It’s like being told off by your mum this place…

It’s like being told off by your mum this place…

You’ve been seen then?

I hope you’ve got clean pants on

No was referring to STW. Still waiting. 4 hours now.

My partner fell while climbing a ladder in a cave in France. She fell about 10 feet onto her back with a hard object in her pack. Similar story to yours. Incredible pain. Got her out of cave, she could walk, etc but took strong painkillers and had to consonantly have hot shower to get any relief. Eventually after a few days I persuaded her to go to A&E after we got back home. The Doc didn’t want to Xray and said it would be bruised and she should get some rest. We insisted on an Xray, to which he reluctantly agreed. When he got the Xray he immediately saw a fractured vertebrate (“Only” a fractured process rather than a break through the spinal column) and then said she should stay in the hospital! Anyway, we escaped, she got to wear a bolt-on back brace, and she carried on with her life as normal (including jogging etc) till it was taken off after about 6 weeks. All been OK since (18 years and counting).

Fingers crossed it is nothing too bad. Good luck

Just been told there is a backlog of people, some of whome have been in the department 13 hours today. I’m going home, and will go back tomorrow.. I’ve got a stash of co-codomol at home which will do for now. 🙁

Now hang on either it’s that bad you need it sorting, or its ok and you can wait and go through your GP. I assume you are now back there this morning (6am)

Bit confused now…

Which hospital is that, there 4hr breach scoring must be horrendous !

Minor injuries clinic is a lot faster than a&e, they can do the x-rays and sorted me out pretty quickly when I rode into a tree a while back. You’re surrey hills aren’t you? Horsham has one and I believe Woking as well but you’d need to check.

Funky, I’ve got some work bits to do, but will be going back in. Co-codomol is doing its thing. It’s Epsom A&E, I didn’t want to go, but sitting on rock hard chairs is painful and I was knackered, there was at least another 2 hour wait, going back the day after isn’t going to change much..

Which hospital is that, there 4hr breach scoring must be horrendous !

Quite. 13 hours? Just go to a different A&E.

Not sure if it will work, but worth a try since it is obviously now not urgent. Try ringing the hospital switchboard and asking to be transferred to the Fracture clinic. Explain to receptionist in FC that you feel you may have broken a vertebrae and ask for an appointment with a consultant. Tell them how long you waited in A&E. If you did go through A&E they will be referring you there anyway and the hospital knows how busy A&E is so should be able to get you a slot with someone who will actually be able to do something.

Sorry OP you have lost favour with me. Either you are ill and need immediate treatment or you don’t. Wasting valuable resource by turning up and then going away because you can’t be bothered waiting, and then going back is not on.

Edit – Welshfarmer, I can assure you that won’t work, and is just stupidity

Sorry OP you have list favour with me. Either you are ill and need immediate treatment or you don’t. Wasting valuable resource by turning up and then going away because you can’t be bothered waiting, and then going back is not on.

Apart from presumably a bit of triage, he’s not wasted any resource, just entered an overwhelmed/dysfunctional A&E and been told he’ll be sat there on a hard chair in pain possibly for the next 12 hours or so. Taking himself away and returning at what is hopefully a less busy time for the department actually helps them.

That little bit of triage does use resources though, that’s the point. Ok alone OP hasn’t created the 12hr breach, but he has contributed to it.

Obviously that unit is pushed as it is and turning up and then deciding to leave isn’t on (even OP has admitted he only had 2 more hrs to wait) he will go in again this morning and the whole process will start again.

If you are ill enough to require A&E then you stay there until you are seen.

For the OP’s reference, most ski resorts have a walk-in centre with x-ray equipment. So you could have got yourself sorted out there and then.

Ah, somehow missed the 2hr bit, although I suspect that was a bit optimistic if they have had other folk in the department for more than 12 hours. If I had invested four hours, I guess I would have stuck it out for two hours more.

Presumably the 12-hour waiters have been seen, but there is nowhere to admit them to.

**** hero! 😯

I’m with FunkyDunc, I think you’re either ill or not.
Stop wasting everyones time at both A&E and on here.
Surely a week on from the original injury you must have drawn your own conclusions, as to what the injury may be. As an obvious outdoor person, you must have an idea what is wrong.
Time to MTFU and get it seen to properly, stop procrastinating and asking for sympathy on here.

+1 for minor injuries clinic if the hospital has one, quicker and quieter than waiting in A&E in my experience. I wouldn’t bother going via your GP first though in your circumstances, they’ll either just refer you to the hospital for an x-ray or send you home saying it’s bruising (but that won’t give you peace of mind as GPs aren’t 100% accurate).

well this turned sour.

Yes another 2 hours is/was optimistic, i also have a young family at home who are all ill, so it’s not fair on them either. I took up at most 10 mins of time. I’ve since phoned them again this morning, potentially up to another 6 hour wait, so no improvement. I’m trying to get a cancellation at the local docs as wasting A&E time is not what i want. Though i do of course appreciate certain peoples ability to understand what pain i must or must not be in! cheers. Not looking for sympathy, it was a request for thoughts.

