To think only the patient and maybe one companion needs to sit in the waiting room?

[BoobsOnTheMoon]

I'm at the (very small rural) MIU, on my own, waiting to get a burn looked at. Every single other patient has at least one person with them. There is only one other patient who has just one companion and that's an 8 week old baby!

There's an older baby with 3 adults.

A youngish girl with 2 parents and 2 other children.

A man who has brought 2 young adults (well old enough to leave at home or in the car) with him.

An elderly lady who had 2 adults with her and then another 2 adults came in to join them, but there were no chairs left to sit on so they pulled over a couple of patient wheelchairs and sat in those. The whole group (elderly lady included) are doing the cryptic crossword.

Wtf? Easily 3/4 of the people in this waiting room are not patients. Surely thats not normal, or is it?

Every letter I receive from the hospital tells me to only bring someone if absolutely necessary. Because I don't drive and because of my disabilities I need someone with me.

I had to have a 24hr heart rate monitor fitted. (A simple procedure where I just had a monitor with some sticky bits put on my chest) We checked in and my mum was asked to wait outside as it's a tiny place.

I did once go to the hospital with both grandparents. But that was because both my granddad and I had hospital appointments

We have a grown up DD, with learning disabilities and challenging behaviour, along with a life threatening condition. We have had to take her to A & E many times, as per the emergency protocol by her consultant.

Even Social Services, not known for their generosity and two care agencies accepted, it was too stressful for one person to take her out in the community on their own and stipulated, there had to be two people with her.

She lives in a care home, where other residents have such challenging behaviour, they need 2:1 or 3:1 or 4:1 out in the community! Do you think their Social Services fund that, out of the goodness of their hearts?

She wasn't in A+E though.

This was my first trip to MIU for myself in about, erm, ever? I took a friend who can't drive last year (I saw them in, waited for them to be triaged so we knew if they could be dealt with there or would need taking to A&E, then I went home and came back to collect them when they were done). My DC have never needed to go either. So it was complete news to me that this was a thing and I've not read a thread on it before.

I can only apologise for wasting anyone's time and energy by forcing them to open, read, and comment on a thread about something they've read before and are bored of. If only there was a way those people could avoid opening, reading, and commenting on such threads...

Thats just you though!

I have been rung up by the police at 4 am, when I was fast asleep to go look after DD2 in A & E 20 miles away, after she’d been taken there for being suicidal. She’d run away from them in A & E to go to the nearby train station - to jump in front of a train! The police thought she was less likely to run away, if I were there!

Would you tell the police, bearing in mind, there’s usually two of them with her:

“No, I’m not going in case, I would be taking up a seat”

Why do people lob in these extreme replies that bear no relation to the situation being discussed?

How on earth are you thinking these are comparable??

Of course this is completely reasonable !
and clinical staff would be very grateful for the appropriate ratio of carers for this patient -
I and others are exasperated with the clearly inappropriate hangers on -
and before anyone goes on about the hidden disabilities, absolutely agree !
people will common sense will know exactly what we are griping about here - end of.

Still so many comments about circumstances and situations happening in A+E.... when that wasn't where the OP was.
She was in a Minor Injuries Unit.
Which are usually much smaller and no one there is having a life-threatening medical emergency - because if they were they would be sent off too A+E.

Yep. I work in a large hospital and sometimes feel a bit like a performing chimp with an audience. It can actually be quite intimidating at times. Of course there are patients who genuinely need people with them, those who are disabled or who have mental health problems, people in for serious things, often the friends and relatives are absolute stars.... But there are also some folk who just seem to treat it like a family outing.

Roll up roll up let's all go watch our Margaret getting a speculum exam..nothing else to do today.

Luckily our exam rooms are small so we are justified in asking most of the "gang" to hang around in the waiting room!

It was lovely during COVID the waiting rooms were so calm! And got to actually chat to the patient rather than the overbearing partner, auntie, friend who seems to know more about the symptoms than the patient does!!

