Idiots who should NOT be going to A&E

rosecarmel If you hadn't told me it was a US hospital, I would certainly have thought it was Auckland City Hospital - looks very like it.

www.resene.co.nz/total-colour-awards/96-15-Auckland-City-Hospital.htm

I agree with Gagajo that the current system does not work for anyone other than those who don't work, or who have somewhere private to take calls when they get there.

We have what sounds like the same system. You have to ring in at 8.00am and keep pressing redial until you get through. this can take a while, and if you fail to get through you have to repeat the process the next day. Do you take a day off work at this point? You really don't know.

Also, when I was working, I was commuting at 8.00. The very act of making the call meant that I was going to be late. If I got through, I would be allocated a call, but not a timeslot. So if my call was considered urgent, the call could come whilst I was travelling to work. Are you supposed to discuss your medical matters on a crowded bus? When I got to work I was lucky in that I had my own office, but what if I had meetings, was giving lectures, whatever? Many people have nowhere to take calls, and a lot are not allowed to have their phones on in work time.

Even for people who don't work, the system is flawed. How do you keep a room private in a shared house, or answer a call about something private if your kids are under your feet? What if you have an abusive partner who can hear your calls? What if you want to discuss contraception, and your domineering father is in the room?

Finally, how does a GP diagnose something like arthritis, or an allergic reaction, or anything that requires a physical examination? They have to ask you to come in, so by now you may have lost a day to the first attempt, been late for work, perhaps missed the callback because of working, had to make elaborate arrangements to speak privately, (or maybe give up on the call if you felt threatened) and you still need to go in for the appointment that you once would have had in the first place.

It is reasonably ok for me these days. I don't do a lot of work, and what I do can be arranged to suit me, and I don't need to hide anything from my husband, but I am well aware that this is not the case for most people, and also that if people put off going to see the GP for the above reasons, they are far more likely to end up needing treatment somewhere, and going to A&E. Or worse.

Seems to me like there should be a mass recruitment drive worldwide for Docs and nurses. The profession has to be made appealing though and I am not sure how anyone can do that because of the long, long working hours during training.

Does anyone know why Doctors are made to do such long hours during training?

That’s interesting Canadiangran we have a mixture of doctors here Portuguese of course but I have seen Spanish and Italian.

A couple of years ago, the government seemed to do a deal with the Cuban government where we had a run of doctors from there for a year.

Including medical school it takes about 10 years to train a GP. So don’t expect any improvement in the near future. There ought to have been more medical student places set up long before now but this didn’t happen.

I personally know two young people who applied to medical college in uk. Both got 3 A*s in their subjects at A level but only one got in due to shortage of places.

CoolioC Wed 18-Dec-19 07:44:32
Seems to me like there should be a mass recruitment drive worldwide for Docs and nurses.

AHHHH, but Brexit. We don't want furriners. Get 'em out.

Correction GagaJo we do not want people who are not prepared to work and provide for themselves and their families, period!

My BiL is a closet racist. He was complaining about a ‘furrin’ doctor, but BiL’s accent is so strong and his articulation so poor (northern mumble) that I had to ask him three times to repeat what he had said.

In the end I deciphered it ... he was saying that ‘you can’t understand a word they say’ !!!

You couldn’t make it up ?

I agree with you. I haven't attended A&E for years, fortunately, but I do watch TV programmes on A&E and I cannot believe the trivial reasons that some people go for, they sit there taking selfies and laughing about why they are there, just wasting time for already stretched medical staff who need to attend to people who really need them. There are so many things that I would just sort out at home and get in with it.

Well I have been really sick over the past 10 days and managed to SEE a dr both times it was need and yesterday when things got worse I was able to see a Senior Nurse who checked me over, did a few tests and changed my medication. Now feeling just a little better, lets hope that is last visit for a while.

There are problems with idiots using A&E, the man with a twisted ankle come to mind but the hospital should have some sort system in place to pull out these time wasters and boot out whole families turning up with a drunk. Why does one person need a whole family with them, all eating drinking and taking selfies. Get rid of them.

In praise of the NHS I have been given an appointment for a MRI on a Sunday afternoon at the children's hospital on the Sunday after Christmas. Did not know I needed one but I am grateful my consultant is on the ball.

There should be a separate place for drug users and alcoholics to go to be treated. Also ,they should be charged a fee.
It is a disgrace that people who are genuinely unwell through no fault of their own should be kept waiting for long periods
and also to suffer the unpleasant behaviour of some people.

It always surprises me how few GPs the UK has per person compared with European countries. I think Greece has the most and Germany is up the top too. When we lived in a smallish town in France there were plenty of doctors and no problem getting appointments on the day, even when visitors came to stay. Likewise I accompanied at least half a dozen UK citizens to a French A & E and we never waited more than an hour.

love0c Wed 18-Dec-19 09:20:57
Correction GagaJo we do not want people who are not prepared to work and provide for themselves and their families, period!

NOT true. My tenant is European. He has 'go back to where you come from' hurled after him on a regular basis. He's an accountant. His lodger, was accused last week of speaking Zulu. She's a Malaysian pharmacist. Both of them pay a lot of tax. My daughter, BORN here but of mixed race, has been told to go back where she comes from on a regular basis.

All of this is since Brexit reared its head.

I don't know a SINGLE immigrant who doesn't work. The Brexit debate has shown the lie of wanting the 'right' immigrants.

