NHS winter A&E crisis – it’s not good ;( – Page 2 – Chat Forum

politecameraaction · 2025-02-13T20:28:44Z

BBC and Channel 4 have both covered the admissions crisis that's happening in NHS England at the moment. (I don't know how S, W and NI are going). From personal experience, I can say it's as bad as portrayed. This week I was sent to hospital in London for a serious but not emergency condition. I arrived at 2pm, was seen by the specialist at 3pm, and admitted at 4pm. From 4pm to 11am the next day, I sat in the same seat in the minor injuries section of A&E - 19 hours straight - because there were no beds or even mattresses available. I was then allocated a bed in a (clean, light, well equipped) single room. I understand how a triage system works and know there people worse off than me that needed beds more than me. But all the same, sitting an immunocompromised person like me in a seat surrounded by every puking person in a 10 mile radius wasn't so great. People were showing up with broken legs and circular saw injuries, and being told it was a 6 hour wait to see a doctor. That later grew to 9 hours. I didn't see anyone who was just pissed or a time waster. I saw/heard OAPs who were sick and scared; people worried about their partners going unseen; people who gave up waiting after 10 hours because they needed to get kids ready for school; a young soft-spoken diabetic guy with a virus who was vomiting profusely and ignored for hours until he wept and slumped to the floor; people who collapsed and smacked their head on the way down; and a handful of homeless people who had nowhere else to go on a fucking freezing night (and to be fair sat in a corner and didn't cause any bother). The staff were working their arses off in difficult circumstances. I could never do a tenth of their job and know my job is meaningless bullshit in comparison. But some of them were evidently and understandably totally burned out: being very dismissive of patients (some of whom were being prickly out of concern more than self-entitlement) and sometimes antagonistic. The saddest thing came at about 4am when one of the nurses turned to a lady asking if she knew when she would be seen and said, "yeah, darling, well, this is the NHS. What do you expect? It's the NHS, innit?". I love the NHS and have been healthy and lucky never to need much of its care until now. Maybe I've been oblivious through my privilege. But this was heartbreaking. The state's main job should be to protect people. People needing emergency care are so vulnerable - they can't wait, they can't do it themselves, they can't get it from anywhere else, and they don't know what else to do. How the FUCK have we got to this point where the state can't protect people at their most vulnerable? And how the fuck do we fix it? In the meantime, try not to get sick or injured. And if you do, see if you can keep it together until the next morning...

rone

Posts: 9795

Free Member

No shortage of money , just a shortage of political will to actually make a real difference.

But you know, Labour came with their excuses and their shitty failed ideology.

They're the only ones with the current opportunity to fix this stuff.

Fiscal rules need to go - along with Reeves or just keep complaining how terrible everything is.

Posted : 16/02/2025 8:54 pm

fossy

Posts: 9656

Full Member

It's fubared. Pain in my hip is real bad again (fall 6 weeks ago). GP practice won't see me and said I can see a physio in March. Explained four physios at work told me I have a fractured hip or pelvis and needs investigating. Explained this. Nope. Phoned 111, GP called back said go to A&E. Spoke to physios at work and they said the same.

Now sat in A&E taking up resources just to see someone as hip isn't healing well after 6 weeks. Bit shit when a colleague thought I'd had a hip replacement (another physio).

Posted : 19/02/2025 1:11 pm

fossy

Posts: 9656

Full Member

Now in overnight. Xrays again, can't see any breaks. Might send you for a CT. CT done then nothing for a couple of hours. Doc comes over and I get up and follow him with one crutch. Doc is staring at me. Follow him down to a ward behind A&E and he's still looking at me. OK you've got me worried. You shouldn't be able to walk he said. Me I've been hobbling about for 6 weeks.

Extensive fractures of the pelvic wing and more concerning, fractured hip socket. Serious break and missed 6 weeks ago.

Posted : 19/02/2025 9:56 pm

politecameraaction

Posts: 4115

Free Member

Topic starter

Yikes! Hope you are pointed in the right direction and receive the care that you need. That sounds very painful. Courage!

Posted : 19/02/2025 11:04 pm

NHS winter A&E crisis - it's not good ;(