AIBU to question my husband's treatment in a hospital waiting room?

[SadlyNotATroll]

Posting here for traffic sorry. DH had a routine blood test on Thursday and was sent straight to hospital after some concerning numbers relating to his kidneys I think. He was there all day Thursday having tests and sent home. Was called at 10:30 on Thursday evening saying he had to go back in the next morning. I don’t want to over share his personal details on the internet but he is being treated with IV antibiotics but isn’t actually being told what for. Last night they had no beds and he slept in a chair in the clinic waiting room. I say slept but he didn’t sleep at all. Today he’s still there and being told he will be needing to stay in over the weekend but they have no beds. He has no privacy and is sat upright in a chair.

I get that the NHS is in dire straits, I really do. But how can he be treated in a waiting room chair and be expected to sleep and recover there? Do we have any recourse at all? Please don’t think this is a nurse/NHS bashing thread. The staff have been wonderful and it’s not their fault at all.

I totally agree. And 'bedblockers' is a horrible word. It implies that it's the person's fault and not the inadequate system that can't arrange care for them on being discharged fron hospital.

He absolutely would. My poor friend recently spent about 4 days in a chair on a medical assessment unit waiting for a bed, despite the fact her (serious) condition was movement and muscle related, and most of the staff weren't even as nice about it it sounds like Ops dh as experienced! I guess if there are no beds there are no beds, but the fact it is happening regularly is a worrying reflection the state of the NHS

Of course it’s salvageable. The government could build enough hospitals and clinics, and employ enough staff to treat people. The trouble is it costs and the current narrative is to reduce taxes and “find efficiencies”.

What a stupid comment! The bed blockers are generally the ones waiting for care homes! Usually they have issues like immobility or dementia so putting them in a chair will potentially cause them further harm! I’m sure you’d be the first to abuse staff if this was your elderly relative!

We don't need more hospitals we need better social care. As pp so kindly put it bed blockers, people that can be moved on but can't because it's unsafe for them to be home alone.

I disagree I don’t think it is salvageable, no other country has this system, because it’s unsustainable.

I’ve had relatives who have had strokes, and been unable to breathe properly because of fluid on the lungs be seen and then sent fucking home because there were no beds. Abysmal state of the NHS in 2025/2026

Where do you expect him to go if there are no beds?

However good your plan, if a care home is involved it takes time. If a new admission they may not have a space when you need it. If they do, or even if going back to a home where you're already a resident, they need to send someone to the hospital to assess your needs and ensure they are able to meet them. Then specialist transport may need to be booked. It takes days, not hours.

What a stupid and inaccurate reading of the OP. And a horrid tone that lacks any kindness. I despair of some people online.

That made me smile. Happy for you OP. I mean, this is the bare minimum we should expect, but still x

The current estimates are about sixteen thousand a year.

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Bedblockers! You make it sound like it's their fault. They're waiting for alternative care they are not well people.

In theory and if as soon as you were discharged the benefit was reinstated...

That would be fine, but that isn't the case in reality, in real life they fk that up, you lose your car...

And much of what your PIP may cover is NOT provided for in hospital - my specialist food, my osteopath, my specialist clothing, my wheelchair seat cushion and second wheelchair - all funded by me via my PIP. I had a cushion stolen whilst in hospital, off my chair because someone said 'oh its an NHS chair so you can take that cushion she's not using it' and I was not well enough to object, but in fact it was a privately bought cushion... and you may think thats petty but we're talking a £350 cushion here... (I got it back but it involved my sister being assertive to the point of aggressive to achieve that!)

For some people their PIP is covering their rent - perhaps it shouldn't be but they still have to pay their rent, bills etc, standing charges, phone - whilst in hospital. It isn't as if all of someones life becomes completely free the moment you go and stay in hospital.

Some people go into hospital and lose not just their benefits but their home and life, and come out to.. nothing, a big mess and nowhere to go, as a result of these very stupid systems.

Been there, done that .... whilst on holiday in Wales.

And not only that, when they discharged me they told me I had oesophageal spasm and it was not a heart attack. I presented at A&E in my home town a couple of days later with the same symptoms, had an angiogram and was found to have a blockage in my right coronary artery that was 94% at one point - I now have a stent and a pacemaker.

Are you in the UK? I’m struggling to understand:

1. your partner is so sick that he has now been given a hospital bed but allowed to pop home to see the kids?
2. if he doesn’t come back to the hospital the actual police will come and get him?

Is that right? And how much more, as a percentage, of your own salary would you be prepared to pay to make that happen?

But they are potentially leaving a frail, vulnerable person who hasn’t yet even had treatment sitting in a chair because the one that has been treated is still in it

This happened to me earlier this year. I eventually got a bed but at least I was being treated in the waiting room. Awful isn’t it?

IV antibiotic treatment at home. He'd be a lot more comfortable, and wouldn't need a hospital bed.

Except other countries that have publicly provided free healthcare systems include Austria, Belarus, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Moldova, North Macedonia, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Ukraine, much of Africa, Australia, Canada, New Zealand (among others)…scraped this from a quick Wiki search so Google is quite useful sometimes.

OP - I’m so sorry you’re husband is going through this and hope he found his trip home restorative and is now being treated somewhere he can sleep!

Yes I was a bit taken aback at point 2! Surely the state can't mandate that you accept medical care?!

Chat GPT has also its uses:

Healthcare generally free at the point of use. These countries most closely match the classic model where medically necessary treatment is usually provided without payment when you receive it:

• Denmark
• Malta
• Spain
• United Kingdom

Healthcare mostly free, but with significant exceptions. These countries have universal public healthcare, but patients commonly pay for some combination of GP visits, outpatient care, prescriptions, diagnostics, or other services:

• Australia
• Belarus
• Canada
• Czech Republic
• Finland
• Iceland
• Italy
• New Zealand
• Norway
• Portugal
• Sweden

Not accurately described as free at the point of use. These countries generally operate insurance-based systems or require routine co-payments, deductibles, reimbursements, or other direct patient payments:

• Austria
• Croatia
• France
• Germany
• Greece
• Latvia
• Lithuania
• Luxembourg
• Moldova
• North Macedonia
• Romania
• Serbia
• Slovenia
• Switzerland
• Ukraine

But they might have long term conditions like dementia or other physical frailty and need to be on a ward until there is a suitable place found for them. They are not time wasters and 'bedblocker' is an insulting term.