My experience of A&E

Manxman_in_exile

unforeseen wrote: »

Maybe they were all busy in Majors or Resus? Whose to say? You will never have enough staff to cover everything. That is where triage and prioritisation come into play.

Congratulations on such a short stay in A&E. My last trip there under blue light had me spend 7 hours there for suspected heart problems. It was only 7 hours because I refused to wait a further 2 hours for a further test.

Understood - and this is part of the problem with A&E. Complete uncertainty as to when you will be seen by a doctor as more and more people come in - some more urgent/higher priority than you. Although I note an earlier poster suggested that there is no triage in some A&Es.


Your seven hour wait makes me look like a whinging wimp!

tacpot12

People do wait in A&E for longer than 4 hours. If the average wait is 4hrs, and urgent cases get seen more quickly than this, it makes sense that some people are going to be waiting 6 hrs or more. This isn't good enough, but faced with a six to eight hour wait in A&E, if you are seriously ill, there is no choice but to wait. Leaving to go to the GP when you could be dead in the next couple of hours or so is not a rational decision.

A&E departments are rightly criticised for leaving people waiting on trolleys, etc. for many hours, but if those people deteriorate, they are in the best place to get help.

Perhaps you could ask the Chief Executive of the Trust to allow you speak to the NHS Manager responsible for Reception in the Emergency Department to see if together you can't improve the booking in process for all concerned?

Manxman_in_exile

tacpot12 wrote: »

People do wait in A&E for longer than 4 hours. If the average wait is 4hrs, and urgent cases get seen more quickly than this, it makes sense that some people are going to be waiting 6 hrs or more. This isn't good enough, but faced with a six to eight hour wait in A&E, if you are seriously ill, there is no choice but to wait. Leaving to go to the GP when you could be dead in the next couple of hours or so is not a rational decision.

A&E departments are rightly criticised for leaving people waiting on trolleys, etc. for many hours, but if those people deteriorate, they are in the best place to get help.

Perhaps you could ask the Chief Executive of the Trust to allow you speak to the NHS Manager responsible for Reception in the Emergency Department to see if together you can't improve the booking in process for all concerned?[/QUOTE]


I can assure you that my wife and I are both very rational, intelligent and well educated (three law degrees between us -and she's a solicitor). I appreciate what you are saying, but you weren't there. I can assure you that in the circumstances, returning home was a rational thing to do and I certainly don't regret doing so. After I was discharged from hospital I thought I had been more likely to drop dead in A&E rather than at home. At home I immediately became less anxious and stopped sweating, knowing we'd see my GP nest day.


I shall be writing two letters to hospital management. One a letter of praise for the excellent care I received as an inpatient and one questioning how A&E is run. I may write to the CEO. I personally knew the previous CEO because we used to work together and I would have contacted her directly if she was still in post.

Comms69

Too many people go to A&E inappropriately, it really is that simple

lincroft1710

I was told by a doctor I saw in A & E last year that if you ring 111 they nearly always advise you to go to A & E. He didn't seem to be impressed by the service.

Manxman_in_exile

lincroft1710 wrote: »

I was told by a doctor I saw in A & E last year that if you ring 111 they nearly always advise you to go to A & E. He didn't seem to be impressed by the service.

That is the problem. Or at least one of them...

Manxman_in_exile

Aaaarrrggh!


My wife noticed a problem with her eyes last night. She got a cancelled optician's appointment this afternoon. He's told her to go to A&E as there is no eye clinic over the weekend!!!


I don't know whether to laugh or to cry!!!

happyandcontented

Deja Vous! Good luck.

BlueDog12

I had a fairly positive experience of A&E last month. Was asked to attend by diabetic nurse who told them I was on my way. Arrived and reception was aware I was coming and I was asked to go to triage.

Had a slight wait of 10 minutes in triage where blood glucose and ketones were checked. Then in the cubicle next door bloods were taken and an ECG was done by an HCA.

I was aware that beds in A&E were full, so I had to wait in the waiting area until the blood results came back.

I waited about 30 minutes drinking almost 2 litres of water from the free water machine, seriously dehydrated.

Doctor then came out and took me to a bed where I was treated with fluids. Spent about 3 hours there before being moved to a ward where I spent two nights.

I can only praise all the staff for the care I had. My diagnosis was DKA.

Now if only the mental health team were as good!

Frogletina

My grandson who is 5, and autistic, fell on his hand, hurting his finger, first at school, and then at home. He wouldn't let my daughter look closely at his hand and was screaming in pain, unable to explain how bad it was due to his autism.

My daughter was worried that he had damaged it and took him, and his 3 year old brother, to A&E where he was triaged, and she was still there 6 hours later by which time it was midnight and by then he was crying because he was so tired and wanted to go home.

My daughter with 2 very tired children asked how much longer she would have to wait and was told it could be another 4 hours. So she gave up and went home.

Fortunately, my grandson was fine in the morning, and on examining the finger my daughter was no longer worried about it.

So, maybe she shouldn't have taken him - but 6-10 hours wait for a 5 year old? And if the triage nurse wasn't able to assess that he didn't need to be there, how was my daughter able to assess that herself?

frogletina