12 hours over night in A&E can anyone beat it ?

23 hrs is my record

I was rushed to hospital before lockdown . It was morning, about 10 am. The ambulance stopped twice on route to the hospital so that the medics could work on me. I was admitted just after midnight. No complaints. They kept me for 8 days, saved my life in surgery and sent me home. Job done ! Love the NHS!

In June I rang out of hours doctor with such head/neck pain that had built up over several days. I thought migraine that I hadn't had for several years. I was soaking with sweat around the neck, my hair was soaking. Dr felt it could be meningitis and said to go to AE and he'd ring ahead. I arrived at 7.30pm and was triaged where they took bloods and sent me back to the waiting room. Dh kept going to the toilet to get me paper to try dry my neck and hair. I was weeping with pain.
Dr saw me at 1am. and put me onto an antibiotic drip. I sat in a hard plastic chair in a corridor where dh wasn't allowed. I pleaded with him to go home and I'd send for him. At 7am I was told I'd be admitted. On my third IV antibiotic drip. I got a bed in AE Observation at 3pm. 19.5 hours after arrival. In all that time I had a slice of rubber toast and tea. Being on a chair and drip and with no table it was difficult trying to butter the toast and I spilled my hot black tea down my leg. (White trousers in bin but past caring).
Once into a bed where I stayed for 5 days my treatment was impeccable.
I will never ever forget the horrors of AE and hearing people call.... Please help me.....

Knittynatter

The problem is the NHS is being restructured constantly, but it is always from the top down with no care for the sick. Something not working? Oh we’ll appoint a director for that…… Not enough beds? Oh, let’s appoint a new director. Funding available? Oh let’s have badges / posters / mouse mats. The people who care are working so hard to fix people, the ones who make decisions are too busy climbing the ladder.

... or what they seem to be called now "TSARS"!

Sadly having had 24 surgeries in 22 years I have seen the demise of the NHS for patients, first hand. In 2010, it was just getting to be good.

I have a stoma, and over the years have had around 30 bowel blockages. I have the meds to self-treat at home, which I do, but generally there will usually come a point where I need more help. It used to be that I would arrive, they would cannulate, and give me IV analgesia until the pain went away. I would then have a sleep, things would pass and I would be hoe within the 4 hour target, especially if they listened to me (some do and others can be quite arrogant).

In Feb 2020 I had one - called an ambulance as the pain was excruciating by that point and oral morphine wasn't cutting it. I went into A&E at around 4.30am. Paramedics didn't give me any analgesia, and I waited until 7.30am to be admitted to A&E. I waited for another 5 hours before I was finally given 2 Paracetamol and 5mls of oral morphine (I had already had 20 mls at home + Paracetamol + Codeine). At this point I was literally screaming with the pain - I wasn't even on any IV fluids, on a trolley in the corridor next to the nurses station and was being ignored. Every time someone went past I asked for more pain relief, but was told that 'I wasn't due any'. I think it was about 4pm & I still hadn't seen a doctor ,when I was crying in so much pain that I decided that I needed to lie on my tummy in the hope that it would relieve some of the pain. The trolley was one of those high ones, and the sides were up, so I crawled to the end (I can't sleep in a bed because I cannot get in nor out of one, and couldn't turn myself over), and sort of managed to drop my feet to the floor when the trolley went flying up the corridor as the brakes weren't on, into the next poor patient, and I fell and blacked out. I believe at this point that a dr must have seen me, as I woke up in the CT Scanning Dept with a drip up and was much more comfortable, so they must have given me something. It was 5pm, and at 6pm a surgeon came to see me and said that he would be operating shortly as my bowel had twisted and was dying. I went down to theatre at around 8.30pm, was in there for about 4 hours and woke in ITU at around 2am ..... I kept having flashbacks to when I fell, so wrote t ask them what had happened, and they bloody lied! "There were no falls recorded in the dept that day" - I know I fell, and I know that being disabled I cannot get up off the floor on my own, (as I couldn't last Tuesday when I fell in the garden, and certainly can't get on those high trolleys! I am still having flashbacks to it now - had they just tod me then I could have dealt with it, but no, these trusts are corrupt, and anything that makes them look bad they deny vehemently (Letby!).

