Idiots who should NOT be going to A&E

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!

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.

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!

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.

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

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 ?

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

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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

https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/201912/medium-759578-d341111eac2442d2d889df01cd36fc75.jpg https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/201912/medium-678984-fireplace-straight-on.jpg https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/201912/medium-107952-spease-healthcare-19.jpg

This is what a US hospital looks like, a 3 star hotel with 1 star reviews for treatment because as you can see money isn't poured into people's well-being- The flowers on the wall? Chihuly glass-

We also have long waits in ER here in Canada.

My husband had a horrible earache and went to emerg. He was subject to triage, but was kept waiting for hours. His eardrum eventually burst, and was leaking blood.... he had to go up and ask for tissue; was almost in tears with pain. There were people brought in by police, eating hamburgers and socializing on their phones which finally made him lose his temper at the main desk.

I think those brought in by ambulance or police are prioritized, since they have to stay with their patients until they are seen.

When the doctor finally saw him he asked why DH didn't come in sooner.

We live in a fairly remote town and it is hard to recruit doctors here. There is a doctor shortage everywhere in Canada, but more so in smaller towns. I don't know why the government doesn't have a program to help with finances for training doctors, or forgive a part of their student loans if they serve in smaller communities. Anything to help. Most of our doctors are from South Africa, and they do their best to recruit more.

GrannyLaine Tue 17-Dec-19 16:35:31
@Gagajo, it would depend on the urgency for an appointment. I'm assuming if you are at work, its not an urgent appointment that's needed. If no appointments are available for the walk-in sessions, most surgeries will arrange a telephone consultation with a GP or nurse practitioner. This works very well at our practice and BlueBelle has outlined a similar arrangement.

Can't take a telephone call in a class full of students. Can't LEAVE the class unattended. It is a sackable offense. GPs won't book a time slot for a GP consultation.

Not to mention, when I found a lump that turned out to be cancer, my first step was a GP appointment. I was at work before and after that. What if I hadn't been able to sit on the phone and wait then? As it was, I used a walk-in centre. But they've been closed now.

No one is off sick from work these days unless they are physically unable to get out of bed. Working conditions are such that if you have any more than 3 episodes (that can be 3 days ) of sickness in one year, you can be put on a disciplinary.

I'm sorry BUT the state GP surgeries are in these days (NOT their fault) it is only those that do not work that can access them.

I haven't been to the GP OR used A&E for years. But IF I had a medical problem and couldn't get into the GP, you bet I'd eventually go to A&E. I pay a LOT of tax and National Insurance. I'm paying for my healthcare. Not my fault the Tories have decimated it.

Yes, sorry GrannyL crossed posts.

Exactly my point Greeneyedgirl. The staff would know, they see it day after day after day. We have moved from a culture of endurance to one of complaint.