A&E - I Was Shocked

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Psamathe
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A&E - I Was Shocked

Post by Psamathe »

I had to spend quite a few hours waiting in A&E the Sat evening/night (one of my parents had a bad fall and the Walk-In Centre dressed one injury and sent us to A&E). We were there longer than many 'cos it was wait for somebody, get sent for an x-ray, wait to see somebody again, get sent for an x-ray for another injured area, wait for somebody again, etc.

And sitting waiting I was shocked
    1. Most people I saw coming in were obese (well into the obese category, not just "somewhat overweight").
    2. Some would arrive, check-in wait a bit, get bored and go home
    3. One person was chatting to the rest of her family about how they would look at her thumb and say nothing wrong and how she could use it fine ... (and the Walk-in centre was open and only a quarter of a mile away).
    4. Seemed a bit of a "Community" of regulars. People would come in and say hello/catch-up with others they knew already waiting.

It was a real shock and made me appreciate how A&E can get totally overwhelmed and I suspect, overwhelmed unnecessarily.

Ian
kwackers
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Re: A&E - I Was Shocked

Post by kwackers »

Sounds positively idyllic compared to the last time I went.

I had all that plus a group of drunks including one woman best described as a 'bag lady' who was determined to pick a fight with anyone whose eyes even flitted past and who every 5 minutes would march off along the corridor where the beds were and come back effing and blinding at the top of her voice.
This was at 2pm in the afternoon. Hate to think what it'd be like on a Friday night...
Psamathe
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Re: A&E - I Was Shocked

Post by Psamathe »

kwackers wrote:Sounds positively idyllic compared to the last time I went.

I had all that plus a group of drunks including one woman best described as a 'bag lady' who was determined to pick a fight with anyone whose eyes even flitted past and who every 5 minutes would march off along the corridor where the beds were and come back effing and blinding at the top of her voice.
This was at 2pm in the afternoon. Hate to think what it'd be like on a Friday night...

This was Sat 19:00'ish to 01:00'ish and I expected there to be a load of drunks arriving from 23:00 onwards but none. As there for some time, got chatting to a nurse and asked if she was dreading the turn-out time after the fights, falls, "out-of-their-brains", etc. and she was saying that it wasn't really too bad. And only saw one security officer and he was wandering around radiology not A&E.

It was the obesity that really shocked me and from my experience made me think that obese people must injure themselves more or suffer from more emergency health problems or need more of whatever A&E provide for them. And as such must represent a much higher cost to the NHS than that of addressing their weight issues. Guessing a bit but probably saw 25 odd patients (not counting those accompanying them) of which 20 must have been well into obese.

Ian
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Si
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Re: A&E - I Was Shocked

Post by Si »

Have to say that last time I was in (six weeks ago tomorrow) we got served pretty quickly and staff were pretty good.
Most of the other attendees appeared to have 'propper' injuries - limbs with serious bandaging, slings, etc.
I guess that's the difference between going in on a Tuesday afternoon rather than a Saturday evening.
However we did eventually get a group of 'yoot' whose mate had been stabbed in the face but they were quickly calmed down by a couple of police officers.
Mark1978
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Re: A&E - I Was Shocked

Post by Mark1978 »

I was in Durham on a Sunday - late afternoon early evening. I had fallen off my bike and hurt my elbow - just to keep things cycling related for once!

Wait time was about 2 hours once I got in my treatment was good, stitched up and on my way. The clientèle seemed to be half people who had sports injuries, one person who had been standing in a narrow road in Durham and had been clouted by the park & ride bus! There was one guy, no idea why he was there but he was either a 'natural high' type guy or more likely well drugged up on something as he was rather too chatty and friendly with people, asking everyone what was up with them, didn't seem drunk and I suppose better friendly than violent!
rjb
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Re: A&E - I Was Shocked

Post by rjb »

I had the misfortune to come off on a Sunday midday couple of years ago almost to the day. I was taken to A&E by ambulance and had to wait on the ambulance trolley for 1/2 hour before being assessed. This tied the ambulance up for that time. The paramedics told me it would be busy as Gp's are available on weekends so people go to A&E for their sick notes to avoid going to work on Mondays. I was assessed, eventually, X rayed and discharged 6 hours later with a double break in my Pelvis and with a referral to the Phsio the next day. :(
At the last count:- Peugeot 531 pro, Dawes Discovery Tandem, Dawes Kingpin X3, Raleigh 20 stowaway, 1965 Moulton deluxe, Falcon K2 MTB dropped bar tourer, Rudge Bi frame folder, Longstaff trike conversion on a Giant XTC 840 :D
jochta
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Re: A&E - I Was Shocked

Post by jochta »

Not been to A&E for a while (touches wood). I remember being there with my grandfather many years ago on the day of the Blenheim horse trials, we had to wait ages as one after another patients in jodhpurs were brought in with various limbs pointing at the wrong angles...
Ben@Forest
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Re: A&E - I Was Shocked

Post by Ben@Forest »

rjb wrote:I was assessed, eventually, X rayed and discharged 6 hours later with a double break in my Pelvis and with a referral to the Phsio the next day


Amazing the different range in similar sounding injuries. After a nasty crash (coming down the Stang for those of you who know it) I had three small fractures in my pelvis. They looked tiny on the x-ray but hurt like hell, I was in hospital for 4 days and could only walk with one of those frames with wheels at the front, then crutches for a couple of weeks. I was back on the bike after 42 days, interestingly physio was never mentioned.

