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?

Why would you decide to come on here at the end of the thread and spout more utter nonsense? It beggars belief. The OP did the right thing in the first place. A&E is not just for when your head is hanging off. The nurse was completely in the wrong.

Thank you.

Whenever threads like this come up I’m reminded of taking my wife to A&E when she was having breathing difficulties. The nurses were so awful to her and the triage nurse decided she was “just” having a panic attack and fobbed us off.

Ir actually turned out to be a sustained allergic reaction combined with a chest infection, and if I hadn’t been there (and if I wasn’t as bolshy as I am), and my wife had just taken them at face value and gone home, then I dread to think what could have happened.

What are we supposed to do when A&E is not even concerned about an inability to breathe?

You should absolutely complain btw. Imagine how many people she's spoken to like that and made feel embarrassed for seeking help and then have suffered in silence instead. It's really really bad.

You did nothing wrong, you went to the right place, at a time that was right for you - except that you should not have left when that nurse was rude to you. (It’s understandable though that you felt you had to leave after a professional spoke to you like that ...) I read you’re going in again and that the situation is now worse … sending you lots of strength OP and don’t let anyone tell you that you are/were wrong!

True, i don't think when we are vulnerable and in pain anyone should be spoken to rudely in a health care setting. In fairness i think staff are probably under pressure (not excusing rudeness though)

I hope you’re getting the right treatment op. I had exactly the same issue part of my hearing aid got stuck. I went to our local minor injuries place which is completely separate from an and e and it was very efficiently removed by a nurse in about 10minutes. You were absolutely in the right place and I’m sorry you felt you had to leave last night. Best wishes

I understand the staff’s frustration, you should have gone to the GP or minor injuries instead of waiting so long that it became critical.

A&E are trying to deal with heart attacks, traffic accidents, people with breathing difficulties and other life-threatening injuries, and even if you go in with life-threateningly low oxygen levels it can take some time to be seen because of the sheer volume of patients.

However, she should have been cool and polite/professional, not rude. The issue is with the system not informing people about where to go rather than you.

You obviously don't have kids or if you do they don't have medical conditions.
I would drag my self to a important childs hospital appointment with a broken bone before getting care for myself.

@mitsicar you followed medical advice. The nurse was dismissive and exceptionally rude in rolling her eyes. Her poor conduct and contribution to delay may mean the NHS has to spend more public money putting you right and you may be in pain/harder of hearing than was initially necessary.

Please complain. Being busy is no excusive for rudeness of being passive aggressive (eye-rolling). I am convinced the NHS eye roll is taught in training and there is an exam in it.

Next time it happens "why are you rolling your eyes? I would like to speak with the Sister in charge please".

I hope you feel better soon. Please let the most senior person you see today know what happened last night.

A nurse should have been cool with a patient in pain and asking for help? Really?

I hope you get it sorted OP it sounds miserable. Some people let the power go to their heads. Like moderators on live streams.

It would depend on what bone was broken but any severe agony that warrant da+e would be too much of a distraction. If it doesnt distract you enough to obstruct the appointment, GP is where you need to be.

If you break you arm but thought it was just a sprain so didn't get seen. But over the next few weeks it gets worse - you won't get it checked then because you had it weeks you missed your chance of medical care right?

I'd go to my GP who would refer me for an x-ray.

That nurse was just a rude arsehole, there are plenty of people in the NHS like that unfortunately, just like anywhere else.

Of course you needed to be there, and now you have to go back again. I'd complain to PALS, there's no excuse to treat people like crap and send them away when they are in pain and need help. There are too many people in a position of power who think they can get away with it.

When my DC had a bad wrist after ice skate fall - I rang GP who refused to see us and said we'd need to go straight to A&E as an x-ray would be needed - so no point seeing them - then phone was put down on us.

Hope you get seen quickly OP.
Yet another thread that demonstrates how the public (not all but many) has been programmed to not use A&E and blame anyone who does on the expense of their lives because “it is not an emergency”.

I hope you formally complain, OP.

I completely agree with you @Constantinoodle I really hope you are feeling better @mitsicar and have received proper medical treatment. You did absolutely nothing wrong. I am sick and tired of patients being treated as an inconvenience by some medical professionals. I worked with the occasional teacher like this. The children were an irritant and an inconvenience to them. These people should be in different professions if they can’t do their job respectfully and correctly. I am coming off this thread now. It’s not good for my blood pressure.

Pathetic. They are general practitioners not just secretaries/pharmacists

SHE WAS IN MINOR INJURIES UNIT which is part of A&E

As a long term health commissioner, I would complain about this. Unfortunately there isn't a really straight forward pathway for this exact issue, you might get a GP who would try and remove it, you might get told to go to a&e.
Unfortunately services are stretched. I would never leave a clinical treatment provider due to rudeness especially without being examined.

Hope you get sorted. Also before any jumps on me saying I'm making things worse by saying complain, get a grip. No one should be dismissed without evaluation, this is just passing the buck and putting people at risk. You can't cherry pick patients and that's a hill I'll die on. The system is failing, you don't get to intimidate patients out of a&e. Thats not helping anything. Complaints are due process and they highlight staffing shortages, lack of pathway provision and poor practice. Its my bread and butter so I don't want to hear it.

You went to the right place and not only was she rude she failed in her duty of care to you and made a judgement without even looking in your ear. That is appalling. If she had looked then said it was ok to wait to see the gp that is one thing but she was absolutely negligent and I would 100% be making a complaint about how you were dealt with. Being busy is no excuse.

How long after? Does it match the scenario i am responding to?
.

I genuinely do wonder what GPs actually do these days. Everything is a referral or is dealt with by nurses or A&E. There seems to be no hands-on care provided by GPs anymore.