Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

To share ways to make A&E more bareable

241 replies

silvershark22 · 24/08/2024 09:14

Given lots of people find the 12 hour plus waits in A&E tough wondering what things make it barable.

Mine is an oodie can vbe warn if in a draftie place or rolled into hood to make a pillow or sat on to make uncomfortable chairs better.

OP posts:
saltinesandcoffeecups · 25/08/2024 12:49

InevitableNameChanger · 25/08/2024 09:12

That must be the wait till the initial assessment though. After that there can be lots more waiting for tests and tests results and you aren't always going to get a bed while waiting

Well of course it’s the wait time to be seen and assessment. And yes you do get a bed while you’re waiting for tests and results.

The last time I went to the ER was with my husband for a suspected kidney stone it was a couple of months ago. He checked in and was immediately brought back to triage and went straight from triage into an ER room/bed. We were there for about 3 hours for ultrasounds etc.

silvershark22 · 25/08/2024 13:37

This a super quick wait.

Did yoyur husband have kidney stones, was ghe admitted.

When i had stones i went with a letter from the walk in 3 hours to be seen after triaj and this was only because collapsed from the pain. I was then on a trolley for 20 hours before getting a bed and went to the ward maybe 10 hours later there were no pillows for the trolley and it took maybe 5 ours before they had laundry with blankets.

OP posts:
OneTC · 25/08/2024 14:33

When I went in with kidney stones I got given an anti emetic and told I'd pulled a muscle in my neck and sent home.

12 hours later I was back and they were like "well obviously it's kidney stones why didn't you come earlier?"

Zanatdy · 25/08/2024 14:36

I’ve never waited more than 15 mins but all my admissions have been with acute pancreatitis so it’s probably up there with priority to be seen, and I never make it out of triage back to the waiting room. Waited a couple of hours with DC but never anywhere near 12hrs. Went to get my arm checked out at local minor injuries today after a fall and thankfully was in and out in an hour

JusteanBiscuits · 25/08/2024 14:49

I got wrong streamed when I went in with a kidney stone. After crying for 3 hours they finally realised and moved me from walk in centre queue!

saltinesandcoffeecups · 25/08/2024 15:33

silvershark22 · 25/08/2024 13:37

This a super quick wait.

Did yoyur husband have kidney stones, was ghe admitted.

When i had stones i went with a letter from the walk in 3 hours to be seen after triaj and this was only because collapsed from the pain. I was then on a trolley for 20 hours before getting a bed and went to the ward maybe 10 hours later there were no pillows for the trolley and it took maybe 5 ours before they had laundry with blankets.

Nope no history.

It ended up being not kidney stones and not a UTI. A weird blood clot was found on the ultrasound that was a result of his vasectomy, but that was not the issue.

He was sent home with pain meds (gabapenton(sp)) and a follow up with the dr that did the vasectomy 2 days later. The next day he passed ‘something’ that wasn’t a kidney stone but wasn’t nothing either. (He described it as a gelatinous cloudy blob that was in a starfish shape). I guess he about hit the deck as it passed but once out he was 100% better.

His doctor the next day was a little confused at the description of what passed but assured him the blood clot they found was nothing to worry about. That it was normal and after the snip there was no place for it to go.

Nothing since 🤷‍♀️ Everyone including his dr thinks it was probably related to the vasectomy.

I can think of better ways spend a Sunday morning, but he was in a room in the ER before I could hand off the car to the valet. So I can’t complain about the wait. I think the longest wait was after the ultrasound and before speaking with the on-call urologist.

One thing our ER does to keep beds turning over is they have what I’ll call side rooms that they use. It’s for people who are either waiting to be admitted or those they don’t want to discharge right away but may not be admitted.

My neighbor who was having TIAs spent the night in one. Same level of care that he would get after being admitted but without all of the fuss of being admitted. Also freed up the ER exam room for other patients. In his case they wanted to make sure the TIAs were done as it appeared they had finished so that meant a couple of CAT scans at regular intervals over a period of time.

Pics below are the exam rooms in the ER, which I’ll admit are a little nicer than most (they’re nicer than the picture, TV and a comfortable chair for visitors). Some do still have the bays with curtains but those are being phased out as hospitals renovate.

To share ways to make A&E more bareable
To share ways to make A&E more bareable
Watermelonistheanswertoallthings · 25/08/2024 16:35

listsandbudgets · 25/08/2024 09:40

If you've got time to charge your devices before leaving then you probably dont need to be at A and E. I agree though it's nicer if they are.

Mine is wear layers.. a and e seeks to verge between icy and boiling

This is rubbish.
I like many are A&E frequent fliers as the NHS system has no where else to put us.
I have a very rare autoimmune disease and am very immunosuppresed.
If I get an infection that lingers eg a chest cold that lasts over 5 days, a UTI with fever or as I often get back to back UTIs I'm sent to A&E.

I've heard from other patients like me in other areas they will have ward access for bloods etc.
I don't so I've to go to A&E for a usual very long wait as fairly I'm at the bottom of the queue for a simple blood test.

So I take my time to pack my bag to make my wait more comfortable.

