Paramedics made my father go to hospital

[wecangoupupup]

My father has atrial fibrillation. He has had this for years.

He has been told multiple times what to do in the case of an episode of AF. Today, he had one while I was visiting. It took a long time to pass, so in line with his consultant’s plan my mother called 999, after the usual medications had been given at home.

In the time it took for the paramedics to arrive, the attack passed and when they did arrive, it had been nearly an hour since it had ended.

They still made him go to hospital as they “couldn’t rule out a heart attack”, despite my father insisting that he knows his body, knows what an AF episode feels like and knows when it has passed. All he wanted was to go to bed and sleep off the effects of the beta blockers he had taken.

They still essentially made him go to hospital, saying that they would make him sign forms if he didn’t which showed he had refused medical advice. I was present and the paramedics essentially made it sound as though he would be at the back of the queue if it returned and he needed an ambulance again.

Fast forward 10 hours and he’s still in hospital, no doctors available to read his ECG or his blood test results, and he’s been sleeping in a hard plastic chair. AIBU to think this is ridiculous? Paramedics really shouldn’t be encouraging patients to attend hospital when it’s not necessary.

We had the opposite experience. Ambulance called for my father after he collapsed & lost consciousness. He refused to go to hospital & the paramedics said they couldn’t force him. 6 weeks later my father was found dead at home.

Such a selfish post. Instead of being grateful for a free health service OP bashes it. Time to grow up methinks they may be after compensation which costs everybody. Where I live we have no free primary healthcare and there is a charge of c £280 per trip for an ambulance. Similarly A&E with no admission is £250 per visit. But that way people without insurance don’t waste the time of the wonderful Ambulance crews or A&E. My high heart rate last year that would not reduce was an admittance to A&E monitoring/tests etc with 4 minutes of arrival ( via my wonderful OH as faster than ambulance) with full monitoring for 2.5 hours for £250. Had I needed admittance noxharges applied. Be very grateful for the NHS.

Why bother calling the professionals if you refuse to take their professional advice.

You are actually being unacceptable now and need to get a grip of yourself.

Shame they dont have body cams on then people's take on words or actions would be seen in event of complaints /mistreatment / information given by all.

Yes - he’d already been given once over by paramedics - just because a dr doesn’t appear doesn’t mean there isn’t decisions going on and attention to care

That would have cost far more in the NHS. Either you live in a much cheaper country or your healthcare is massively subsidised.

I thought the Do now

sadly because of too many assaults

and people like OP

It’s not ‘free’. It’s paid for via our taxes

Some ambulance services do have body cam but not all. Usually only turned on in situations when there’s confrontation or threat - I also hope it was used and IF further training is needed that it’s actioned quickly, but going onto another comment by op - I’d be surprised if trained paramedics don’t understand AF ( was it an ambulance that came out or a first responder? )

Taxes wasted on people like the @wecangoupupup calling 999 and then also raising a costly complaint

If he knows his own body so well then he should know he didn’t need to call the ambulance in the first place.

You are the worst kind of person who thinks the system should all fit around their needs.

Do you think it’s going to help ANYONE if you take away doctors time and potentially lawyers money to deal with your tantrum. You disgust me.

Your father had medical professionals turning up for him. He wanted to be seen. He was seen. They recommended a second opinion. He wasn’t an emergency so needed to wait but was seen eventually,

Now you want to tie up clinical time.

Paramedics will soon end up wearing body worn cameras like police and retail staff. Only thinking about this poster, how would she word her complaint considering she wasn't able to stick to a story on this thread, you can tell she twists the truth to fit her narative. Thankfully they were more than one and they can corraborate eachother otherwise most likely a hard working poor paramedic working crazy shifts saving lives would lose his job for "bullying". Shame.

Two considerations here;

1 - as others have said, if he ignores their advice that’s on him and they need to protect themselves
2 - if he didn’t go, then needed to call an ambulance again, that’s a waste of public resources. Ambulance services are already struggling to meet demand without having to make repeat visits to people who wilfully refuse or ignore their professional advice.

My MiL did this a few months ago (unbeknownst to us). Kept calling the ambulance because she was struggling to breathe ( copd, Parkinson’s, blood cancer). Four call outs in 3 days, until we learnt of it and insisted she go with them to hospital (she ‘doesn’t like hospitals’). Go to hospital, or stop calling the ambulance. Imagine someone died because they were sat trying to convince her to go to hospital?

Maybe they do ? Im not really not sure.
I was thinking if worn it was more in the hospitals / security not in people's homes.

Maybe someone can update on this. Be good for this case if they did.

NHS is free as far as I understand to UK residents so unless you don’t qualify you don’t pay. Please correct me if I’m misunderstanding

As is ours 😏

Im fully aware of what a&e is like which is why i said i don't believe for 1 second that there wasn't any nurses/drs or hca there. Do you think they all just sodded off home

Exactly.

Nobody can force you into hospital, they can only give their opinion that they believe it's the right thing.

Do you think there are beds hidden away from patients just for the sake of it? If there was a bed and the nursing staff available to monitor a patient in it don't you think it would have been offered?

You can't demand a bed in a hospital. You'd be removed faster than your feet could touch the ground if you kept demanding. The "walking wounded" often have to wait on plastic chairs to be seen.

The OP admits her father shouldn't have even gone to hospital so why would he need a hospital bed over another patient?

You shouldn’t put in a complaint. Paramedics have a difficult enough job as it is. If they didn’t say he should go to hospital and he then had a heart attack they could be sued. He can go home if he wants to.

I agree. People value a service more if they have to pay for it.

I don't know why you even started this thread. 82% say you're unreasonable but you still put a complaint in. No wonder so many paramedics try to and do commit suicide.

OP: AIBU?
Most of Mumsnet: Yes
OP: No I'm not and I'm putting in a complaint about medics doing their job.
🙄

It’s Saturday on mumsnet. Classic anti nhs thread 🙄