirens. I remember feeling vaguely embarrassed.

Your brain absolutely does play tricks on you when you're very ill.

XenoBitch · 21/07/2024 20:37

Prinnny · 21/07/2024 19:55

Resus is where the illest patients are, however if it is empty (with no prealerts on route) and there is no other space to assess a patient it is often used for others.

That has been my experience too. I was put in resus as it was empty (and I struggle with the lights/noise of A&E).
During my time there, staff were going through training with a dummy patient which was interesting to see.

Katemax82 · 21/07/2024 20:47

My mum went to resus when she was so ill she had to have emergency surgery on her kidney that night. She was on a very bad way

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