Have just moved to Devon and felt really ill with a chest infection so called in GP surgery to make an appointment. Reception could see I was really ill and I was seen in half an hour. X-ray next day too. If you are really ill you get seen v fast here

Endlessstrife I totally agree. The NHS needs an overhaul but it’s not allowed. I don’t mean privatisation (heavens no!) but my dr once told me about the waste in the NHS runs into many millions a year. The miss

think it needs to be addressed at doctors level, next appointment I can get jan7th, I mean come on, ridiculous.

Hi people
So many problems with the NHS caused by shortages which make people sometimes act thoughtlessly or in desperation.
Please can I take this opportunity to plug my petition to support the NHS by reducing waste and saving resources. Here is the link
chng.it/PDLCHdQM
Now that we have a functioning government again I am going to follow up my initial correspondence with the Health Secretary and my local MP and could do with all the backing I can get. Many thanks and a Merry Christmas to all.

Our local hospital now has a centre that people like Tenerife man can walk into rather than straight into A&E .
They are then assessed, and if needed can be sent through to A&E. There is also a walk in GP surgery elsewhere in the town.
Mr Tenerife Man would most probably have known he was going on holiday between certain dates and could well have planned ahead and booked a GP appointment, several weeks ago but , like many people seems to think the "I want one now" system works just for him.
I have in the past, sat in the waiting room of A&E waiting to be seen, when a succession of children with coughs and colds were brought in - all (sorry if I upset anyone) Eastern European. When another woman, also waiting, asked why the mother had brought them in, she was told that where they were from, there were no GP surgeries, if they were ill, they went to the hospital!
All of that medication that wasn't collected may also have just been thrown away - NHS policy apparently, even if a packet quite obviously not been opened, "in case the contents have been contaminated" as I found out when I took my father's prescription back to the dispensary - it had been collected the day before he passed away and the bag it was all in hadn't even been opened!

Missed appointments and visits to A&E when not necessary just add to the burden. Health tourism etc. No government is allowed to do anything though. Tony Blair did bring in far too many box ticking managers and we can definitely lose more of them.

Can I also add, a lot of problems with getting GP appointments is caused by the fact that up to 60% of people that book don't turn up and haven't bothered to call and cancel - they should be charged a fee!

Kitnsimon - do understand your feelings about people who attend A&E with what, you perceive, as self inflicted conditions. However, if you put a charge on these, then where does it end......What about those who have to attend with sports injuries? or illnesses brought about through years of smoking? And not forgetting those people whose conditions may at the least be exacerbated by a poor diet? Should all of these also be charged a fee at point of use?
When I tried to run for a bus, and stupidly waved my walking stick to attract the attention of the driver - and fell over - does that count as self-inflicted.
Stop blaming the victims, (ie. those feeling they need to use A&E).
Let's look at who really are to blame - those who have sold of so much of our NHS to private companies, put Hospital Trusts into millions of pounds of debt with involving them in the funding of private hospitals and medical centres, under-funded training of all medical staff, and austerity (for the many - but not the few), which is the cause of so many mental health conditions.

My memories of the Blair government tickingbird are tarnished by him taking us into the Iraq war, but one indisputable fact was that the NHS has never worked as well as when he was in power, whatever you look at, access to care, waiting times and so on. Check the stats.

Having worked in A&E for nearly 40years, I could write a book. I think it stopped being accident and emergency years ago and became anything and everything !!1

Everyone here- the system is BROKEN. I sat on the Board for 10 years of the ONLY Foundation Trust in the NW to have 2 consecutive CQC ratings of OUTSTANDING. Salford Royal- it took 8 years to do this, a journey of changing practice to caring for the patient experience , safety and quality. Mortality rates and infection rates among the lowest in the country. We have since taken over 4 other hospitals in the NW and taken them from being rated inadequate to Good in 2 years. HOW through amazing leadership and changing of cultures, expecting practices to be among the best, expecting patient focus to be top class and holding our staff to account for that. Staff are motivated to achieve and be apart of this. (17000 staff! ). Other Trusts need to let highly paid inadequate senior staff go!- don't just deploy them elsewhere ( well if the unions let you). Productivity and efficiency changes need to be expected and staff held to account. They all do an amazing job but not all perform well. The whole system needs an ALL party review - choices need to be made about what the NHS provides. GPs need holding to account- don't forget GPs are small business managers and make their own profits out of the system! When the NHS STOPS being a political football changes for the better will be made!

merlotgran I’m pleased your DH is ok. I can imagine how relieved you are. I very occasionally do some Bank work in A&E mainly because I can prescribe and honestly I could write a book. What amazes me is the number of patients who aren’t even registered with a GP and use A&E as we would use our GP. Actually that’s not correct, some of the minor issues they come in with we wouldn’t dream of going to the GP. They want free Paracetamol and something for their corns (I’m not joking) but not from me or anyone else in A&E. Nobody can be turned away. I agree the GP shortage isn’t helping but the numbers of doctors wanting to be a GP has dropped such a lot recently. The amount of paperwork and red tape puts them off. Most prefer to work in hospitals now and once a doctor reaches Consultant level there’s more opportunities such as private work. This is why GP surgeries are relying more on Nurse Practitioners. I usually work 2 mornings a week (I am supposed to be retired) and can see anything up to 20 patients on a particularly busy morning.