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How can this be?

(91 Posts)
Luckygirl3 Thu 25-Jan-24 20:30:56

DGD 18 with Crohn's disease flare up - been ill for a week, passing blood from bowel, vomiting, diarrhoea. Was in A&E a week ago for top-up fluids, and sent home.

Situation has worsened and she has not been able to take in food or fluid for 48 hours - contact made with Inflammatory Bowel Disease team who contacted consultant who wants her admitted for IV fluids, anti-emetics, anti-immune drugs and steroids - and to have another colonoscopy.

All good. Now here's the rub. The system is that, even though the consultant has ordered her admission, she has to go via A&E. They told her to expect to wait 24hours to be admitted - yes folks, 24 hours! She has been there 2.5 hours and not yet even been triaged.

What a bloody mess it all is. I just feel furious.

nanaK54 Thu 25-Jan-24 20:33:50

That is truly shocking.
Poor girl, I am sending my kindest thoughts for her.

Nanatoone Thu 25-Jan-24 20:34:57

That’s not how it works in my Trust, there is a special place you go to to wait for a bed. They do lots of tests etc in the meantime. You still wait but it’s not a&e thankfully.

mumofmadboys Thu 25-Jan-24 20:35:03

Calm down! You'll just get yourself cross and agitated. I expect it will take a lot less than 24 hours to find her a bed. I hope your GD soons feels much better.

Luckygirl3 Thu 25-Jan-24 20:38:29

When I worked in hospitals and my OH was a GP, if a consultant ordered admission that was exactly what happened straight from home to ward. How does it help to have vomiting person sitting in A&E when a decision about the necessary care has already been made?

mumofmadboys Thu 25-Jan-24 20:45:29

Easier to do admin , bloods and any necessary tests in Casualty

Luckygirl3 Thu 25-Jan-24 21:07:25

Not in our local hospital ... it is not a place where doing anything is easy ... it is chaos. There is nothing easy about sitting on a hard chair in a stuffed waiting room vomiting for hours and dashing back and forth to the loo. It is degrading and unacceptable. We should not be making excuses for this.

Grannybags Thu 25-Jan-24 21:16:00

That is such an unbelievable situation your poor GD is having to go through. I feel furious on your behalf

As you say Luckygirl How can this be?

rafichagran Thu 25-Jan-24 21:19:19

Sorry luckygirl, I hope your Grandaughter gets seen soon. You are right we should not be making excuses.

Marydoll Thu 25-Jan-24 21:34:17

Lucky, I am so sorry to hear of this awful treatment of your granddaughter.

Last February I received a phone call at dinner time to say a bed had been found for me in Cardiology and I was to come straight to hospital..
I was told to go right to the ward and bypass A&E. All tests were done in the ward, including an ECG and echocardiogeam.
At 2am I was having xrays, so no time was wasted. I cannot fault the care I received.
The point I am making is that it can be done, without hanging about A&E.

I too would be furious. I hope your granddaughter is seen quickly.

Luckygirl3 Thu 25-Jan-24 22:04:41

That is how it should be done ... I hope you are well now.

Joseann Thu 25-Jan-24 22:09:58

My heart goes out to you Luckygirl.
If this were an adult, I wouldn't be pleased. But because this to me is pretty much a child, (I'm not sure how 18 equates in the medical world?), I feel very sad. I hope she gets seen soon.

dragonfly46 Thu 25-Jan-24 22:12:04

That is shocking. I believe every trust is different but in my experience with ours even in A&E in your GDs condition a bed would be found in Majors.

Doodledog Thu 25-Jan-24 22:12:56

That's awful, Luckygirl. I hope she gets seen very soon.

crazyH Thu 25-Jan-24 22:14:49

Poor poor girl - she must have been in so much discomfort.. I can’t even begin to imagine - hope things are sorted by now . Can’t say I know much about the condition, but it can’t be nice . So young flowers

maddyone Thu 25-Jan-24 22:21:03

I’m so sorry to hear this Luckygirl. I hope she’s admitted and treatment started soon.

Luckygirl3 Thu 25-Jan-24 22:23:03

A doc has now ordered IV fluids and steroids and they are waiting for these. They have been told that the wait for a bed will be "tomorrow at least" .........

Luckygirl3 Thu 25-Jan-24 22:23:33

I feel sorry for the staff too ... this cannot be what they want.

Luckygirl3 Thu 25-Jan-24 22:24:54

And they have been told that it is likely to be at least 2 hours for the drugs.

Doodledog Thu 25-Jan-24 22:34:36

You probably won't want to subject your daughter to this, but I wonder what would happen if you rang your local TV station to see if there is a reporter free? The staff might be pleased to have their plight exposed, and your MP would have some questions to answer, so close to an election.

It's a disgrace that things have come to this.

MayBee70 Thu 25-Jan-24 22:43:25

I spoke to a friend of mine yesterday who hurt her back before Christmas. Once she was in hospital her treatment was exemplary but prior to that she hadn’t been able to get aGP to see her. She was offered an appointment at the surgery with a physio but she couldn’t move from her bed. I honestly don’t know what’s happening to the NHS. By the time she managed to get someone to take her seriously she was in a very bad way.

Luckygirl3 Thu 25-Jan-24 23:18:56

The sad thing is that we are all beginning to regard this as normal and stop seeing it for what it is.

Callistemon21 Thu 25-Jan-24 23:36:35

That's awful, Luckygirl
I do hope she is fast-tracked, triaged asap and a bed found for her.

One local hospital used to have an A&E ward which took admissions like your DGD without going through the waiting room.

Mind you, when I was admitted urgently years ago, needing immediate investigation and treatment, the doctor on duty in that ward refused to come out of her office to see me for nearly 3 hours.

The A&E has since moved to a new hospital and waiting times there are horrendous.

Summerfly Thu 25-Jan-24 23:50:11

So sorry Luckygirl. I hope your granddaughter gets the treatment and care that she needs soon. 💐

V3ra Fri 26-Jan-24 02:22:54

One local hospital used to have an A&E ward which took admissions like your DGD without going through the waiting room.

When I worked there 20+ years ago, ours had the MAU, medical assessment unit.
This was the stepping stone between A&E and the wards. I don't know if it's still the same today.

Luckygirl I hope your poorly granddaughter gets a bed soon, what a distressing experience for her and all of you x