At what point to contact the A&E?

lostinrates

Thanks for the clarification jojo.

I think that my approach to hospital is different where I am now than it was when I was in a city, for example. (Where a taxi would not have been that much longer if I was in a quandary if it was serious but perhaps not deadly) .

j.e.j.

I think as well, people who work in the nhs know what words (or jargon) to use in order to communicate the message across, and hence they're taken more seriously and don't suffer as many of the frustrations the rest of us mere mortals do

An elderly lady had fallen over in the street near us, and as sheer luck would have it, a passer-by happened to be a nurse, and she was able to explain when calling 999 that the lady had lacerations, and she went into detail about the lady's injuries. An ambulance was soon on its way to her, thankfully.

I think being elderly it was a slightly different situation, anyway, and she was transported back home via the non-emergency ambulance, but I do think it helps a lot if you're 'in the know' as it were!

brook2jack

The last time I was in a and e as a patient the person next to me in the shorter urgent queue was a gp who had severed their finger in a door. There was a window of opportunity for it to be sewn on which was four hours. I was also waiting with quite an urgent problem along with a soldier who was due to fly out to Afganistan in a few hours but had been knocked out in training and needed to be assessed for concussion and someone who had been flown in on an air ambulance having been injured in a ski accident.

All of us waited well over the four hours. The gp and I could certainly talk the talk , but the gp lost their finger because they were seen outside the four hour window and I developed problems. The gp, the soldier and myself were the only ones who didn't get irate and berate the a and e staff because we were aware there had been a major motorway incident and all the staff and surgeons were battling to save quite a few peoples lives.

It's not knowing the lingo, or who you know it's a question of priorities and in the end when it was announced in the waiting room there had been a major incident over half the people left rather than wait. These are people who should have gone to the access centre not a and e.

pmduk

ringo_24601 wrote: »

Are there any walk-in centres near you? They might have been more suitable for your treatment

Do they still exist? Most around this area have closed and I thought the Govt was closing them all.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

pmduk wrote: »

Do they still exist? Most around this area have closed and I thought the Govt was closing them all.

I'm registered as a normal patient at one. There's another one 3 miles away to the east, a minor injuries unit 2 miles away to the south.

kizkiz

As a police officer i have more cause than most to be calling ambulances (most days)
Working in london i can tell you that the LAS are sso stretched it's ridiculous. Getting an ambulance on a busy night pretty much needs you to be dying.
I've had people with nasty head injuries, drifting in and out of consciousness and vomiting, and no ambulances to send
We often go to the elderly who have fallen, hurt themsleves, and been on the floor for hours and can't get up - no ambulances (i waited 4 hours last time)
Unfortunately, too many people do call an ambulance when it isn't needed. There is a common misconeption that you get a quicker/better service at A and E if you get taken in by an ambulance, when in reality you will just get dumped in the waiting room and wait your turn if nothing urgently wrong with you.

lemonade_lifestyle

When you have been booked in, triaged, assessed, seen by doctor, re-observed by nurses on an admissions unit/ward, treated, had test results back, given medication and then been discharged you are NEITHER an Accident nor an Emergency!

A&E ambulances are not taxis. Please do not abuse the service we provide.