Unhelpful A & E receptionist

Penny-Pincher!!

madison's_mum wrote:

No it was the conquest in hastings. maybe it's something to do with being on the south coast!!

I hate this hospital! My sister went in 2 weeks ago for a Hysterectomy, but she went private at the Bupa hospital next door and was treated very well.

PP
xx

lebly

I have to say i made a complaint against a gp. In the end it was a complete white wash! It was stressful and they seem to side with their own!

MrsTinks

I live next to 2 nurses (and lovely they are too!) and whilst both have done stints in A&E they have both moved to other areas to specialize. One is the ward sister of the paediatric ward so specialising in children and her advice (and mine - I spent years with my ex who's a paramedic listening to him and also working with St Johns myself) is if you are severely concerned then call an ambulance. Firstly it will be able to get to you quick and start emergency treatment if needed, but also who-ever is driving you can't attend or help you if something gets worse and it's incredibly distressing and distracting if you or the child gets worse. Other motorists don't know you have a potential medical emergency in the car!
If it had been meningitis then the paramedic would probably have been able to get you through triage faster and if they were certain it wasn't they probably could havere-assured you. With a temperature as high as 39.9 though I suspect they might have radioed ahead to warn A&E to have someone on standy.
I'm not saying call an ambulance for everything, but in cases like this where you are truely worried then use them... it's what they are there for and what they are trained for...

MrsTinks

I live next to 2 nurses (and lovely they are too!) and whilst both have done stints in A&E they have both moved to other areas to specialize. One is the ward sister of the paediatric ward so specialising in children and her advice (and mine - I spent years with my ex who's a paramedic listening to him and also working with St Johns myself) is if you are severely concerned then call an ambulance. Firstly it will be able to get to you quick and start emergency treatment if needed, but also who-ever is driving you can't attend or help you if something gets worse and it's incredibly distressing and distracting if you or the child gets worse. Other motorists don't know you have a potential medical emergency in the car!
If it had been meningitis then the paramedic would probably have been able to get you through triage faster and if they were certain it wasn't they probably could havere-assured you. With a temperature as high as 39.9 though I suspect they might have radioed ahead to warn A&E to have someone on standy.
I'm not saying call an ambulance for everything, but in cases like this where you are truely worried then use them... it's what they are there for and what they are trained for...

LondonDiva

tine wrote:

I live next to 2 nurses (and lovely they are too!) and whilst both have done stints in A&E they have both moved to other areas to specialize. One is the ward sister of the paediatric ward so specialising in children and her advice (and mine - I spent years with my ex who's a paramedic listening to him and also working with St Johns myself) is if you are severely concerned then call an ambulance. Firstly it will be able to get to you quick and start emergency treatment if needed, but also who-ever is driving you can't attend or help you if something gets worse and it's incredibly distressing and distracting if you or the child gets worse. Other motorists don't know you have a potential medical emergency in the car!
If it had been meningitis then the paramedic would probably have been able to get you through triage faster and if they were certain it wasn't they probably could havere-assured you. With a temperature as high as 39.9 though I suspect they might have radioed ahead to warn A&E to have someone on standy.
I'm not saying call an ambulance for everything, but in cases like this where you are truely worried then use them... it's what they are there for and what they are trained for...

No no no no no no no no no.

Please, please always use common sense when even thinking about an ambulance.

you should only call one in cases of immediate and life threatening danger / need. If you are ambulatory, please get up and go to A&E or go to your GP for an emmergency appointment.

In this particular instance the decision not to prioritise the child (although there may be some questions about how it was done) was absolutely correct and there would have proved to be no advantage to calling an ambulance other than to divert the resource away from someone with a real problem that is unable to get help.

LondonDiva

Someone posted a link on a report after a health minister had shadowed 7 staff for a day...

It quickly became clear that, while there was plenty of activity, this A&E on this particular summer night was dealing with far more As than Es. I don’t in any way seek to trivialise the obvious difficulties that some patients were in, but it is certainly the case that many of them could have been quite properly treated elsewhere.

What I had not expected was the extent to which this was a cause of frustration for all the staff. Reception staff, ambulance staff, nurses and doctors all spoke of the relentless pressure it placed on the unit. It was not the pressure itself that was the problem – staff expect that in A&E – it was more that much of it was seen as avoidable and wasteful of staff skills and resources.

