Unhelpful A & E receptionist

arma

Hi
What many of you have gone through is really unfortunate. Being in the NHS I feel sad about the state of affairs and god knows what is going to happen when more A&E departments are closed to save money and not enough staff are employed to provide adequate care.
I would encourage all of you to raise your concerns with patient advice and liason(PALS) as a starting point.

[Deleted User]

From what my gf's told me in the past (she's an A&E triage nurse) 30 minutes is a very short time to be waiting. The 'breach time' is 4 hours - the time in which you must be seen without the hospital loosing any money.

Did you give your child any pain relief before you left for A&E? What steps had you made to cool her down?

They couldn't deal with your DD quicker because most A&E run overstretched. They've reduced the number of staff available to the minimum and they work their ars*s off - my gf will get 30 mins break within her 12 1/2 shift.

Money_Maker_Shaker

Actually the 4 hours breech time is for your treatment to have been finished and you've either been admitted for further observation or dscharged - not for you to have been seen. As someone who often works in A&E I'd say that 30mins for initial triage is a little long, particuarly for a young child.

Its probably worth you phoning the hospitals PALS (pt services) dept or dropping them a note as without getting feedback like this sometimes we can be a little oblivious to what has happened.

I also think the comment made in pink_phantoms post is probably true as it rarely is meningitis and she might have been trying to be reassuring in a very clumsy way.

Glad to hear everything is alright now though.

Best wishes

MMS

Miss_Money

im very lucky where i live as we have a special kids A&E and when DD was very poorly with a misdiagnosed ear/throat infection and stopped breathing we were seen steaight away. Our doc had misdiagnosed it as a chest infection and given the wrong meds so she got worse not better. but the staff were lovely and got her treated straight away.

gravitytolls

I am going back several years (11 in fact).

DS3 had been vomiting, and was bringing up blood. The previous day we'd been to a wedding reception, and thought he may have food poisoning from the buffet.

Anyhoo, we arrived at A&E, and our details were taken. Despite him being only 21 mths old, and vomiting blood, very very sleepy (limp in my arms), we were told to take aseat. The board said waiting was 7 hrs.

DH asked at reception if we'd have to wait that long, and she agreed we would.

As I shifted him in my arms, his trouser leg went up, and I saw bruises on his legs.
Without another thought, I was barging my way through to the nurses and cubicles shouting 'he' sgot bruises on his legs, he's got bruises on his legs.' We were immediately taken into a side room. Dr came, bloods were taken, a drip was inserted, and the process of making him better began.

It wasn't meningitis, but we were told to prepare ourselves for the worst, as he was a very sick little boy, who ended up staying in hospital for a week.

The thing is, having been told we could lose him, what would've happened if I hadn't reacted the weay I did? If we'd sat in A&E for up to 7 hrs, he'd've died.

I agree that young children really should be assessed immediately, if possible, as their condition can deteriorate so very quickly.

milkfloatquack

OMG 7 hours! Have to say I agree with Ringo - I don't think 30 minutes is all that bad to wait for triage - and the 3 children that went in front may have had equally or more worrying symptoms.

Carmina_Piranha_3

gravity that's so scary!!

i had a miscarriage in A and E, it wasn't nice! they were very busy, and with it being evening the waiting room was full of drunks who'd been fighting. there's only one female toilet, one male and one disabled. i was the only person miscarrying i think, but you'd think there would be more loos for people who are being sick etc. too. and enough loo roll - some people put an entire loo roll against a cut hand! and it hurt more than i expected - the receptionist was quite frosty when i asked if it was okay to take painkillers!

everyone thinks they should be priority i suppose, but children can deteriorate very quickly, and people vomiting or bleeding a lot need privacy. losing a baby should not be witnessed by a hundred jeering strangers - luckily i was seen before the worst of it happened.

i suppose if the staff are really overworked and don't get the proper breaks they must be tired and dehydrated which doesn't help their mood.

but small children ought to be seen, or at least assessed more quickly. A and E is not a child-friendly place. even if they are not too ill a child should not have to sit in a room with yelling drunks/women losing babies/post-watershed TV on.

plane_boy2000

We come under north bristol NHS and I had a pretty low opinion of them through my partners maternity experiences - lest one was did she want to go home staright after delivery as there were no beds and they needed the delivery suite back!

My opinion has now changed as our youngest son was ill last year. He had been ill for a few days so we took him to our GP who was concerned that he could not find anything specific so as a precautionary messure asked us to take him to the hospital. They were fantastic - gave him his own room with a bed so that my partner could stay with him 24/7. They diagnosed him as having an infection, and a few days later he was back home. A month later he bacame ill again and our GP was concerned so refered him back to the hospital who once again were fantastic - very attentive and very quick.

My partner is also a mental health nurse so she knows the systems quite well, and she was impressed although it was clear that childrens wards obvioulsly get more funding than some of the other areas

LondonDiva

madison's_mum wrote:

Had a v worrying time on Weds, DD (just turned 3) had had temp since Mon & had been throwing up & full of cold. On weds she woke up with a purple rash which didn't go when i did the glass test, so of course i panicked & immediately assumed "shes got meningitis".

Sorry to hear about your anxiety

madison's_mum wrote:

When i got to the hospital tho & explained to the receptionist just very off-handedly said "oh everyone worries about the rash, its never anything to worry about" !!!!!!!! We then had to wait about half an hour while 3 other people went thru triage so by the time we went in it had spread & her temp was 39.9 & we got taken straight thru to the back of A & E & then had 4 hours on the childrens ward. I thought they prioritised little kids?

1, she was probably trying to reassure you and what you've taken as off hand will probably have been useful in diffusing and calming an anxious and panicked parent on many occasions
2, A&E's and emmergency services prioritise on the basis of need first rather than how long you've been in the queue or waiting
3, It's good to try to deal with children as soon as possible, but doesn't always mean anything. My niece broke her leg & went to an A&E with a specialised children's bit - she was triaged and waiting to be seen for over 1-2 hours. Others came after her, but I assumed that they were more urgent that we were.

madison's_mum wrote:

Luckily it was just a viral infection which had brought her out in a rash but i just cant help thinking what if it did turn out to be worse, she isn't a doctor & hadn't seen the spots!!

You can take this bit up with the PALS if you want, as there may be questions about how their triage works. However, your daughter was seen within half an hour and so the decision to prioritise others seems to have been correct.

Carmina_Piranha_3

off topic - but how many people would want a child with suspected meningitis in the same waiting room as their own child? the GP surgery keeps infectious people waiting separately so as not to infect the whole room.