Oh and took the missus to A&E four weeks ago for something painful but not in any way life-threatening - ten minute wait.
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Mick F
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Re: A&E - I Was Shocked

Post by Mick F »

Not been to A+E since I was an 11 year old with a broken wrist. 6th May 1964 in Wigan.
No doubt it's changed a bit since then. :lol:
I don't even think it was called A+E in those days.

When I had my Off and few years ago, Mrs Mick F took me to the local minor injuries unit.
Mick F. Cornwall
Mark1978
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Re: A&E - I Was Shocked

Post by Mark1978 »

Ben@Forest wrote:(coming down the Stang for those of you who know it)


Hate those types of hills. I'm the sort who as soon as it gets steep down hill I'm shelled off the back of the group as I'm straight onto the brakes and stay on them all the way down!

Mind you I have the same experience going up too!
Tangled Metal
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Re: A&E - I Was Shocked

Post by Tangled Metal »

Last time in a&e, not for me so I had time to spectate, there was an arrested drunk waiting with two coppers to be declared ok to be interviewed. He tried to give a bit of trouble but the senior copper had none of it and treated him like a naughty schoolboy. That was.entertaining.

The other bit of entertainment was a 20 something, spoilt, self centred princess. She'd fainted in poundland and tried to call her mum who'd been shopping. Her step dad was cutting flags in the garden so didn't hear the phone. She was telling them off for not being there for her. She even called her dad who was 3 hours away to come for her. She got taken to a&e by ambulance and b was being pushed around in.the ambulance wheeled seat. That meant the paramedics were tied up at get.beck and call. Her mum and step dad were there getting 30 or 40 minutes telling off for not being there for her. Jeez! If she hadn't gone into another room I'm pretty sure I'd have snapped and told her to just grow up. I am not.joking she was a nightmare. I've seen young children in real pain be less noisy and less trouble than her. At least I had entertainment. She'd have been one of those soap opera comedy characters set up to be hated. Like Ken Barlows daughter.
axel_knutt
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Re: A&E - I Was Shocked

Post by axel_knutt »

I've seen quite a bit of A&E, but all via the tradesmen's entrance rather than front of house. Three of my trips were on Fri/Sat, but I only heard any rowdiness once, and not that much of a fuss even then. I think trouble can arise when people see others getting seen first and don't realise there's a triage system in operation, if you're waiting a long time it's because you're less serious than others (unless there's something gone wrong with the triage process, but the only way to circumvent that is the red telephone). The same goes for ambulances, you often hear complaints about slow arrival, but there's a triage system there as well, and not all calls are the same priority.
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Mark1978
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Re: A&E - I Was Shocked

Post by Mark1978 »

axel_knutt wrote:I've seen quite a bit of A&E, but all via the tradesmen's entrance rather than front of house. Three of my trips were on Fri/Sat, but I only heard any rowdiness once, and not that much of a fuss even then. I think trouble can arise when people see others getting seen first and don't realise there's a triage system in operation, if you're waiting a long time it's because you're less serious than others (unless there's something gone wrong with the triage process, but the only way to circumvent that is the red telephone). The same goes for ambulances, you often hear complaints about slow arrival, but there's a triage system there as well, and not all calls are the same priority.


Quite, and it isn't even on severity of injury either. Someone with a broken arm, well nothing is going to immediately happen to them, so they can wait longer than someone who may have a head injury, for example.
Ben@Forest
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Re: A&E - I Was Shocked

Post by Ben@Forest »

Mark1978 wrote:Hate those types of hills. I'm the sort who as soon as it gets steep down hill I'm shelled off the back of the group as I'm straight onto the brakes and stay on them all the way down!


I did Swinehope Gill (just down from Chapel Fell) twice this summer. The Strava times for going down it - towards Teesdale - are incredible. It's a gravelly, potholey, stonewalled, occasional blind bends or summits, sheepshit and sheep road, I am amazed the speeds some people must do it at...
Mark1978
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Re: A&E - I Was Shocked

Post by Mark1978 »

Ben@Forest wrote:
Mark1978 wrote:Hate those types of hills. I'm the sort who as soon as it gets steep down hill I'm shelled off the back of the group as I'm straight onto the brakes and stay on them all the way down!


I did Swinehope Gill (just down from Chapel Fell) twice this summer. The Strava times for going down it - towards Teesdale - are incredible. It's a gravelly, potholey, stonewalled, occasional blind bends or summits, sheepshit and sheep road, I am amazed the speeds some people must do it at...


Indeed. I took it very easy going down there (headed North) mind you I'd spent the entire ascent with funny dancing lights in front of my eyes, so may well have over stressed myself so was in no condition to hammer the downhill!

Keep in mind that that particular descent, I flagged someone for uploading a virtual turbo trainer ride as a real ride there, there may well be others.
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