My experience of A&E

Nicki

The impression you are giving is that because you felt very unwell waiting in A&E, the nurse should have allocated you a higher category in the triage system, even if you didn’t meet her clinical criteria for this at the time you were seen.

You argue that just because you didn’t die overnight whilst waiting for the GP appointment, the nurse couldn’t have known for a certainty that you wouldn’t. But the nurse recommended that you wait to be seen by the doctor and you left AMA. Had you waited to be seen, and got worse whilst waiting, you may we’ll have been reclassified to a higher priority if your condition had genuinely become critical.

Just because you couldn’t see it, others in the waiting room, or receiving area from ambulance runs, might also have been feeling as unwell, and been waiting longer than you. Or as has been pointed out, could have been receiving lengthy treatment in a critical condition whilst you were waiting.

Nobody is saying that triage nurses are infallible and never make mistakes. But nothing you have posted in this thread suggests a mistake was made in your case.
The fact is you chose to phone 111 and visit A&E after several days of being unwell rather than seeing your GP. You chose not to wait in A&E because you were well enough to go home and watch TV in bed to take your mind off things and when you saw your GP the following day, admission was arranged for you quickly and easily.

Mrs_Ryan

daveyjp wrote: »

And that in a nutshell is why A&E has problems.

People attending with medical issues which should be dealt with by a GP.

Chest infection is neither accident or emergency, so expect a wait.

My dad was taken to hospital in the middle of the night a few weeks ago.
He also has dementia, plus COPD and a weak heart. Diagnosis was a chest infection but he was fighting for breath and needed a nebuliser several times in the night. Given his weak heart him fighting constantly for breath was very dangerous.
Still think he should have waited for the morning for their admittedly useless GP who had caused this worsening by failing to give him the correct medication?! (Had told him he didn’t need medication and it would go away by itself. Mmmm yeah right- didn’t read his records)

Murphybear

I had the following experience.

About 10 years ago I also had major GI problems. My OH ran Devon Doctors which was the out of hours local service. They told him to take me to their department which was a part of the main hospital in Exeter. They were waiting for us and I was admitted immediately. This was around midnight.

I was seriously ill and was in there for 4 weeks, the staff and care was amazing.

humptydumptybits

Murphybear wrote: »

I had the following experience.

About 10 years ago I also had major GI problems. My OH ran Devon Doctors which was the out of hours local service. They told him to take me to their department which was a part of the main hospital in Exeter. They were waiting for us and I was admitted immediately. This was around midnight.

I was seriously ill and was in there for 4 weeks, the staff and care was amazing.

It was Devon Doctors who saw my son and arranged for the emergency treatment he received. I couldn't have been more impressed. As the drama unfolded I was thinking everyone who moans about the NHS should see this. Perhaps we are particularly blessed in Devon? A friend was visiting from the city we come from and whilst here had a heart attack, not his first, and he was amazed at the level of care.

Cyclizine

Mrs_Ryan wrote: »

My dad was taken to hospital in the middle of the night a few weeks ago.
He also has dementia, plus COPD and a weak heart. Diagnosis was a chest infection but he was fighting for breath and needed a nebuliser several times in the night. Given his weak heart him fighting constantly for breath was very dangerous.
Still think he should have waited for the morning for their admittedly useless GP who had caused this worsening by failing to give him the correct medication?! (Had told him he didn’t need medication and it would go away by itself. Mmmm yeah right- didn’t read his records)

This has nothing to do with what the OP did. The Emergency Department is for emergencies, as what you described was. If you'd tried to make a GP appointment, you'd've been told to go to the ED.

Cyclizine

Manxman_in_exile wrote: »

Cyclizine wrote: »

I'd be very grateful if you would explain what impression you feel that I'm giving? That might give me some insight as to why some posters believe that I'm in the wrong and A&E triage nurses never make mistakes - or at least that seems to be the implicit assumption of some posters..

Nicki above has summed this up nicely. Again - I sympathise with you, but can you see why some of us with coalface experience may disagree with you?

fred246

It reminds me of the people who go on TripAdvisor. "I went to this world renowned restaurant with my girlfriend on Valentine's Day and they refused to give me a table because I hadn't booked 1* TERRIBLE". Everyone else thinks what a nutcase it's common sense that you would have to book a table. You were about to be seen by the doctor and admitted but you chose to go home instead. I think there is probably a bit of "see me now or I'll go home". They just let you go home. That was your decision. The only other option is to section you under the mental health acts.

BananaRepublic

My experience of the NHS has been excellent. The sight in one eye went wonky, 12 hours later it was still weird, so I checked online and discovered it might be PVD or retinal detachment. I rang the NHS helpline and was told to go to A&E immediately. Half an hour later, I was checked, told I was next, and waited 3 hours. At four in the morning I was seen by a doctor who said I needed to see an opthalmologist soon. I drove home, got two hours rest, drove to the eye hospital, waited an hour or so, and had my retinas examined, where I was given the okay as it was PVD as I suspected. I suppose some would complain at waiting three hours, but it was the wee hours of the morning, and it was not a life threatening condition.

Yes, they called it the Emergency Department which confused me no end. The road signs said A&E so I spent ages looking for A&E and then deciding that some idiot renamed it Emergency Department.

Oh and the ophthalmologist applied dye, which meant my eyes were bright yellow without telling me. No wonder I got weird looks later on. :rotfl:

On a related issue, I saw a medic at a walk in NHS clinic, who said I would need a pace maker, and to see my GP ASAP. I got an emergency appointment the next day. In fact the medic was an idiot. Many months later I complained. They investigated, agreed that the clinical notes and ECG indicated a normal heart, and apologised. They explained that six weeks after my visit, the medic, a locum, was dismissed as a result of complaints from patients. They said my comments and the investigation notes would be passed in to the locum’s agency.

And finally, I was astonished that there is no central database. The eye hospital has no knowledge of my visit to the A&E hospital and the eye hospital. Their IT systems are primitive.

BananaRepublic

fred246 wrote: »

It reminds me of the people who go on TripAdvisor. "I went to this world renowned restaurant with my girlfriend on Valentine's Day and they refused to give me a table because I hadn't booked 1* TERRIBLE". Everyone else thinks what a nutcase it's common sense that you would have to book a table. You were about to be seen by the doctor and admitted but you chose to go home instead. I think there is probably a bit of "see me now or I'll go home". They just let you go home. That was your decision. The only other option is to section you under the mental health acts.

That’s not a very constructive or pleasant post. I can empathise with the OP. It sounds like the triage nurse got it wrong. One option is to complain. If the nurse got it wrong, and it was a gross error, then that is grounds for corrective action. As I said in my previous post, sometimes medics get it wrong. I actually think the one I saw behaved as he did because he liked touching up patients. I cannot prove that though. Whatever the truth, he was dismissed as a result of complaints by other people who objected to his manner.

fred246

The triage nurse said "wait to see the doctor". The OP said " no thanks. I am going home". In what way did the triage nurse get it wrong?