NHS A and E experience

I forgot to say that last week there were 164 patients in hospital beds there just bed blocking as there were no care home places or anywhere else for them to go to.

What a day for you! It’s what we hear all the time now isn’t it?
Corridor care, waiting room care because the trolleys and the beds are full.Ambulances queued up as well.
We have now become like a third world country where hospitals are concerned.

How awful for you. I hope that your husband recovers 💐

Sadly, well in my limited experience, there is no respect of age either.

They go by medical need. Which is fair enough I guess?

A&e, coming in by ambulance. nothing as bad as your experience.
But the same, on a smaller scale, around here.

To be fair, from the corridor point of view, apart from everyone squeezing past everyone else, and some lack of privacy[everyone was staring at the person I was with, even some medical staff], whether it was a corridor or somewhere else, made little difference.
It was at least warm enough.

It's shocking in so many places now, Primrose53, we dread the thought of having to go into hospital. Bed blocking is a big problem. We need convalescent homes.

The staff are coping as best they can, trying to treat patients in corridors; a friend spent three days on a chair in a corridor having been taken in by ambulance after a heart attack.

I hope your husband makes a good recovery.

So sorry Primrose53. I do know how dreadful A&E departments can be. The last time my DH had a fall and banged his head we waited in a corridor for 8 hours, he had a CT which showed a 3mm subdural bleed but said it was too small a bleed to have him admitted for and sent him home with instructions for me to look out for increased drowsiness, headaches, nausea, and confusion. Two days later he was complaining of headaches and feeling sick so we returned, 9 hours in A&E this time, my DH had a seat in the corridor again, but there were no seats left, people were sitting and lying on the floor, so I sat propped on the edge of a table, another CT, only for them to say the bleeding is stable so he was sent home again.
Is horrible. I just dread another fall.

It's a scary scenario being played out across the country and we haven't even started on the winter yet.
Too many people have no need to go to A&E. It stands for Accident & Emergency and if it's neither, then don't go. However, if people can't see a GP or are on a lengthy waiting list they think a trip to A&E might get some results.
We had a lovely Walk-In Centre nearby which was closed recently. Where will people with minor complaints go now? To A&E, that's where,

I was in the "come in by ambulance" side of things.
It wasnt good.
The actual ambulance came within 25 minutes. Which was acceptable for the person I was with.
Only 4 ambulances outside. Again, acceptable.
Her assessment was good enough too[they told me though, when I got there, that patient was outside when she was already inside, but I guess that happens]. [Though when you dont know what state a patient may really be in, it all adds up to precious minutes.]

It was after that, that you could see room had definitely run out.
And it was only 11am.
Though, in our case, it didnt get that much more crowded during that day[normal tuesday] than it already was.

4 ambulances outside the hospital when we got there.

Sarnia

It's a scary scenario being played out across the country and we haven't even started on the winter yet.
Too many people have no need to go to A&E. It stands for Accident & Emergency and if it's neither, then don't go. However, if people can't see a GP or are on a lengthy waiting list they think a trip to A&E might get some results.
We had a lovely Walk-In Centre nearby which was closed recently. Where will people with minor complaints go now? To A&E, that's where,

That’s exactly what the ambulance crew said Sarnia. Winter hasn’t started yet. Wait until people are falling down on ice and snow and people are getting colds and chest infections, hypothermia etc. I just can’t imagine what the hospital staff and ambulance crew have to contend with.

Hope your husband makes a speedy recovery

Primrose53

Sarnia

It's a scary scenario being played out across the country and we haven't even started on the winter yet.
Too many people have no need to go to A&E. It stands for Accident & Emergency and if it's neither, then don't go. However, if people can't see a GP or are on a lengthy waiting list they think a trip to A&E might get some results.
We had a lovely Walk-In Centre nearby which was closed recently. Where will people with minor complaints go now? To A&E, that's where,

That’s exactly what the ambulance crew said Sarnia. Winter hasn’t started yet. Wait until people are falling down on ice and snow and people are getting colds and chest infections, hypothermia etc. I just can’t imagine what the hospital staff and ambulance crew have to contend with.

