Bringing your whole fucking family to A&E

[changedlife]

Waiting to be seen at A&E. sent here by GP because DH has had an adverse blood result that needs to be dealt with.

A&E packed as usual. To be expected. However one family is here with one woman. There are 5 grown adults with the patient who is in her 30s... I don't know her issue but laughing a joking with the family. Just to add to the joy their phones go off constantly whereupon they give a blow by blow run down of her current medical state (she's hurt her foot it seems - from the latest phone update. )

DH is disabled. There is nowhere to sit In A&E. Foot-family are settled in and have actually just had a KFC delivery. I swear it's like an evening out for them.

DH can't stand. So have sent him back to wait in the car - which as he has a blue badge - is quite close. I'll call him when his turn comes. As I can stand.. However .. AIBU to think you don't need FIVE adults accompanying you to A&E. ? Especially with some really poorly older people have had to resort to sitting on the floor ? (And no one has volunteered their seat for them. )

You have to wonder at the mentality of some people, it should be obvious that space is limited and that there are sick people needing seats in A&E. In my local A&E it actually says something along the lines of "when busy - seating priority to be given to those awaiting treatment".

I was once in hospital, sharing a room with a lady who had just had brain surgery and was completely bed bound and unable to speak.

I was being taken down for an MRI after major surgery when my room mates family turned up (5 of them and one carrying a toddler). I went for the MRI and when I came back, my room mate had the curtains pulled around the bed. The porters settled me in and left. I had to lie completely flat and was not allowed to move for 3 days.

I became aware of a strange noise coming from behind the curtain and was vaguely aware of movement but couldn't turn to look. Then I heard a young childs voice. To cut a long story short, in my absence, the visiting family had gone off to get a coffee and left a toddler in the care of a seriously ill woman.

I pressed my buzzer as the toddler started crying and just as I was waiting for the nurse, the family came back and when I raised issue with the kid being left with only a seriously ill, bedbound person to look after her, there response was that she wasn't on her own she was with me as well. I pointed out that I wasn't even in the room when they left her and if I had been, and they had asked me, I would have declined as I couldn't move. At this point the nurse came in, got the jist of the conversation, told them that only two visitors at a time were allowed and no kids allowed unless by prior agreement due to the serious nature of the illnesses.

They were as rude as hell!

I think it would only be acceptable if they had just bought a set of five saucepans which were wired together and they had somehow each managed to get one wedged onto their head and were blundering about like drunk Daleks.

I could accept this SPECIFIC situation without recourse to the staff in A&E, although I would find it a tad annoying.

My friend who is an A&E nurse in another country complains about this too. Complete with the Mcdonalds/kfc/pizza delivery. Insane but not limited to any nationality it seems!

See also supermarkets (although obviously not as serious)

Hope your DH is seen and better soon

I wouldn't have a problem with what you describe at all - there's a good reason for it - but a family meal deal for five people who have absolutely nothing wrong with them and could go home (or somewhere else) to eat?

I think the reception staff need to be responsible for ensuring that the waiting area is being run properly - seats for those who need them, no KFC deliveries, but it's easier to just ignore it all as it's not impacting on them.

I found the same when i had my baby - one woman had a huge extended family in to visit, they were really noisy and the staff just dissapeared.

I had to hunt a staff member down when they'd overstayed visiting hours by 30 mins, she very grudgingly reminded them of visiting hours, she just didn't want to be involved.

Blame all those TV shows where the whole cast goes to the hospital when one person is admitted 😂

That seems different somehow to people munching their way through KFC in a waiting room. Your takeaway seems very much deserved, waiting room take away not so much.

That is incredibly rude that they're taking seats from patients. I'm sorry. They're should be some signage.

Not as bad but when I was pregnant and at the high risk unit, all the chairs were taken up by patients and they're support person. I went to the regular unit and still couldn't get a chair. I asked a woman if I could sit beside her (empty chair) and she said it was her husband's. I was ready to pop, but ok standing. Some people are so lame.

Wow, that's niche! 😂😂😂

Yep they do. There was a queue of Uber drivers last time my dad was there.

Although our A&E do make announcements saying only 1 carer per patient and everyone else has to sit outside in their cars.

I knew someone would say this 🤣

OK, you could die listening to Sam Smith. And he could be on the tv screen too. There. Far worse 😉

Don’t laugh about the sore throat my dh actually got sent to a&e by our gp cus he had a sore throat! He then got a follow up gp appointment and hospital appointment all within a week, he’s better now but still has to go back in a few months to get checked. We was wondering if he should even go to the gp with “just” a sore throat I couldn’t believe it when he text to say he’d been sent to a&e, but apparently a sore throat can be dangerous as he had an abscess that could potentially block his airway

Not seating when they are all grown adults. They have better things to be doing with their time.

It’s the same at my local A&E.

They have a Subway and a Costa in the same building so people check in and then literally hot foot it for a foot long sandwich and ram it down their throats like it’s part of their treat day out.

Similar experience here. A couple getting McDonald’s delivered and talking loud on their phone. Sat there for a good couple of hours and couldn’t work out which one was ill/injured. I was lucky, I only had a broken finger. The guy opposite me had broken his foot and was also sat on the floor.
The staff member who xrayed my finger said he wouldn’t have bothered to come in for a broken finger! Confirmed it was broken and told me to go. No treatment! No advice! No follow up.
Had to get a GP appointment to sort out some physio. A&E were useless.

I mean I get where you’re coming from. But also, it’s not the biggest of deals op

I think some of the hangers-on forget there are some genuinely sick people in A&E who feel very unwell. Almost like the name might suggest.

I was in a&e recently and the head nurse was making sure the chairs were for patients only! How disgusting!

Some people are just entitled dickheads, hope you found someone who could help sort the situation. And that your husband is OK ❤️

I wonder if their name is Boswell?

Big sign up saying only one carer per patient.

IN EVERY SINGLE A AND E DEPT!

I do think there should be charges introduced to cut down on the tyre kickers and unnecessary repeat visitors who call an ambulance every week etc. A&E should be for genuine emergencies.

I was in hospital for an op recently and there were five interpreters taking up the seats. Not one staff member told them to move, patients were left to stand. I eventually had to ask one of them to give up their seat but I didn’t really have the strength to get into a dispute about it so wish there had been a policy in place about patients having priority over the seating.

That's not just a sore throat - it's quinsy and it can easily be fatal without medical attention and antibiotics.