It was a VERY long day, but next time, and there will be a next time sadly, I will know that it isn't a blockage, and that I will need operated on before my bowel dies, perforates and gives me sepsis, and this time I will be ready for them. I was sort of lucky that day that it didn't ....

I hate hospitals now .....

We had a mixed experience back in Feb when DH came off his bike and fractured his skull in two places. The ambulance turned up within 10 mins, I guess he was high priority as he was smothered in blood and talking nonsense. He was strapped to a body board and taken to A&E where he was seen within 20 minutes and had a brain scan an hour later. Unfortunately nothing then happened for eight hours as there was no doctor available to review the scan results. He had nothing to eat or drink and wasnt allowed to move because he was on the body board. The nurses could see his scan results which were clear, but they refused to give him even an ice cube until a doctor had given the OK. He was eventually allowed to use a bottle for a wee, but what happens to women in that situation?! When doctor gave the all clear we were discharged immediately as they need the space, no one washed or dressed his wounds which were full of grit, so I had the job of trying to deal with all that when we finally staggered through our front door at 4am.

I got rushed in last year and I arrived 2.15 and by 8.40 I was up on the ward and them nurses and other staff were working there socks off never stopped and I was chatting to them and they said if ppl went to the doctors first they wouldn’t have such a backlog of ppl not needing to be there but until GPS start seeing ppl it’s not going to change

Two weeks ago I had to take DH in as an emergency following kidney scans and GP telling us to get to A&E immediately. Long story short, he sat there all night (he sent me home at 1am). All he was given was tea and biscuits twice and was served a cup of watery porridge for breakfast. I went back the following morning with overnight stuff as he was told he'd be kept in and he finally got onto a ward 22 hours later. He was in there for five days and was then sent home without seeing any consultant. His condition continued to worsen and we finally saw a consultant in an outpatient clinic two days ago. He has a serious condition and we now await scans to find out what's wrong and hopefully get the right treatment. How appalling is that, my DH is 80 years old and has paid NI and taxes all his life, is this what he gets for it?

It's dreadful reading the experiences of people but just imagine how demoralising it must be work in environments like that. No-one believes they are going to be giving substandard care when they start their medical training and working in most A&E depts and hospital wards is like that every day. I'm not surprised that applications for nurse training are down 30% and doctors look at their pay slip at the end of the month and wonder if it's really worth it!

This really isn't anything new - My DS had to be rushed to A&E 23 years ago aged 19 with suspected appendicitus - took him myself at 5pm - still waiting to be seen at 8pm when A&E was cleared because there had been a really bad car accident - anyone who could, had to leave and either see their GP or go to a walk-in clinic. My poor lad couldn't even stand and the triage nurse said he MUST stay - wasn't seen until midnight and not found a bed until the next morning! By the time they operated his appendix was on the point of bursting - I've had little confidence in the NHS since (s
ame hospital sent me home in 2010 with a broken leg and no plaster on it and then the trauma sister argued on the phone a week later that "I must be in plaster" - No love I'm looking at my leg you are at the other end of the phone!)

I am thankful my OH didn’t have to go to A&E. A nurse at our health center diagnosed a cyst and said it will go away on its own If he had had to go to A&E he would have lost his leg or his life if the aneurism burst. . Wednesday - A physio looked at it and told him to go to his GP. Monday - receptionist gave him an appointment that afternoon. Wednesday- letter arrived for scan next day. It caused a puzzle so sent to Vascular department for another scan. Vascular surgeon came and said that he needed an urgent op within 2.weeks. 4 hour op done 2 weeks later. His leg is still being dressed by district nurses 2 months later. Our GP has rung to check up on him. The only criticism we made was with the pharmacy at the hospital. After being told he could go home on Wednesday morning, he arrived home at 12.30 am Friday morning having waited a day and a half for his meds. Well done and thank you NHS.