Pay no mind to the internet tough guys.. Ugly men with small penises and uglier personalities are always gonna bitch and moan 🙂

It’s very worrying to have an injury that could be serious..
I borked my knee five years ago, and faffed around before getting it seen to, as a result it’s still knackered now and I’m sat in pain today..

Try to get an x-ray asap

You do need to get seen though. Are things any better at St Helier?

It doesn’t sound like A&E wait time is likely to change, GP will just refer you back to A&E (that or be useless). You’re just going to have to suck it up, that or MTFU and take your chances. Not trying to be rude about you wasting anybody’s time here, but it appears the only way to be seen is to wait – that or find a minor injuries clinic as has been recommended several times.

Sui,

Firstly roger was right “dont follow dave as hes a muppet!” :o)

secondly have you tried guildford A and E? might not be such a long wait?

thirdly hope you aren’t to sore, i am getting flashbacks to the pain from falling/swallow diving of that bridge in verbier, morphine does wonders until its run out! So get yourself sorted!

Iain

If you are ill enough to require A&E then you stay there until you are seen.

It’s very worrying to have an injury that could be serious..

Get seen and quit putting everyone else and your perception of what they will or wont say in front of being checked out. NOT getting it sorted could be a lot worse than the hours and hours waiting in hospital.

Ref St Helier not so sure, they now act as the “proper A&E” and epsom is more “A”.
Something that pushed me to use A&E (other than the welcomed advise above), is that i dislocated a shoulder many years ago (snowboarding for the first time), it was popped back in at the time but like above i wasn’t prepared to loose a holiday, so munched my way through painkillers for 4 days. I never got it seen to in the UK and as such it’s pretty knackered, and as the years go on it hurts more, I was a lot younger then, so bounced and healed a little better, so as some said there is a real concern.

I’ve got a phone call at 12:00 today to try and get into an WIC/ACC/MIU as it should be easier as i’m working from home!

i do of course appreciate certain peoples ability to understand what pain i must or must not be in!

tbf their judgement might be informed by your having seen out the rest of your hols without seeking medical attention and then coming back home, going to work and being ok to drive back and forth to a&e etc.

You should probably get it looked though. Sooner or later, when you feel ready.

doris, yes i remember that the rescue people then weren’t too happy! And Rog, well…. yeah, he always says kind words..

Are a and e departments really that busy at the moment? Perhaps setting an alarm and going in at 3/4am could be better? Obviously not a friday/Saturday night.

I would bring a sleeping mat to the A&E and lie down on that, with some head phones, and chill out.

Why sit on chairs when you can lie down eh? 🙂

Arg! Sorry to hear about this, Sui!

Must be something in water over there – I’m also back at work with a bad back. Hurts to cough, and I have a tickly, phlegmy cough – I can’t really wind up enough pressure to clear it!

Not as bad as yours though – just some tweaked muscles. Couple of days and I should be fine. Not even sure quite when I did it, probably just a slightly awkward fall somewhere in Lech/Zug yesterday, didn’t feel it until I got out of the car at the airport.

Good luck with yours!

Cheers Ned, my entire party seems to have come down with a snotty lurgy thing, right pain in the back (pun intended). Did you manage to get over to Warth, brilliant over there!

Yes another 2 hours is/was optimistic, i also have a young family at home who are all ill, so it’s not fair on them either

probably more fair than having a useless dad that can barely move after waiting weeks for medical attention

doctor appnt at 4! So the ball is rolling now.

legend, you have a valid point, but as i can move OK for now, i prioritised family. I’ve also got an absolute shed load of work that quite literally is worth my house to sort.

Off to Radiology at 08:30 tomorrow with my biff chit. Doc’s initial impression was more worried about top of pelvis and lower back as opposed to coccyx. Anyway, X-Ray tomorrow morning will tell us more.

X-Rays done, nothing serious, maybe some slight hairlines, some fluid was making it a bit harder to tell, but the x-ray doc is giving them a look over to report back. Oddly enough, my butt crack has now turned purple, a full week after the incident!

They wont as a matter of prcedure X-ray the full coccyx as there is nothing they can do, so whilst there is now some lovely colours appeared (no pics unless you want to see a hairy butt crack), we still don’t and wont know if the coccyx has sustained any cracks etc.

Top marks for Epsom Radiology though, in and out of a walk in within 20 mins!!

We told youto see your GP first for assesment.

This raises a point regarding the latest NHS ‘crisis’. I read so much in the press about people clogging up A&E that I would be far too guilty to attend if I fell off my bike.

I have a couple of mates with debilitating pain from untreated fractures and bone damage. Both were put off visiting A&E because of the guilt of being self inflicted injuries in otherwise healthy young(ish) people.

I think I’d have to be carried in.

Pictonroad – swings and roundabouts. By not sorting something when it happens, it worsens outcomes = more cost to the NHS.

The OP suggested he was in agony so people suggested A&E. However OP clearly wasn’t in agony as it turns out as he couldn’t be bothered waiting. If you need A&E you need it.