To think 70% of people shouldn’t be in A&E

[PrettyPleaseXo]

Recently I was admitted in excruciating pain to A&E due to kidney stones. Over the time I was there it got progressively busier as expected and there was corridor care (I was stuck in a corridor without pain relief and crying in pain for two hours) and ambulances backed up out the door.

When I was discharged and went back out through the A&E reception/wait room I couldn’t help but notice
that 80% of the people sat there looked perfectly fine, chatting etc and didn’t appear to be in either an accident or emergency.

AIBU to think that unless you’re seriously unwell, in acute pain or have an injury that needs immediately addressing you should be turned away from A&E and told to go
to the GP instead?

I do think some people hide their pain well. What annoys me more is when the whole family sit there in A&E taking up seats that should be for people who are actually ill, I went to A&E on the advice of 111 last year I was having a gallstone attack which I was diagnosed with, apart from me holding my stomach anyone would think I looked ‘ok’ I was chatting to my then boyfriend, basically trying to take my mind off the pain.

I remain mystified as to why the walk in centres were ever gotten rid of... I don't have much faith in most GPs after the numerous diagnoses they've missed in both me and partner, and the astonishing levels of inaccuracies they've managed to record/not record in our notes.

Just one example - apparently fibromyalgia, which is a chronic condition, only lasted a month in my partner's case, and the same with my stress at work which has actually been ongoing for over a year...

My mum had an open fracture recently that got infected. No district nurse follow up. So found ourselves in a&e. What I didn’t understand was the groups. A man in his 30’s with his mum, dad, girlfriend and his sister. All sat eating sandwiches and snacks. Chatting away like it was a family outing. My mum needed me to wheel her in the wheelchair. Otherwise no one needs more than one person. Only one other person looked really ill. Twelve hour wait to be admitted and kept in for ten days on iv antibiotics. Shambles really

A&E seems to have become the catch all as the only place anyone can access urgent care.

What we need are more centres whete people can access urgent care.

Its frustrating when you are really ill and see the armies of people who aren't in agony, but the problem is mainly the system, not them.

My last few reasons for being at A&E:-

Elderly (80+) relative fell, breathing difficulties, suspected broken ribs. Waited 6 hours for an Ambulance then a kind relative with a big car drove 2 hours to us and we managed to take her (in agony) to A&E ourselves. Left sitting in the waiting room for 3 hours. Due to dementia relative was just sitting looking normal. (Big car important due to frailty as she wouldn't have got into my low down car).

Elderly neighbour, no family - bleeding nose for 2 days. Collapsed in street when we tried walking her to the car due to blood loss, ambulance called, left us in A&E waiting room for an hour. Neighbour chatting away in wheelchair, tiny trickle of blood coming from her nose. Happy, no pain, quite enjoying all the attention, needed an emergency blood transfusion. Died a few weeks later.

Another elderly relative (90+), bleeding nose that wouldn't stop after several hours. Initially 'packed' by triage nurse then left in waiting room for 4 hours to see Dr. Quite happy chatting away, no pain, no blood to see.

The qualifying criteria for A&E doesn't have to be someone rolling around the floor screaming at deaths door.....

Just to mention, where I live we have one hospital covering a whole region in Scotland, we have no minor injury facilities.

I agree that some people probably won't need to be there. But you have no idea which ones those are, or their reasons for being there so probably best left to the professionals.

And actually pain is not a reason to be in A&E either. If kidney stones aren't causing complications like sepsis or rupture, then pain is neither an accident nor an emergency.

Sudden, acute, uncontrollable pain IS an emergency.

Where we used to live we didn't have any minor injuries units so it was GP or A&E. GP had the "call at 8.30" system. Several times I had to haul a sick baby to A&E because it was after 8.30am and there were no appointments. One time I got told off by the hospital doctor and when I told him I'd been turned away by the GP he said he would have words because it was her job! I got wise to it after a while and just walked into the surgery with a screaming baby. They didn't find it so easy to fob me off then.

It is so much easier where we live now because you can just go to a minor injuries unit and be seen quickly. Nobody sits for hours in A&E for fun.

It isn't. The causes of it may be, but pain in itself is not. OP says she was discharged so I'm guessing it was neither A or E in her case.

I'm not saying, by the way that she was wrong to go, or that I wouldn't have made the same choice - but it is ironic that she's questioning others for being there when they don't qualify in her eyes as accidents or emergency.

Exactly, without further investigations, the cause is often unknown and potentially needs immediate treatment. Even if it is known, a suddent increase in that pain, that stops you performing you usual activities, or cant talk through teh pain, and cannot be controlled with home analgesia, can be suggestive of that condition now needing immediate intervention. Therefore, sudden, acute, uncontrollable pain IS a reason to attend A&E.

I broke my foot, so was sat chatting and looked fine. I was not in any pain, but could not walk on it at all. Does not help that the triage nurse said I was faking. I wish she had seen me hobble out with the boot and crutches.

I have also been told to sit there and wait for medication, and sometimes a taxi that the staff have called for me.

I would never look at other people there and think they should not be there. You have no idea of their circumstances.

Tuesday after last bank holiday an hour wait (it nearly cured my insomnia in the waiting room but not quite) to see the GP as one of the admin staff got stretchered out even to an ambulance themselves, gp normally the one famous for going you are not my patient! but unfortunately duty doc takes one look at notes, turns to my parent and says err can you drive her back to A&E I think we need to do ‘bloods’ for DVT He did kindly do me a prescription for thrush all without taking taking a look at anything.