That is a good turnaround compared to my 80 yo MIL’s recent experience. She fell, required ambulance to convey to hospital. In A+E for 12 hours awaiting X-ray to be told ankle fractured in 2 places and other ankle badly sprained. Conveyed to elderly care ward 5 miles away, 2 nights stay there then conveyed back to original hospital to attend fracture clinic. Admitted to elderly care ward despite requiring clinical care and then got lost in system. Spent 21 nights in bed awaiting next steps despite MiL and family’s frequent requests to ask what the care plan is. Following a more assertive lobby to dr on his rounds the hospital finally admitted her care plan had been overlooked. Within hours she was NBM for surgery, sent for X-ray - the next day which was op day she was told op not required and was discharged from hospital next day. She had spent 21 days in bed on an elderly care ward alongside EOL patients. A total misuse of NHS care. Seems the reason she missed her fracture clinic appointment is that the appointment details were sent to her home address! How was she expected to pick that up when in her back in hospital!!! I feel desperately sorry for patients who don’t have anyone lobbying on their behalf. At the end of the day the staff are stretched to breaking point in a completely broken care system.

in 2016 I spent almost 12 hours in A&E with my mother. Arrived by ambulance after a fall about 3pm. She was on a trolley in a room for a bit then in the corridor after X-rays. We had 2 lots of X-rays and a scan. The problem was her fracture was difficult to diagnose from the X-rays and the consultant had to do it. She was finally found a bed about 1.30am. Watching what went on I have nothing but admiration for the staff, especially one of the sisters who seemed to be organising everything and treating patients herself. There were drunks, a prisoner under police guard, and a woman with dementia who was crying out with pain but wouldn't let a doctor look at her. I don't know how they cope.

Yes: unfortunately. I was in A & E for 28 hours before I was moved to a ward. I was brought in by ambulance in extreme pain and low blood pressure and when I finally had a scan they found a gallstone stuck in my bile duct and suspected sepsis. I had my gall bladder removed 3 years before.

Arrived at A&E at 7.45pm. Sat on plastic chairs until 2.00am when my husband was seen by a doctor. 4.00am he got a bed in A&E in a room with no chair for me. Only refreshments were available from a machine. My husband had to wait for a bed in another hospital and transport there so 16 hours in total in A&E. Treatment was ok. The waiting wasn’t. On the big screen, which was updated about every 10 minutes, as the number of patients waiting to be seen went down the waiting time went up.

Annie29

I wish someone from the government would read this thread.
The public have generally only good things to say about medical staff. I think our prime minister needs to spend a shift in a NHS hospital. I heard yesterday that the severance pay MP receive when they leave parliament has been doubled.
I know its hard when you are sat waiting but everyone who speaks to staff are adding to the waiting time.
I would not expect to be offered food and drink if I was waiting with someone, would use vending machine. Also patient might not be offered refreshments as they may need an anaesthetic later.

I would not expect to be offered food and drink if I was waiting with someone, would use vending machine

Well, normally no, it is for patients only.

But the vending machine sold a limited amount of chocolate bars, yogurt bars, there was no café and anyway, one can't just go for a wander to find food and leave the patient you brought in sitting on their own if they are injured.

Having missed lunch then dinner and been there for 12 hours I was grateful that the kind person bringing the second trolley asked if I wanted a sandwich and a cuppa. I told her I wasn't the patient but she said "Of course you can have a sandwich, we don't want you passing out as well".

I wish someone from the government would read this thread.
The public have generally only good things to say about medical staff. I think our prime minister needs to spend a shift in a NHS hospital. I heard yesterday that the severance pay MP receive when they leave parliament has been doubled.
I know its hard when you are sat waiting but everyone who speaks to staff are adding to the waiting time.
I would not expect to be offered food and drink if I was waiting with someone, would use vending machine. Also patient might not be offered refreshments as they may need an anaesthetic later.

My issue wasn't the actual A&E it was the ambulance - last October I had pain in my chest and left shoulder plus sweating, dizzy and shaking so rang an ambulance. Paramedic finally arrived an hour later, just as well I wasn't actually having a heart attack. No heart issue but my BP was through the roof so he wanted to take me in for tests, we then had to wait another 90 minutes for another ambulance with two paramedics as I needed constant ECG and BP monitoring. When we got to the hospital finally I was told they were still on covid procedures(!) so had to wait in the ambulance until a cubicle was ready for me. No wonder ambulances are taking so long if they have to wait around with patients until A&E are ready for them!

