To say stop moaning about A&E

[Darkcarpark]

My son (21) dislocated his shoulder and I took him to A&E. They were absolutely fabulous with him, because it was an emergency! He had bloods taken, X-rays, two doctors and a nurse manipulate his shoulder back into place with morphine and a further X-ray, all in under 3 hours. So I just want to say to all the people moaning about A&E waiting times to think about whether you were a genuine accident or emergency and for anyone what has had good experiences of A&E to put a shout to the staff that are there for us in our time of need.

Lucky you.

And lucky me as we’ve had two positive experiences with DD in a&e recently.

But this is a really crap post as people dying in corridors were real emergencies and they were let down, badly.

People have every right to complain about the shocking failures of the NHS, especially at a worrying stressful time for them or their loved one.

You can thank the staff who helped you without lecturing people who haven’t been as fortunate as your son or my daughter. And we shouldn’t need to be grateful for an essential service we all pay for doing its job.

Far too many people go go A&E when they don't need to be there, staff leaving the NHS in droves, and people clogging it up that shouldn't be there, are why people are on the floor in corridors.

You had ONE good experience and you're assuming everyone else who hasn't wasn't an emergency? Yeah your critical thinking skills aren't the best, are they?

My experiences have been similar, and honestly if I compare A&E in the last 5 years to A&E when I was a kid 30+ years ago I would say that we spent a lot longer waiting in A&E when I was a kid.

in the last 5 years, I went in with a gallstone attack at 3am on a Sunday morning. They were very busy with several sets of bruised and bloody men accompanied by police officers and multiple drunk/drugged up people. Despite that they still had me through triage, on meds and in for a CT Scan within 2hrs, then off in an ambulance to be admitted to a different hospital that could better cater to my needs and hour later.

Then last year I went in on the advice of 111 when a glucose sensor I’d bought myself because I was concerned about some possible diabetes symptoms started sending me alerts about exceptionally high sugar levels. I was in the hospital a total of 6 hrs, during that time I had several glucose readings, blood tests, an ECG, was diagnosed with diabetes, saw the specialist Diabetes nurse, was given an education session on managing the condition and a demo on injecting insulin and sent home with a bag full of medication, testing kits, leaflets and a continuous glucose monitor.

My mum died on a trolley in a corridor.

Sure. People have one good experience and therefore conclude every person with a bad experience must be making it up.

my local health authority requires a referral from 111 to go to A&E (unless ambulanced, obvs) which seems to control the flow. I cut my hand badly at about 5. Phoned 111 for advice. Was told to go to A&E and given a check in window. Fairly quickly seen by a triage nurse who assessed me and steri stripped/glued the wound. Home just over 3hrs after the injury. At the time people needing a dic had a 5.5 hr wait, which doesn’t seem bad for a Friday.

I don’t think it’s that so much as saying it can be good. It’s not universally crap.

So sorry for your loss.

That's bloody awful I'm so sorry. 💜

This. Recently had to.go with our baby, fucking terrifying as we were triage then swiftly dispatched 8n ambulance onblue lights to a specialist paeds unit. Great service.
Agree too many alcohol cases, too many 'I meant to contact gp in week but forgot', too many 'why should I wait to be seen'...

This is really, really short sighted. I'm sure you will get plenty of people telling you about their stories. You probably touched lucky with timings. My A&E experiences with a recent spell of ill health have been pretty piss poor if I'm honest and had to have surgery and was sat in agony most of the day.

Good for you and your son. When my friends son (15) dislocated his shoulder they had to wait to 8 hours to be seen and were told to go to the pharmacy and buy some pain relief while they waited. That was also a real emergency so I think it's a bit of pot luck with wait times

There is definitely something about timings and about them having the right facilities and open when you need them. We recently whizzed through A&E, which sent us to Minor Injuries, X-ray, and back to confirm a broken bone, followed by plaster, all in 2 hours on a weekend (daytime). Staff were brilliant. I mean, it’s taken me longer to get through an airport.

But the last time we did A&E, we waited 9 hours for a doctor to decide whether a head injury needed glueing or taping. One doctor was covering the entire A&E on a weeknight. We spent the night there, and by the time we were seen, the staff in question were too tired to care and bickered over my DC’s head about how to close up the wound - which was already scabbing over. That was fairly crappy, and the emergencies there will have had far worse evenings, especially the poor people waiting in the 12 or so ambulances parked outside.

Good for you? When my teen had a suspected dislocation (the staff also thought it was dislocated) we were sent to the minor injuries section and waited 4 hrs just for the X-ray. There certainly weren't any bloods done.

My young child broke there wrist a couple of months ago, was looked at, had xray and casted within 2 hours and they were lovely.

My son with additional needs had a pin prick rash that didn't fade all over last year.
Did not have a good experience at all, so unfortunately one experience is just that!

Also here you get told where to go on entrance, either A&E or walk in so no you can't sit in A&E with a cold!

My 70+ year old mum went to a&e last year with chest pain, she’d had a heart attack and needed a coronary stent. That’s an emergency. She was in the waiting area for 6 hours, then in a chair in majors for 48 hours until they found her a bed. She’s got a complicated medical history and is quite frail - she was kept in a chair for 2 days after a heart attack and so she couldn’t even sleep. She was eventually admitted to CCU, she then waited 2 weeks to get the stent because outpatients were filling the angiogram list. Unsurprisingly she developed a hospital acquired pneumonia after being immobile and in need of a coronary stent for weeks. The staff are brilliant, but they are working with their hands tied.

But was it dislocated? Or was it suspected? There is a BIG difference!

I haven't seen anyone moaning about a&e for a while and when they do they seem pretty clear to blame the fact its so overstretched.

I've also had positive experiences recently in emergencies but that doesn't change the fact that people who are not highest priority have a tough time or that people with complex medical conditions are not treated appropriately.

Not until they know it's not dislocated there isn't 🙄

You're clearly just here to wind people up.

DH went with all the signs and symptoms of a DVT, he was messed around, sent from pillar to post and eventually sent home without a scan or treatment and a few days later had a massive stroke. I guess he wasn't sick enough to warrant A&E's time.

Eh?

YOU had a good experience, so you want other people to stop moaning, regardless of what their experience is?

Sorry to be blunt, but I couldn’t give a toss about your sons shoulder.

you have no idea what I’ve experienced in A+E.

I am not lecturing, I am just saying let’s have some respect for the staff that are doing an awesome job.

Thank you for your story. I hope your mum is well now and I agree the staff are working with one hand tied behind their back, but are still doing a fantastic job x

Why is there a big difference? No one knows for certain until it's x rayed.