To share ways to make A&E more bareable

[silvershark22]

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.

I would take tissues, (loos run out), snacks, water bottle, change for machines, mortgage application for parking

I think the problem here is that things here really arent as black and white as people suggest. Fior example same day bloods have been suggested for me and others to rule out a DVT, check if infection markers and kidney function meant aadmission was necessary or blood levels. There isnt a service for these results to go to and be responded to by a GP the same day.

@mugglewump this is a myth! You won't have a shorter wait just because 111 has sent you (at least in my area). Still done on triage. When I've called, I have begged them to send me somewhere else with an actual appointment, but they just send to A&E where I've been at the bottom of the queue.
Whole system needs overturning

There was a similar case where consultant triage was looked at.

instead of nurse led triage a consultant sat at the front desk and sent all those who should be elsewhere (home, GP, eye clinic, MI, x ray, maternity etc) straight there.

it was clearly the most effective way to reduce waits and improve efficiency. It was not adopted though as consultants are there for the serious stuff, not triage, so was not deemed a good use of their time.

somehow a&e’s need an authority on admission who is able to make these decisions. Nurses can’t without a dr, junior drs need a senior sign off, so many get admitted who don’t need to be.

Sorry i was not mmeaning to invalidate your experience. Painful gynae issues are so bad, its often the toss up for me between being more comfortable at home but possibly missing appendicitis or risking fertility agree hear a boook or puzzle may be great to distract. A battery powered heat pad has been great for me here @readysteadynono

You really won't. The only time I've been fast tracked was being blue lighted into majors, once I was stable I was returned into the general melee.

I have an elderly parent who has been taken to A&E often enough that I now keep a Go bag stocked all the time because I have to go with him. In it are: phone charger, bottle of water, snack bars, book, notebook and pen, scarf, paper hankies and a sock to knit. He is usually seen fairly quickly but waiting for the results of tests or for a bed to be available can take hours.

Our local A&E are wonderful but they can't do anything about the sheer volume of people they need to see. It's not always possible for me to nip off for snacks because they are often taken for scans or to see the doctor and if I'm not there they won't get all the information they need from them.

@OneTC Not far off, because we're not in the UK.

But otherwise when someone I love has been in urgent need of A&E then a phone charger or a jumper has been the last thing on my mind. So perhaps it's not that I can't fathom having the time, it's that I can't fathom caring about anything except getting there as soon as possible.

Kindle, iPad, phone, charger, power bank, blanket. Change of clothes. Spare change and bank card. Water bottle.

Having spent quite a while in and out of hospital, vomiting over myself (bowel had completely closed down and I was in a pretty bad way) and not being able to get hold of anyone due to dead phone. I now like to go prepared.

I usually pack an overnight bag as I typically get admitted and it saves the husband bringing stuff over the following day.

Well, it would be unwise not to prepare when you have a kid with a broken bone, so need A&E, but know you may have a very long time waiting around. There shouldn’t be a very long waiting time, but there is and that’s the reality of it.

That's just disrespectful. I was sent to A&E by the GP. I drove myself there and home and could walk. So what happens then? Blame the GP?

You will be triaged in A+E and prioritised based on that assessment. You wont be quicker just because 111 have sent over their notes

Yeah for very many people going to the a&e isn't like that. My mum has a chronic condition that requires frequent enough admission, when it flares up she might die without immediate treatment and it always starts with admission through a&e.

Grabbing a bag is just taking good care of your dependant, it's not indicative of time wasting or level of emergency. It takes 2 minutes

Because the government decided another service could provide it cheaper so took the funding away….hoping either the GPs would do it in funded or people wouldn’t bother going to ED.

What you're saying is totally different.

I assume you went in KNOWING it was an emergency, hence you were in A&E...

And yes, they do make mistakes with triage sometimes, but your wait might have been much less if other people had followed the above rules and only gone to A&E if they NEEDED to.

Speak to anyone who works in A&E and they'll tell you the amount of resource/man power that is wasted dealing with things that a GP or pharmacist could have dealt with.

They'll tell you the amount of people that have come in claiming to be in pain, but haven't even bothered to take a pain killer.

A&E is MASSIVELY abused.

It is abused, but someone being able to pack a bag in preparation to go, or someone able to stand up without pain, is not automatically a person abusing A&E. There are many examples on the thread of occasions where people have very legitimately attended A&E and taken a jumper and phone charger with them - both things can be true.

I went in with a belly ache which had a bit if a sharp pain. To be honest if my DH hadn't forced me to go I would have taken stronger painkillers at home and probably died whe it burst.

@TwinklyAmberOrca if you want to blame anyone, blame the govement cuts to nhs and the lack of out of hours gp level provision. Walk in centres have been closed all over here and GPs lack the appointments needed, often they send patients to a and e.

Irrespective of that fact, many people go there who GENUINELY NEED TO BE THERE

(Sorry I never to caps lock shouting but you deserve that response)

So why the fuck shouldn't we chat about how to make it marginally less miserable.

There are better ways to deal with people who abusive the system than drowning out a discussion which could help people who do need to go.

Often the paramedics used to literally ask me to pack a bag while they were getting my son ready to go in the ambulance so having a good idea what to pack is bloody useful in a panic!

Equally many people like me are advised to have a bag ready at all times due to the nature of our condition. I actually hate having to go because I am immune suppressed so only go very reluctantly

And lastly PEOPLE ALSO DIE BECAUSE THEY DONT TO A AND E WHEN THEY SHOULD HAVE GONE

@InevitableNameChanger you really seem to get it. A number of medics including paramedics have talked about packing a bag.

Staff or relitive time can be wasted by people not bringing ibn regular meds as they are hard to get from pharmacy.

Putting divices on charge or charging powerbanks can be endntirely sensible when waiting for an ambulance. I waited for 4 hours for an ambulance in what turned out to be a parents final illness. Stupidly i didnt plug my phone in while waiting wich meant i had to deal with very low phone charge while trying to liaise with sibliblings.

Exactly, a power bank , any regular meds, cushion

And actually I have thought of a couple more that were suggested to me/I wished I had had recently

• ear plugs (I like loop ear plugs but other versions are available)
• eye mask

(Those are more for if admitted to be fair, but whenever a Dr tells me to go to a&e I know that is a possible outcome, and they would make a&e marginally more tolerable)

Earplugs are a great idea. I have some sleep headphones with an eyemask. These were fab with planned surgery as allowed me to doze while listening to podcasts.

I waited 11 hours with chest pain in April. Turns out I had myocarditis so absolutely needed to be in A&E.

I have a bag which is always packed

Clean top, underwear, pjs
Phone charger and power bank
Book
Mini toiletries
Baby wipes
Medication
Snacks

If I needed to go I would just add a bottle of water

It's not just the lack of government funding that's the issue, it's mis-management within the NHS. HUGE amounts of money wasted in middle management roles.

The entire NHS needs an overhaul.