Finally got into the hospital around 2am, nurses were lovely and managed to get some blood out of me - I have seriously crappy veins and already had 3 attempts at my GP surgery. They then put me in the nurse/ambulance on call room, didn't want to put me in the waiting room due to my age (only 54) and it being nighttime at the weekend until they found me an observation bed. I totally agree with all who say those beds/trolleys are seriously uncomfortable - was hoping to catch a nap for a couple of hours whilst waiting for my test results but was wired up for BP, ECG and blood oxygen monitoring. That, plus the uncomfortable bed meant no chance. Doctor appeared at 6am and said my GP needed to increase my BP medication plus I had a chest infection which explained the chest/shoulder pain. Discharged and got in an Uber at 6.30am to get back home. Cannot fault the staff there, and it wasn't that busy either considering it was a Sunday night. So I was only in there 4 hours including test results, then again I live in a city where we have two huge hospitals with 24 hour A&E departments. I have a feeling it would have taken longer if I had not been brought in by ambulance though.

A&E has been a train wreck for decades, I remember back in the 2000s waiting with my husband for hours just to get a few stitches in a cut that would not stop bleeding. There is no way of predicting how busy it is going to be on any given day, so I am not sure what the solution is. More money is not it though, the NHS is getting more money in real terms than ever before - its what they are spending it on is the issue, too many layers of management and not enough doctors and nurses.

Sounds like Melbourne ….

I went to A&E and I was there for 36 hours before they could get me a bed it was that bad and they didn’t even have a bed for me

I hope everyone is well

My recent experience of A&E was in January when the ambulance service was on strike. I couldn;t get in at the GP but 111 got someone to do a phone consultation and then directed us to the quietest A&E. I suggest anyone who cannot get in to their GP do this, it is a very helpful service. A&E was very efficient too, so I can only say our experience was positive (apart from the broken arm)

I had a fall in the evening and although I felt OK my help insisted on sending for ambulance. Three hours later paramedic said nothing broken but against my wishes said to go to A and E to be on the safe side because of my age. Bumpy ride 30 miles to hospital then two and half hours waiting in ambulance til admission. Put on sagging bed with no cover for ten hours during which time I asked for a drink and was thrown a bottle of water which I couldn't open. Requested bed pan which never turned up so I wet the bed. Ten hours later in the morning finally attended to. Nothing but a little bruising! What a way to treat a hundred year old person.
Eight years ago I was in terrible back pain and had to wait seven hours for ambulance. The cause of pain crack in base of spine caused by radiotherapy for anal cancer.

Having waited hours on an A and E bed. They are beyond uncomfortable. I think the Doctors and nurses and Managers who buy them, haven’t spent hours on them, don’t realise it makes the hours waiting unbearable. Especially with arthritic bones.

Two hours......twelve hours........if the department is busy there's always going to be a wait to be seen and life threatening emergencies will always be seen as a priority, and so they should.
At least we don't get a hefty bill after having emergency treatment like some countries do.

if you watch tv series like 24 hours in a&e you will understand how busy they can get, i have been to a&e once but don't remember as i went in on blue lights with sepsis, other times i have been with others and sat at a door watching the ambulances going in one after another, some night shifts only have one doctor, the last time i was in with my partner and his bed was at the desk with a sister constantly on the phone trying to find beds in the hospital rather than have patients in beds in the corridors, i live in glasgow (biggest city in scotland) we need bigger a&e departments and more doctors on shift. a friend was left in the holding ward in a chair for 2 days waiting for a bed but thankfully they got the antibiotics on a drip they needed for the infection. i think the nurses and doctors do the best they can with the little they have got.

I can certainly beat 12 hours. 55 hours on a trolley in a corridor in A & E the first time following a stroke and 48 hours the next time with pneumonia. Ambulance paramedics and my DH took an hour and a half to persuade me to go the second time. 2 people died in the corridor while I was there. Just not enough staff. A hell hole. So sad.