Around 4 hours later, out having bloods and a mini scan so I did not have to return next day and the A&E doctor as the only one to speak sense saying did I realise I’d had a serious operation. I felt light headed and raspy breathing for weeks when I tried standing up, none of this and 12 days stuck immobile in a hospital bed I’d wish on my worst enemy. Though I felt relieved I got out of A&E same day for a change and everyone was in a happy mood yes for the day after bank holiday.

Currently receiving district nurse care instead of anymore hospital visits although each nurse says something different and now I’m heading for the ‘diabetic foot team’ and tissue viability ……all woefully under explained.

Still waiting for good old physio. But I taught myself how to get walking again. 💪 fair enough it’s not without a load of gunk coming out of injury site and it ain’t exactly pain-free but if I relied on anyone in our so called health service which only moves when you have an emergency, I wouldn’t get far.

Friend had the same. A kidney stoned caused sepsis in the kidney, screaming in pain rolling around the floor in agony. Ended up in Intensive Care for ten days and nearly died.
But the A&E staff didn't prioritise her over the others sat watching; she just had to wait here turn for several hours.
Surely it can't be difficult to judge that some cases need prioritising over others?

Late night, Dh dropped me off and went home, he’s probably bored of me. I had a clot (again). Woman lying across the chairs/tables whilst we waited. She was triaged next to me. She had scabies on her hands. I confess, I was like ‘Fuck off with your nasty scabies, this is for emergencies!’

I’ve been in A&E a few times, all valid, I was especially cross when I had a bleed in my skull (another clot, blood thinners caused the bleed) and some drunk lad had had a fight and had his ear torn. I mean, bless him, it was not pretty, but omg, I was in agony, they thought I might have meningitis, but he was prioritised.

Having spent a fair bit of time in A&E, I’ve seen so many people triaged and sent home within minutes of being triaged/seen by the doctor.

It's a reason why many people do attend, yes.

However, the cause was known, OP doesn't mention it was acute nor that there were accompanying symptoms of concern and it appears she was discharged without admission. I only really have the details you do so obviously we don't know the whole story.

But essentially judging herself to be deserving of A&E services when she may not have been - and knowing nothing about others stories - sort of opens her up to criticism.

And you suspect that instead of sitting in the comfort of their own home, they fancied spending eight to twelve hours under bright lights, on plastic chairs, with no food or drinks available, and every drunken Tom, Dick or Harry in the town?

I could have been one of those people . My 89 year old mother collapsed at home last weekend passing lots of blood. She was brought in to a and e in an ambulance. I went with her -she has dementia and needs someone with her. While they were booking her in I was asked to wait in the waiting room. I sat there for 40 minutes and was then called by name. I would have looked completely well (I was!) and as people brought in by ambulance don't go through the general waiting room you would not have known that I was there with anyone else.

My A&E has a minor injuries clinic now. Everyone is triaged and you are either sent to 'proper' A& E or to the minor injuries area. It means you don't have to have seriously ill people sitting alongside those with easier to treat conditions.

There were two people with minor stab wounds last time we were there, and a guy with heart problems who was going blue and wasn't seen for 8 hours. But there were also many young, drunk women, mainly European rather than British, and if they passed out they were seen immediately - before those who were obviously actually ill. Also quite a few women with children who just had a bad cold and were eventually triaged and sent home. It was heaving in there. When I finally left more than12 hours later, it was so busy that there were people queuing outside the entrance door, policed by security men.

Most of us realise by now that the NHS is near breaking point.
Much of this is down to a GP service that fails to work properly for most of us. Where I live there are no available appointments for 4 weeks which frankly is unacceptable but I don't see much willingness from the government to do anything about it.
We are lucky to have a walk in clinic nearby, however the clinic can now no longer accept walk in patients and we have to make an appointment to visit beforehand.
The nearest A&E is 10 miles away and the average waiting times are often in excess of 5 to 6 hours, sometimes longer. Basically the backstop is A&E and some of those patients probably shouldn't be there, but where else should they go?
The NHS needs proper reform to take account of population growth and ageing population with more complex health needs.

Waste of resources. You need to have the most experienced doctor where the sickest people are to stand the highest chances of curing those people.

Someone passing out is vulnerable and needs help straight away. It does not matter why. You can't just say "oh, they are pissed... it is their fault".

I have called an ambulance for a passed out drunk I found in the street on a couple of occasions, and was told each time by the paramedics that it was the right thing to do. Someone very drunk and passed out is vulnerable.

There needs to be a GP service where you turn up and sit in the waiting room and you’ll be seen in turn. My GP did this years ago. Sometimes you’d be there for hours but the GP would then know you were properly ill.

I amreally shocked at the number of family members that accompany for a day out at A&E. Is it a social media thing? Last time I was at a children’s A&E there was a family of four and two grandparents all having a takeaway in the waiting room. Which is a bit unnecessary when I’ve never waited more than 30mins.

I agree. I get to walk though A&E regularly (work) also many people like to bring the entire family along.

I used to work in a kid's hospital and the whole family turning up was definitely a thing. Sometimes, a child from the travelling community would be admitted as a patient, and you would have about 10-15 people come with them. It would get ridiculous.
This was way before social media too.