I get that a&e is busy, but was not expecting to be spoken to so rudely

[mitsicar]

Went to a&e tonight. I have a foreign object stuck in my ear. I did not know it was in there until someone looked last night before I left my house and said i should get it looked at. Wasn't able to go to a&e today as my son had his own medical appointment in another city that I have waited months for and we were in a hotel for last night. There was no way I was cancelling it for my own ailment.

The pain has got significantly worse. Have shooting pains into my jaw and cheek bone and my ear is making clicking noises. This is since about lunch time today. Went to a&e this evening and the triage nurse asked me how long it had been in my ear. I said I suspect a few weeks, but I thought I just had an earache and it went away after a while so thought it was gone. Got some new foam ear plugs last week (which obviously pushed the foreign body in further!) and am now suffering for it. I hadn't finished when she cut me off and said 'well I don't really understand why you have picked this evening to come to a&e' and told me I would be better off going to my GP. I am in some pain but ended up leaving because she just made me feel like I had done an awful thing by heading straight after my son's appointment. I spoke to 111 earlier in the day and they told me to go to a&e asap because I could risk my hearing and that whilst it isn't life threatening, it is both an accident and an emergency. I asked if I could wait until morning and they said no. This was the 111 dr not the triage staff. I have no idea if this is the correct advice.

AIBU to think I didn't do anything wrong? I told her a medical professional has looked at it (a friend of mine who is a dr of 30 years) and said it needs ent because of how far in it is and she actually rolled her eyes at me and said I should see an actual GP (I suspect by that she meant my own GP?) and that a&e were sending everyone to minor injuries and that cases like mine are the reason she now has a 6 hour waiting list.

Is this normal for a&e now? Is it so awful working there that being rude has just become the norm or do most people have a better bedside manner? I haven't been to a&e since I was a child and was really shocked by the way I was spoken to, after being advised to go there by 111 and a trusted friend who is a medical doctor (GP).

To add, she didn't look in my ear.

Would you have done anything different? Am I missing something?

Far out

Been tonnes of times. Live in an area more populated than most. Never waited all that time. I've seen people waiting that long, and they're usually not that distressed by their ailment or have done what the OP.did.wwhuch is attend for something that occurred weeks earlier when they found it convenient to attend

I said not every GP or hospital works the same.

And of course A and Es work differently, depending on what services they have access to. For example not every trust has an urgent access mental health walk-in so some A and Es need different systems to look after mentally unwell patients who walk in. What a strange thing to say.

The hcp will have been exasperated as it'd been there a few weeks. A&E even minor injuries tends to be for acute/sudden onset issues. I'm not surprised she rolled her eyes a bit.

Tbh 111 send everyone to a&e it seems to be on their flow chart so I'd take their advice with a pinch of salt in future.

Professional patient by the sound of it.

It doesn’t matter whether MIU is attached to A&E or not. She clearly stated she went to A&E.

Which was the wrong course of action. The correct course of action has been explained multiple times (not just by me!), but for some reason people seem determined to defend the OP.

Ok, thought as much.

What a sceptic bunch some are on here.

Works like that for many of us. Mind you, I'll have this argument with my neighbours who swear this doesnt happen. It does. You just need to know how to actually contact your GP which many of my neighbours do not know. They just ring when we have had a digital triage system for years now

This is the prob with our NHS, too many people think they know what your issue is without looking. It's all based on assumptions. How rude she was. You should have stood your ground and stayed. Issue would have been she'd have made you wait Lord knows how long. If there's another A&E locally go there.

Guess what profession 90% of the mean girls at my school do now.. I also know a nurse outside of her role and she is shit sitting two faced bitch. It really surprised me as they are meant to have a modicum of caring ability.

It's because they won't go through their GP for anything and would just turn up at the hospital.

You're being purposely obtuse. You're just here to wind everybody up. I don't need to waste my time any further with you. Go on believing all you like that there are short cuts into A&E, but there aren't.

So A&E are going to prioritise lancing your boil at 12.00 when they’re suddenly inundated with far more serious presentations. Sorry Mr with your heart pulpitations, deep wound or overdose I have a boil to lance at 12.00.🤣

Yep. The type of people to turn up to A&E with a papercut and demand to be seen ahead of heart attacks. They probably turn up with ten members of their family too.

A&E is for emergencies- I see the nurses point of view, a foreign body which has been in your ear several weeks is NOT an emergency. Did you tell 111 it had been in there that long? Yes you could have permanent damage, but that is not going to change from evening to morning is it? Evenings in A&E are always busier.

She also explains that there’s one reception for both departments but you seem to be conveniently blind to that along with the people that actually work in the profession that have told her she wasn’t wrong.

Digital triage only gets you appointments with a 2 week wait in our area. GPs don’t run A&E , they can not dictate when you should be seen at A&E.

DH was sent to an and e by 111 and the nurse was very rude. You get bad staff everywhere. The other staff were nice. I guess we all have a bad day.

You are being rude to me and have got me mixed up with somebody else. I have been a hospital consultant for over 20 years and have some idea what I’m talking about. I have not talked about shortcuts to A&E.

It’s not a shortcut into a&e but a way to get treatment without attending a&e at all.

What’s your job in the NHS and how long have you worked there?

Absolutely none of your business whatsoever.

Yes I would guess it's been there weeks info was omitted in the 111 call!

At our hospital you go to A+E check in triaged then directed to minor injuries which is off A+E if appropriate you can’t go there directly
but in all honesty the NHS have some of the rudest staff you will ever come across