At around 11pm, this point was brought home starkly. Tracey was deep in conversation with a team of two paramedics from the London Ambulance Service (LAS). One of the crew didn’t look at all pleased, shaking his head and waving a bit of paper. ‘He’s the man you need to speak to,’ said Tracey, pointing in my direction.

The paramedic came over and showed me the job sheet for the patient that the LAS had just brought in. In the box detailing the nature of the emergency were the words: ‘CUT FINGER OPENING TIN.’ He said: ‘I’ve been flying round South London on a blue light, putting the public at risk, just to get to a f***ing paper cut!’

http://www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/14/25/54/04142554.pdf
http://www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/14/25/56/04142556.pdf

Morglin

"No it was the conquest in hastings. maybe it's something to do with being on the south coast!!"

Penny-Pincher!! wrote:

I hate this hospital! My sister went in 2 weeks ago for a Hysterectomy, but she went private at the Bupa hospital next door and was treated very well.

PP
xx

Since I moved down to East Sussex, I've hated the Conquest - usually a 15 mile drive and then 5 hours wait.........:mad:

Then, galloping MRSA if they keep you there........:mad:

But, I do have to be fair here - last week, OH (who has a history of heart problems), had some chest pains and we thought it was best to get to A&E fairly swiftly.

They were great - he saw 4 doctors (one a cardiac consultant), and the nurses couldn't have been nicer. Tests were done and results returned quickly - I'm usually the first to slate the NHS, but I can't complain about them last week.

The only thing that did alarm me was that, at one point, they thought he'd be better staying there, but due to the Conquest downgrading, they were going to transfer him to Brighton (80 miles away), which is allegedly our "local" hospital for cardiac now that Ms Hewitt has kindly improved the NHS so much for us all.............:rolleyes: :eek:

It would be quicker and easier to transfer him 50 miles to London.........;)

Luckily, he didn't have to stay in.:j

Best thing the OP can do is complain - I give them hell if they play me up............I've spent too many years dealing with NHS staff who can't be bothered to be civil.

Lin

pulliptears

tazz233 wrote:

:eek: I am so sorry! This wasn't at the Royal Sussex at Brighton was it?
A couple of months ago, My mum had a severe reaction to her chemotherapy and was being very ill with a temperature. We phoned the nurses and they told us to take her to A and E. We then waited for one hour while she was being sick in the waiting room. Eventually we were taken to a side room, where we waited for 3 hours to see a doctor. We were told this was normal! We were outraged at the service- Chemotherapy is dreadful at the best of times but when you have been sick constantly for 24 hours.. she was dehydrated and extremely faint.

Sorry had to get that off my chest!

My father was admitted to the North Staffs A+E a few weeks ago, he had been bought in for blocked bowel by his GP but within hours of arriving in A+E he became severely neutropenic from his chemotherapy. We waited in A+E for 5 hours with him stuck in a cubicle being sick waiting for a transfer to oncology wards. It took all day. Unsurprisingly his neutropenic state became so bad he almost died.
He has now refused to have his remaining chemo sessions. And frankly, I dont blame him. The network of McMillan and District Nurses is outstanding, but hospital support is zero.

lebly

No no no no no no no no no.

Please, please always use common sense when even thinking about an ambulance.

you should only call one in cases of immediate and life threatening danger / need. If you are ambulatory, please get up and go to A&E or go to your GP for an emmergency appointment.

In this particular instance the decision not to prioritise the child (although there may be some questions about how it was done) was absolutely correct and there would have proved to be no advantage to calling an ambulance other than to divert the resource away from someone with a real problem that is unable to get help.

This is not actually allways the case. An injury or illness does not have to be life threatening in order to need an ambulance particularly where children or the elderly are concerned. Some problems require the patient to be escourted to hospital in an ambulance if you cannot get hld of GP try NHS direct.

If you are unsure what is wrong and are concerned particularly in cases of v high temps etc yes call they will also advise over the phone if they can. I have had to have an ambulance at my house 4 times everyone justified but I would not say that at anyone time someone was on the brink of death.

Carmina_Piranha_3

i've had an ambulance called for me by my GP, he did say each time that it was life threatening. not very reassuring to hear him argue about a one hour wait, he actually said that would be too late :eek:

i think nowadays so many mums are scared to bother their GP so the hospital has more to deal with.

but a fear of meningitis in a little one must be so scary, i've never had to deal with it and i only know 2 children who have had it and in both cases they died and their parents say it was because of delays in treatment. i don't know anyone who has been successfully treated. so i suspect that if i thought my baby had meningitis i would want to get seen immediately.