Paramedics made my father go to hospital

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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.

Their professional opinion was that everything was fine, but “better safe than sorry”, which he still wasn’t keen on. They then resorted to what was essentially bullying - if you don’t come, you won’t get an ambulance if you need one.

The cynic in me says it’s because there’s an event on in our town today that always turns mucky. They want as many ambulances there as possible so took everyone in this morning.

He can ask the receptionist to ask someone to take it out

He’s not in A&E. He’s been put on the “acute medical unit” - basically a large waiting room

Coercion and bullying? 🤣 It’s called following policy and doing their job.

So his attack went in longer than necessary, the trained paramedics said better to be safe than sorry, but you disagreed??

And no staff have been in for 10 hours, no obs done, no meds given to any of the other patients. Sure that sounds believable

Absolutely this.

Nobody forced your father to do anything.They advised him.

Paramedics followed protocol.

Your father would have been alone if he was having a serious heart event after the paramedics left. What about that sounds like someone was saying something incorrect?

Sometimes I really really feel for NHS staff. They are dammed if they do and dammed if they don’t.

YABU.

They didn't "make him". They advised him.

If he (and you and your mother) know better than the paramedics do, he had the option to sign a form to stay he was going to stay at home. He chose not to.

If you feel he didn't need the paramedics, then why follow the medical advice and call the ambulance? You clearly think you know better.

Or why not cancel the ambulance once the attack passed?

They looked at what the evidence was and made a professional judgement that he would be better being checked by people even more highly trained than they are. If you are so convinced their professional judgement is wrong, and your father's knowledge is better than theirs, then don't call them in the first place.

I think we can all agree that from beginning to end the OPs perception is skewed.

He’s had obs done and blood taken but that’s about it. Nobody has checked on him since. It’s a good thing it wasn’t a heart attack!

You are the sort of person that would sue if they didn't take him in.

I can't believe this. You rang the for the bloody ambulance, they are not a taxi service, so you must have thought it was an EMERGENCY.

This happened to my husband. He eventually insisted Via a passing nurse and the cannula was removed. He signed the appropriate form. Like your dad he was chronically ill but managing. 12 hours in the corridor was enough. I hope you get help soon. Of course being a BH weekend won't help.

I don’t think their job is to tell someone that if they have a heart attack an ambulance won’t be sent to them because they didn’t attend hospital earlier that day.

A relative of mine has seizures. Her care plan says at what point to call an ambulance. If some comes round properly before then we call to cancel. If not we follow the advice of the professionals. Yes it can be a pain sitting in A and E when things have stabilised but it’s better than taking the risk of not

Did you step in when you felt your father was being bullied?

It’s absolutely abhorrent. One man has apparently been sat there nearly 14 hours, waiting for an injection. He’s still not been given it. If it was A&E I’d understand but this is apparently a unit for people who aren’t unwell enough for A&E, but unwell enough to go in - it’s separately staffed so it’s meant to be quicker.

So there are staff as before you where saying there was nobody to ask to be discharged.

Yes. They still maintained that if anything happened an ambulance wouldn’t be sent.

Yeah except they didn't actually say this, did they?

That’s how you interpreted it. But what they where most likely saying is “come now and be in the right place for help, or don’t and risk having to wait for an ambulance”

Keep in mind this was near enough ten hours ago that they were done.

Why did you wait an hour after the episode had finished to cancel the ambulance?

No, they said an ambulance wouldn’t be sent.

It isn't. It is just reality - there are not enough ambulances to cover every emergency - he may not be seen as a priority if he had already refused their advice. I mean why call them if you don't want to believe what they say.