At what point to contact the A&E?

j.e.j.

JCD_Capulet wrote: »

I took myself to hospital aged sixteen, hobbled to the bus stop with a dislocated leg, traveled eight miles in excruciating agony on the bus, hobbled in, waited for hours then hobbled to the bus stop for the journey home with crutches.

I am not sure exactly what the criteria are for justifying calling an ambulance, or if there are any. If someone is unable to walk I would have thought it'd be ok to call an ambulance, but I agree obviously they can't just taxi everybody to and from the hospital.

I think it's a case of either asking friends or family to drive you there, or having a bit of cab fare in the house in case of emergencies.

pmduk

I've seen figures ranging from £299-£342 for the cost of an ambulance journey. No offence meant to the OP, but in this economic climate where will this money come from? Using ambulances for such journeys will almost certainly lead to cuts elsewhere in the NHS.

There is an argument to use taxis in these circumstances, but whether the NHS should fund them is a different can of worms.

JCD_Capulet

j.e.j. wrote: »

I am not sure exactly what the criteria are for justifying calling an ambulance, or if there are any. If someone is unable to walk I would have thought it'd be ok to call an ambulance, but I agree obviously they can't just taxi everybody to and from the hospital.

I think it's a case of either asking friends or family to drive you there, or having a bit of cab fare in the house in case of emergencies.

Yep I agree, but when I was sixteen my mind was quite set on such things.

The last time I dislocated my leg, back in 2002ish when it went very badly (I was out dancing with friends at the time then the joint came loose, leg rotated 45degrees and I fell to the floor on my left side causing my now rotated left leg to be sicking out from my body at a near 45 angle whilst I lay on the floor screaming my head off) I had no problem with an ambulance being called and was very thankful for their attendance and the gas and air which helped calm me down whilst they pulled it into place (I sent a box of chocolates and flowers to the club for it's staff by way of thanks in helping me as much as they could).

But back when I was sixteen I was what my mum's ex used to call 'a political warrior' (but he was a d*ck). If I could hobble and hop - all be it in extreme pain - to get myself to hospital then that's what I'd have done. I was not happy about taking from the public purse when I still had the strength to do it on my own. But the last time it happened as I mentioned above, there was no way I'd have been able to get myself out of the club and off to hospital with my leg sticking out like that and gravity putting weight down on the torn ligaments etc.

Ratboy

custardy wrote: »

you werent booted out
you werent admitted,so what 'care' were you expecting?

Well I 'was' admitted, and expect the care that any NHS patient receives..

Even though they took 2 hours to see me, and didn't prescribe anything, other than the 'Anti sickness pill', that I already have, that means you eat more, but also, have uncontrolable fits of the !!!!!!.

An ambulance picks you up, in your time of need, you are ill, you need to get to hospital.

Then the hospital chucks you out, after patching you up, make your own way home.

JCD_Capulet

Ratboy wrote: »

Well I 'was' admitted, and expect the care that any NHS patient receives..

Even though they took 2 hours to see me, and didn't prescribe anything, other than the 'Anti sickness pill', that I already have, that means you eat more, but also, have uncontrolable fits of the !!!!!!.

An ambulance picks you up, in your time of need, you are ill, you need to get to hospital.

Then the hospital chucks you out, after patching you up, make your own way home.

They took two hours to see you because it wasn't an emergency. If upon inspection by the paramedics they came to the conclusion that your life was in danger you'd have been rushed through the doors and straight into the care of a medical team.

If you're that bothered by the totally adequate treatment you received why not write a letter to your MP and see how you get on with that.

Ratboy

JCD_Capulet wrote: »

They took two hours to see you because it wasn't an emergency. If upon inspection by the paramedics they came to the conclusion that your life was in danger you'd have been rushed through the doors and straight into the care of a medical team.

If you're that bothered by the totally adequate treatment you received why not write a letter to your MP and see how you get on with that.

I think you mean 'inadequate', I presume the paramedics presumed I was in some form of harm, otherwise they wouldn't have transported me to hospital, after giving me an ECG, blood pressure tests, and diabetes tests....

Even then I refused to go to hospital, as my partner called the NHS helpline, for advice, that called 999...

FYI, I HAVE contacted my MP and the local health authority, and both are less than useless, and prove their worth as corrupt, and useless,..

Fire_Fox

If you both quit smoking you will have more cash and reduced risks of both physical and mental health problems including a stronger immune system. Even if you don't smoke yourself, the second hand smoke on your partner's person can affect you.

Ambulances are used when you are physically incapable (not financially) of transporting yourself OR when it is thought you might be an emergency case. By the time you needed to go home you had been diagnosed, not admitted (if you had you'd have been in more than a few hours and got a bed on a ward) and deemed non urgent.

custardy

Ratboy wrote: »

Well I 'was' admitted, and expect the care that any NHS patient receives..

Even though they took 2 hours to see me, and didn't prescribe anything, other than the 'Anti sickness pill', that I already have, that means you eat more, but also, have uncontrolable fits of the !!!!!!.

An ambulance picks you up, in your time of need, you are ill, you need to get to hospital.

Then the hospital chucks you out, after patching you up, make your own way home.

so you were moved to a ward from A&E then?
2 hours for feeling a bit sick. seems fair
I sat for 9 with a dislocated shoulder.

KxMx

We don't drive however could ask a neighbour in an emergency; but we have a small pot of taxi money saved up for just such emergences. There is no reason why most can't do this!

pmduk

Ratboy wrote: »

I presume the paramedics presumed I was in some form of harm, otherwise they wouldn't have transported me to hospital, after giving me an ECG, blood pressure tests, and diabetes tests....

You presume wrong, if a patient insists on being taken to hospital, ambulance crews, unfortunately have no right to refuse to take them.

Patients insisting on misusing facilities should be charged the full cost of them.