Survey: Have you been to A&E with an asthma attack?

[TinkerBellesMum]

I've written about our experiences with Tink being taken into A&E with an attack last weekend and wanted to do a quick survey to help me know if I'm right in my feelings about the waiting time.

If you've been to A&E with an attack, how long did you have to wait before being taken to a cubicle/resus and put on a nebuliser? Also answer if you've taken someone else/ your child. If you can remember any of the details of your stats (what your heart rate was or your O2 levels) I'd also be interested to hear.

My GP told me to take ds in and gave me a note as he was wheezing and I was a bit clueless about whether it was asthma. When I got there they said he was fine and sent him home. Later that evening his wheezing was terrible, I took him back and they kept him in, put him on nebuliser and lectured me about inhalers etc.

I went to North Middlesex A&E with an asthma attack about 3 years ago. It was on a Friday night -- about 7pm. First we went to the walk-in NHS centre as I just wanted to get an inhaler (I hadn't had an attack in years and couldn't find my old one).

They said that I would have to go to A&E. Waited for an hour to see the triage nurse. (All the while still having the attack.) No heart rate or O2 levels were taken. Was shunted back into the waiting area and told to expect a four-hour wait to be seen.

By about 11pm, as the walking wounded of Friday night's drinking started to build up around us, and no sign of being seen soon, I was so stressed that I told DH to take me home -- being in A&E was doing me more harm than good. I went home and breathed into a paper bag until the attack passed.

Now I never go anywhere without my inhaler and will never go near North Mid again. Oh, hang on -- they're closing my local A&E (Chase Farm) so if I'm ever ill again I'll have to go to... North Mid

I've been several times. Usually get nebbed and admitted quickly (as am regular) but one time stands out. I was 6 wks pg, and my peak flow was down to 120. I waited 7hrs for a nebuliser and another 5 to see a doctor. While waiting was being sick in the waiting room/passing out etc, and people were coming in with little fingers bleeding and being seen to before me. My dh was asking repeatedly for a nebuliser and even some paracetomol to help with the pain, but nothing. Was a Friday night so a&e was full of drunks etc. Was finally admitted for 2 wks with pneumonia. My dh wrote v strong letter of complaint and we received a grovelling apology from the trust.
That's the worst story tho. Mainly not so bad!

dd1 has been.

once she was taken stright round the childrens a+e and seen straight away.

oher time we spent about 15mins in normal a+e before she was seen and put straight o na neb. then admitted overnight for more nebs.

but have taken her to gp surgery more where i see reception, say dd1 having an asthma attack and gp races out and sets up the neb for her.

Did not know that DS (age 6) had asthma but called emergency GP (Sat AM) he was breathing really quickly and having to work hard (slight coughing night before) told to take him straight to walk in centre - waited 1hr and 45 mins to be seen (lots of adults limping/not looking obviously ill were going in before us) finally firmly told receptionist DS needed to seen NOW and waited another 15 mins. Very gruff GP (obviously pissed because I complained) took one look and told me to take him to A&E (but asked me to wait outside while she called them - another 20 mins). At A&E waited another 45 mins!! Stats were 82. DS admitted overnight, on neb and steroids. Did not know what it was at the time but if he has another attack - will be shouting at the top of my voice!! Told at the walk in centre that children are not classed as priority

TinkerBellesMum, your story is appalling. It isn't any use now but do consider calling an ambulance next time if you have to go to the same place. I think you get seen more quickly.

posted on your other thread but agree net time there is any attack signs then you phone an ambulance as they can nebuliser

dd2 has been.

She was nebulised at the out of hours surgery and then we were sent to A&E at the children's hospital. Sh e was seen quickly, we were certainly happy with it all. Can't remember the stats but she had to stay in for three nights.

Second time an ambulance was called for us and she was nebulised in teh ambulance. Again, we were ahppy with it all. Treated very efficiently.

TBH I didn't even realise she was that bad, she had been diagnosed with an unspecified (probably her throat at that time but she wouldn't open her mouth) infection the day before so I knew she was a little wheezy, I'd kept her home from the CM but she was quite happy otherwise. I went to the GP with D&V and she noticed her breathing was a little fast. After that she went downhill rapidly. If I had noticed at home and she hadn't responded to the blue I would have called for an ambulance as that's what we've been told to do. At the GP's I kind of thought that if she needed one she would have called it and that as she had called ahead they would be ready for her. I wish I had just done it now, I said it to Mum at the time.

Tinker, you never really know what to do the first time so don't worry about it. You will be so much more prepared next time around, if it does happen again.

Everyone is the same the first time, I think.
With DS2, it was only when he was admitted for a second time that I realised how ill he had been the first time.
The second time was nowhere near as bad as he had been using inhalers since the first time.
Hope Tink is better soon.

It's not her first, just her worst. She's been in about once a month her whole life. She's had bronchiolitis and croup five times each, even though they only diagnose it once. Last time she went in I was blunt with the GP ("She's not too bad but it's Friday so I'm not willing to send her home as it will get worse" imagine white Julian Bashir, he's one of the top doctors in our practice and lovely) and said "she's been ill once a month now her whole life, what is wrong with her?" he said "I don't think we can get around it anymore, we don't like to diagnose asthma so young but she's too bad to not diagnose it." When we got to the hospital I gave the paediatrician the same question and she said almost word for word the same thing. She also told us the routine should be 10 puffs of blue and if it doesn't work call an ambulance.

As I said, it happened so fast this time that I didn't see it coming, the GP spotted it because she was feeling her tummy.

sorry I thought it had happened before[well being admitted/nebs etc]
I find myself getting a bit blaise about it now which is wrong because dd1 is 2.9yrs and been getting frequent admissions from 3wks old

We took DS2 at 16 months to A&E of Northwick Park in Harrow on New Year's Day after he'd been up all night and we were giving him 10 puffs 4 hourly. We waited over 40 minutes and I kept going up to the receptionist saying "He needs a nebuliser; he's having an asthma attack." He was kept in almost all day that time though they discharged us.

He was then admitted very unwell to hospital in Singapore 2 months later - his lungs were silent by then, he was vomiting and the GP gave us oxygen before they let us drive him (quicker than calling an ambulance there). In the reception there I kept saying that he needed oxygen and they made me fill out all their paperwork. He was grey and very ill. That was the worse, as he was on hourly nebs and oxygen for 4 hours, then 2 hourly for 24, then 3 hourly etc. Once he was on 4 hourly nebs they sent us home with the nebuliser.

It is very frightening. He had bronchiolitis at 9 weeks and then was OK till 12 months. From then, every time he had a cold he was very ill, so also about once a month. After his second hospital admission the May he was 20 months we got a home nebuliser which was excellent.

On the postive side, he is now 7 and has been off all preventers for over a year. He hasn't had a puff of blue since one cold last winter and he hasn't been nebulised for 4 years.

It has happened before. She has scarring from being intubated when she was born so every minor infection goes straight to her chest. Her first admission was at 5 weeks, she'd been home a week. From there it's been monthly, this was her 4th admission the rest of the time they'd been happy to release her. TBD said that her x-ray showed scarring on her lungs, I think that it's getting worse each time as each one leaves her more scarred.