But you had a genuine reason for being there. In fact you were asked by emergency staff to be there. You weren't just turning up with half your extended family for the sheer fuck of it, to sit in patient wheelchairs and chatter loudly with someone who has a minor injury. It's not at all comparable.

No, you sound unpleasant. Not OP.

Our walk in centre is getting really strict on this, it's patients only unless you are under 18 or need a carer. Even then, people are often sitting outside on steps due to the lack of seats during busy periods.

Our A&E allows one person to accompany patients, although they will make allowances in some circumstances.

Oh for goodness sake !!!
look up black and white thinking, otherwise known as all or nothing thinking -
you will find spotting this thinking error in yourself helpful, and make communicating with other ls less frustrating for them and you !!

I recently had to attend A&E, and it was a terrible experience. The waiting area was overcrowded, and at times, there weren't enough seats for patients. In situations like this, I believe it's inconsiderate for people accompanying patients to occupy seats, especially when they don't have a genuine need to do so. I'm not referring to those who truly require support or assistance, but rather those who take up space unnecessarily.

Just to add if someone is truly unwell, being surrounded by noise and crowds isn’t helpful it can actually make them feel worse. I remember sitting there in pain while relatives nearby held loud conversations. It was incredibly inconsiderate and made an already difficult situation even harder to endure.

It is annoying- YANBU.

I attended A and E with an asthma attack a few months ago and once triaged was put in a separate area with a nebuliser. The area was pretty full and nowhere for me to sit. The nurse had to ask companions to move so I could sit.

It’s not a day out!

She wasn't talking about A&E though. She was waiting for treatment in a Minor Injuries Unit so it is doubtful that the other people waiting are in life or death situations requiring the presence of six or seven family members, taking up all the available seats so that the actual patients had to stand.

My point is pp have no idea, why other people are there, so why go on about it! They should just mind their own business.

As for OP being in Minor Injuries unit, people get triaged at our local A & E to the Minor Injuries unit next door in error. They do have potentially serious injuries.

No one needs 4 adults to accompany them. I also dont understand why two adults bring all their children either. Totally understand if one parent has to bring their kids, not everyone has child care. No need for both adults to come along with all their kids.

They should just mind their own business.

Maybe they're trying to mind their own business but some idiot with a broken finger has brought Mum, Dad, aunty Glad and all the children and they're all being noisy having a smelly takeaway and taking up half the waiting room?

How was OP not minding her own business? She didn't challenge the person who brought about six family members, two of whom sat down in wheelchairs meant for patients. She just quietly seethed to herself which is the British way, and posted on Mumsnet for other people's opinions.

Not one of the OP’s examples involved 6 or 7 others accompanying patient

YANBU !! Had to attend A&E a while back and it was like the Dingles Day Out in the waiting room !! Young man had got in a fight and his hand was slashed, cuts and bruises all over his face, He had a full entourage with him, at least 6 others all behaving like morons, there were others there that had at least 2 or 3 folk with them too. No seats, no room to swing a cat and them all talking over the top of one another. Hospitals and Health Centres need to address this ASAP.

It’s a day out for some people 😆 I dislocated my shoulder a few years ago on a Monday afternoon and it was standing room only as loads of groups just sat there - I really needed a seat as I was not in a good way and finally someone realised and offered me one but literally 30% of the people were actual patients. It’s like the families that I often see in the supermarket, 2 adults, an assortment of children, often struggling to control a toddler - I won’t even go to the supermarket with my DH and I only ever took the kids if I was unable to shop without them, I cannot understand why you would want to all go together - one stay home with the kids, the other goes to the shop - simple!

You’re not being unreasonable. I’m a OAP and attended all my hospital appointments on my own during Covid, with no visitors during my post-op stay. It’s completely irresponsible to treat a visit to A&E as a social occasion.

This totally agree it's hardly a day out