Last time at the beginning of July I waited 23 hours for the bloods to be taken, 3 more hours for the results to come back and then admitted for 6 days for high dose steroids and IV antibiotics.

Looking at me sitting there for over a day, reading my kindle app, wearing a dryrobe to keep warm and cosy, in the "best seat" in the waiting room - beside the sockets, away from the toilets and in shelter from the doors. With my feet resting on a stuffed bag - 2x waterbottles, 1 sheet of each of my meds, pj's, changes of underwear, bed socks, washbag, notebook and pen. I look like a total fraud...if I was actually sick would I be there for 26 hours?

Lots of these replies are again MN at its best, clamouring into a conversation to show off about how little they know about something.

Watermelonistheanswertoallthings · 25/08/2024 16:39

@listsandbudgets sorry I didn't mean to quote you, it was another poster...but I managed to grab you by mistake

I do agree with layers. A&E's are freezing and then the back rooms could be anyone's guess

AgileGreenSeal · 25/08/2024 16:40

CheeseWisely · 24/08/2024 09:33

I can't fathom a situation where A&E was required but I'd also have time to pack up a bag of miscellaneous stuff.

Or the rare occasion I or a member of my family have been to A&E it's been in a rush, because there's been an accident or an emergency.

My GP sent me to the Emergency Department (as they now like to call A&E around here) - and I waited 24 hours in a corridor on a trolly with no blanket or pillow to be admitted with a suspected stroke- in two different EDs (the first one closed at 8pm).

In similar circumstances (which please God will never happen 🙏🏻 ) I would bring a blanket & pillow with me.

CatMum10 · 25/08/2024 17:09

There are some very condescending replies here. Due to a genetic disorder I've had numerous hemmhorages requiring transfusion, and undiagnosed (until attending hospital) proximal DVTs. They are life threatening emergencies. I can still pack a bag. Yes, they can and do leave you 12 hours because you can sit breathless on a chair without causing any fuss. No, it is not like trip to the theme park and no, we don't treat it like one. How many times am I going to A&E? All the time - because the NHS don't have anything else in place to keep me alive, and no private health care will accept a sick patient. Think yourself lucky if you don't understand.

silvershark22 · 25/08/2024 17:22

CatMum10 · 25/08/2024 17:09

There are some very condescending replies here. Due to a genetic disorder I've had numerous hemmhorages requiring transfusion, and undiagnosed (until attending hospital) proximal DVTs. They are life threatening emergencies. I can still pack a bag. Yes, they can and do leave you 12 hours because you can sit breathless on a chair without causing any fuss. No, it is not like trip to the theme park and no, we don't treat it like one. How many times am I going to A&E? All the time - because the NHS don't have anything else in place to keep me alive, and no private health care will accept a sick patient. Think yourself lucky if you don't understand.

Private hospitals vetry rarely have emergency treatment either. I think its just HCA in London.

OP posts:
silvershark22 · 25/08/2024 18:56

@saltinesandcoffeecups glad he is better since, stone pain is terrible!!! Is this in the UK. The longest waits can often be to get a bed on a ward.

OP posts:
saltinesandcoffeecups · 25/08/2024 19:54

@silvershark22 Nope it’s in the US in a midsized city. Think Liverpool or Glasgow sized.

Thanks were glad it resolved itself and wasn’t kidney stones!

silvershark22 · 27/08/2024 20:21

saltinesandcoffeecups · 25/08/2024 19:54

@silvershark22 Nope it’s in the US in a midsized city. Think Liverpool or Glasgow sized.

Thanks were glad it resolved itself and wasn’t kidney stones!

Edited

Dont think this would happen in the UK. You could wait 2 hours for triaj.

OP posts:
silvershark22 · 27/08/2024 20:27

CatMum10 · 25/08/2024 17:09

There are some very condescending replies here. Due to a genetic disorder I've had numerous hemmhorages requiring transfusion, and undiagnosed (until attending hospital) proximal DVTs. They are life threatening emergencies. I can still pack a bag. Yes, they can and do leave you 12 hours because you can sit breathless on a chair without causing any fuss. No, it is not like trip to the theme park and no, we don't treat it like one. How many times am I going to A&E? All the time - because the NHS don't have anything else in place to keep me alive, and no private health care will accept a sick patient. Think yourself lucky if you don't understand.

Sorry to hear you have to go so often are there any esentials in your bag. Was thinking
2 pairas pjays
5 knickers
Wash bag with toothbrush toothpaste deoderant and travel shampoo and conditioner.
Pack of wipes for wait
Plug usb charger long lead
Fan
Water bottle
Tshirt dress and legins,
Oodie to where or us as a pillow
Sleep headphones.

If all packed wouldnt need to trouble people to bring stuff immediately but could obvs wear a gown.

OP posts:
Bubblemonkey · 28/08/2024 07:58

111 sent a blue light ambulance out for my daughter when she was 5 months old, caught the flu off me & developed bronchiolitis. The PARAMEDICS encouraged me to throw some stuff in a bag & they watched her whilst I ran upstairs & whatnot.

New posts on this thread. Refresh page
Swipe left for the next trending thread