People are falling down already. My DH broke his wrist badly on Thurday.
We had a choice, drive to the closest A&E or a little further to another large hospital a little further away or up in a northern direction to a minor injury dept. In a small hospital.
We chose the third option and it was the right one.
It was quiet, staffed by lovely people who were very efficient.
The parking was easy and the cafe excellent.
We were also not taking up space that those with more serious health issues needed more than my DH.
We need more of these , we don’t need them closing.

Should have edited, sorry. I will just say that all 3 options are at least 20miles away.

I am so sorry you went through this.

I was ambulance to.local a&e a few weeks ago and likewise spent several hours in the ambulance outside with this highly trained crew of 2 just twiddling their thumbs doing nothing. They said they spend a large amount of their time doing this.

I feel sorry for all the staff ... they are doing their very best and trying to provide good care against the odds. It must be soul-destroying.

I have spent a lot of time in A&E over the past year with my daughter who was undergoing treatment for cancer and needed frequent treatment that wasn't available in oncology. Yes we were in there for hours, more than 8 on several occasions, but we were triaged within 10 minutes and never did we feel that we were forgotten or pushed to the back of the queue. The nursing staff and drs managed to stay positive and dealt with stressed patients with calmness and efficiency. I cannot fault the treatment and care that we received.

Dancinjay

I have spent a lot of time in A&E over the past year with my daughter who was undergoing treatment for cancer and needed frequent treatment that wasn't available in oncology. Yes we were in there for hours, more than 8 on several occasions, but we were triaged within 10 minutes and never did we feel that we were forgotten or pushed to the back of the queue. The nursing staff and drs managed to stay positive and dealt with stressed patients with calmness and efficiency. I cannot fault the treatment and care that we received.

Same here. My son has just finished a year’s treatment for pancreatic cancer. 10 hr surgery at Addenbrooke’s hospital followed by 6 months chemo at our regional hospital. In between that he also had kidney stones so we had to go to hospital again. The chemo nurses were good. Surgeons brilliant and as he was undergoing cancer treatment he was prioritised for any in between stuff.

Hope your daughter is doing well now Dancinjay.

Local surgeries are the problem as are the umbrella companies that have taken them over. Our local surgery is now in a group of six and people need a car to get to them all, apart from the local one, which is now very limited in what they do and the hours in which they see patients.

People are getting no response on the phone after 11 hours of trying here, which means that A&E becomes clogged

I dont know about other hospitals, but our hospital divides between those who arrive in a&e, and those who arrive by ambulance. The ambulance side is a different area to a&e.

The a&e peple could and did walk.
The ambulance ones didnt.

One thing that blocks A&E is the practice of making GP requested admissions go via A&E. My GC has a chronic condition which flares up now and again. When they contact the GP about this he rings the hospital and talks to the relevant department who say they need to be admitted. But in order for that admission to happen they are instructed to go to A&E rather than the ward. It's crazy. They sit there for hours before getting to where they are meant to be.

My BILaw went to our local hospital last week on the instructions of his GP. The person who dealt with him was furious and said ' lazy gps' they should have dealt with this at your surgery!!
Makes me wonder how many others are directed to hspt unnecessarily 🤔

Is the fact that Ambulance staff have to stay with their patient due to the fact that if they are waiting at hospital their ambulance is out of use therefore fresh patients cannot be brought in? Cynical?

The NHS needs more money spent on training staff and building hospitals .We all need to pay more taxes.

My poor mother had a fall on the eve of her 90th birthday. Went by ambulance to Lincoln County Hospital where she was triaged and sat in a very uncomfortable wheelchair (she has osteoporosis and painful back, usually needing cushions for support) for 6 and 1/2 hours.
While we were waiting a woman kept coming through from the triage area complaining that her 3 yo daughter hadn't yet been seen and she was throwing up again.
My mother was eventually seen by a doctor who not very gently cleaned the dried blood from her head wound and stapled it.
The next day she managed to get through the day's celebrations with all the family but shortly after they left she began throwing up, then shortly after that, so did I.
Thank you, mother of the little girl with Norovirus!
My partner looked after us both till he had to go home as no-one was looking after our cats, then inevitably was ill too.
(At least we had an en-suite there!)
Another chap had brought in his partner with a suspected stroke and she was still waiting to be seen when we left!