I witnessed how fucked up the NHS is

[Bloom15]

Last night I had an asthma attack and got a taxi to the nearest A and E. it was like a scene from a zombie movie!

I was rushed through triage and given 2 nebulisers and some oxygen, along with some steroids. After I was stable I was told to wait in the waiting area. It was mostly full of people on drugs, drunks and people asleep on the row of chairs surrounded by multiple carrier bags. I am not trying to disparage these people as they were also patients and needed to be seen. Just describing the waiting room at 11pm on a Bank Holiday Monday in a city centre a and e department.

After 6 hours I still hadn't been seen by a doctor but had to leave as my DS was staying over at my parents and they were dropping him off at 8 am as they were going on holiday. My DH was stuck in Newcastle following a stag break and couldn't get home at 4am. Usually I could have stayed.

Now I am at home with a tight chest (DH rushed home early but a taxi from Newcastle to Liverpool at 5am was too much money). I tried to call my GP for an appointment to get more steroids but after 45 minutes of ringing from 8 there were no appointments left.

This is not the fault of the doctors, nurses, other staff, any patients. This is the fault of this government dragging the NHS to the brink. Please vote them out in May

I don't know enough about this but I don't understand why staff (special security staff maybe?) can't be stricter with who actually enters A&E especially of an evening. The drunk overdramatic gang of friends accompanying someone who just needs a butterfly to a cut eye brow cos he got in a fight - why are they all allowed in? And the man told to go home and patch himself up till the morning when he can go to a walk in centre?

As for the addicts sleeping across the chairs seemingly not actually NEEDING to be in the A&E waiting room. Are there not facilities for people like that which would house them for the night? That ISN'T a hospital? Even though my experience at the Royal getting seen was good, if you'd led a bit of a sheltered life or were an older person, or from a quiet village, it must be a bit shocking to see an addict get all jittery slapping themselves then go outside to their dealer and then come in, throw food at their feet and then go to sleep across all the chairs. It certainly intimidated my DS a bit. I don't know.....the waiting room wasn't full so maybe as it was a quietish night the security didn't mind them staying there, and the cleaners didn't mind picking up all their crap and half eaten (free) food they'd just thrown around at their feet?

A and E has always been a bit of an eye opener in my experience.

I hope you feel better soon OP.

Nearly three weeks ago I had an urgent X-ray requested by the GP so I could be referred to the early arthritis clinic. Had my X-ray same day which was great however we are still waiting for the results as it could take up to 3 weeks for the x-ray to be read. In the meantime I’m deteriorating and the GP can’t do much as the results aren’t back. I’ve made a private rheumatologist appointment but even that is 6 week wait.

Asthma attacks are scary (terrifying) things. I hope you're feeling better.

Are you able to get access to a breathing clinic (sorry, don't know what they're called - I'm assuming they still exist, my mum went to one).

It’s really bad. I didn’t realise how bad things have gotten until recently. I mean I knew it was bad but I thought that life threatening emergencies would still be seen in time.

But my uncle recently died. He collapsed one evening and my aunt phoned for an ambulance and was told they would have a long wait for one.

She was also told not to try to get him to A&E by other means as it was only accepting suspected stroke victims.

The following afternoon an ambulance arrived. He died soon after he arrived at the hospital.

Your poor mum, that's awful - hope she is ok now

Thanks - my husband says I am far too blasé about my asthma but I have had it for 30 years.

I am under an asthma clinic - last couple of appointments were phone ones (so, pointless) but I am there in August

Oh my gosh I am so sorry to hear this - it is disgusting.

It is much worse than I have ever seen it. I was shocked

We lived in the west country for almost 20 years working for the NHS and while things were bad they weren't north west of England bad, where we currently live. We have been beyond gobsmacked. Next time the partner is just going to have to die at home....

I'm from the north east originally and I have been speechless at just how bad the Manchester area is. Thing is, it isn't all to do with money, at least some of it is to do with unsuitable over promoted "leaders" who don't know how to allocate resources.

Partner trained as a nurse in apartheid South Africa, working in EDs where the gangs had to hand in their machetes before nurses would treat them, but there apparently enough physical space for them to do so.

The ED she spent time in recently was more like a chicken coop and so badly laid out I was beyond appalled.

Once out of ED it was like a different hospital.

Sorry you had such a bad experience OP.

I don't think it's very complicated. I work for an acute trust and have done for 30 odd years. I've seen several governments come and go but the NHS is always handsdown much better managed under labour and that includes recruitment of nurses and doctors.

Also, OP - when you finally do get through to the doctor, or asthma nurse , it might be worth you having a rescue pack of steroids in case the same thing happens again if you have certain triggers. you could explain what happened to you. You sound like you know your illness pretty well.

How have things gotten so stretched in the last few years?

Sorry if this is a stupid question but why all the delays with being seen now? Are there more people and less nhs staff or what?

She was having an asthma attack.

You cannot wait.

The people with multiple carrier bags are more than likely homeless

As long as they sleep quietly in a corner, security guards tend to leave them alone

Saw a couple when I went to an urgent treatment centre for a UTI

TBF, the cause of a lot of A&Es' troubles tend to be the people coming through the doors

When you're the last warm place open, the vulnerable, the lonely, the maladjusted and the outright freaks show up

Mix that in with drunks and their booze bruises, habitual drug addicts and their enabling friends, the worried well who can't get a GP appointment, the genuinely ill who can't get a GP appointment and the genuinely sick and injured who do need to be there and it's fucking havoc

If there was a drunk tank staffed with medically supervised orderlies for the addicts and drunks, there would be far less chaos

I hope they get in soon. It was so sad - the homeless people should have other places to go. The people with addiction issues need proper. Such a sad indictment of how it has been run down to the ground

Yeah I don't blame homeless people staying over. It is warm and safe - where else can they go

You have to give them/tories credit re 111 and Minior Injureis Units - as we've had to use them recently - These two sites have improved vastly since Covid

However, A&E needs a lot of help

I hope you are well soon, OP

@DistinguishedSocialCommentator why? 111 are useful in my experience and my DC.

They seem to say A&E for everything. Often saying an ambulance is required when it really isn't

Exactly what I said ie, 111 are pretty good - recently they got me an emergency dentist - a few months ago, they got our DC an urgent appt with an out of hours doctor

The minor injuries units often less of a wait then A&E for urine test, simple stuff etc

Apols for not being clear intially

A&E won't be fixed until the issues at the bottom are fixed.

Sort out the care system so people can be discharged into the appropriate care and not bed blocking.

Sort out social services so they can assess and assist people in need of care quicker.

Sort out GP surgeries so the daily 8am rat run isn't a thing and people can see a GP in a timely fashion.

And on and on up the chain it goes.

Sorry but I can’t give the Tories credit for introducing 111 when they brought it in to replace the far superior NHS Direct service. Calls to NHS Direct were taken by senior nurses who could give medical advice, whereas 111 is really just a triage service.

If they were non urgent they shouldn’t be in A&E

Yes the system is broken but it’s not helped by people who could use other services clogging it up

I’d like to take conservative voters on tours of our local a&e, the corridors are filled with patients on trolleys. It’s awful.