How can A&E waiting time be made shorter?

[qazitory 10]

Why don't they place the Walk in centre next to A&E then all then people can be referred to the correct place?

[alternageek 10]

When living in the US, that was about average for most non-life threatening emergencies at the private hospital we used. I remember when my knee popped out of place when I was 16 and we waited 6 hours, despite being taken by ambulance as I couldnt bend my leg to get into the car. I know at the county hospital, it would have been twice as long.

 

The only times I've had to go to A&E myself is for asthma and allergic reactions, and those were handled ASAP. My partner was having heart palpitations and we waited about 6 hours for someone at NGH

[sheffgrow 10]

I happened to be over in Chesterfield the other day when my son injured his wrist,

we went to the hospital there that sees both adults and children and everything about it was far superior to the ones in sheffield,

we were seen x-rayed and seen again within 20 minutes.

It was modern, bright and the staff were top class, in my opinion its worth the extra 10 minutes to travel there!!!

[The Joker 10]

3 and a half hours is good for a Friday night.

 

^^^^^^

This.

 

I thought everybody knew that A&E is full of drunks, and the victims of drunks, on a Friday night? I don't see how the NHS can be blamed. . .

 

Don't forget the breweries have already made a positive contribution to society by encouraging us all to "Please drink responsibly" in the small print at the bottom of their adverts, so they are to be fully exonerated.

[Daven 10]

I happened to be over in Chesterfield the other day when my son injured his wrist,

we went to the hospital there that sees both adults and children and everything about it was far superior to the ones in sheffield,

we were seen x-rayed and seen again within 20 minutes.

It was modern, bright and the staff were top class, in my opinion its worth the extra 10 minutes to travel there!!!

 

I'm very pleased you had a positive experience at Chesterfield - the A&E department is shiny and new because it was damaged by fire quite recently and had to be upgraded. Sheffield is fortunate enough to have a designated A&E just for children.

What you have to remember though is that Chesterfield is a relatively small district general hospital - the NGH is a Major Trauma Centre for South Yorkshire and North Derbyshire so will always be busier with very sick and badly injured patients. Many critically ill and injured people will be diverted to Sheffield when in the ambulance for the superior specialist care that's available here.

Edited November 22, 2014 by Daven

[newcomer01 10]

A few days ago I felt that I had to rant,FAIRNESS TO SOCIETY,based upon similar to your hospital event.A smart a** did not take it serious,but when you have a situation that you encountered really there should be more done for people deemed as an emergency.

Yes ,time wasters should be shown the door.People worse for wear should be made to wait the maximum amount of time possible.

Non emergency should be turned away,non negotiable.

My feelings are that there is a need to re evaluate priorities and what the NHS has to do as a minimum for those who require treatment,and not keep stating that more money is the be all, and that anyone who requires treatment for something that is vanity needs to be charged.

I hope though that your child is now ok

[damageandy 10]

You can vote for a party that will invest more in the NHS, you will probably have to pay higher taxes tho.

Edited November 22, 2014 by damageandy

[monkey104 10]

The last few times I have been in A & E the thing that struck me most was that nurses and doctors seemed to spend more time sat around ( through no fault of their own ) filling in paperwork rather than treating patients.

[newcomer01 10]

Lack of cash is only part of the problem.Does anyone have any idea of the amount of money owed to the NHS from abroad by previous tourists who have had treatment here which is above the minimum requirements.

To that extent what is the government doing to help recover these debts?

Whilst the NHS has its own fraud department,they are not geared for cash recovery owed by tourists of foreign insurance companies.

[shanes teeth 10]

Educate people that A&E is for accidents and emergencies -the clue is in the name of the department.

Any other ailment should been seen by GP's , the walk in centre or the local pharmacist can give medical advice too.

GP's should be made to earn the huge wages they are given and open 7 days a week and for 12 hours at a time to allow A&E departments to do the work they were set up to do. It's time GP's pulled their weight - they are the weakest link in the NHS and need a rather hard kick in the nether regions.

What you don't see when you are sitting in the waiting room is the acute trauma patients being brought in by ambulance around the back in resus and the holding ward.

Hope your daughter received the necessary treatment in the appropriate place in the end.

 

---------- Post added 22-11-2014 at 09:42 ----------

 

 

Pleased to hear your life was saved - thank God for the NHS.

 

---------- Post added 22-11-2014 at 09:49 ----------

 

 

Not sure what the protocol is now but totally agree.

Some time ago it was suggested that a shuttle bus should be provided for people who attend A&E inappropriately to be taken to the walk in centre in town. My source told me that a small bus could be filled within an hour or so on an average day:o

 

Surely that would just cause longer queues in A&E

[tinfoilhat 11]

Some excellent points here, but it's down to money. How much do we need to pay to get three booths filled and how much do we want to pay? There will be a huge huge difference. Yes foreigners owe money (but not £2bn according to this http://blogs.channel4.com/factcheck/foreign-visitors-owe-nhs-2bn-factcheck/16194 ) and there's huge wastage but bottom line we need to pay more. It will take a very brave government to say that.

[alternageek 10]

Yes foreigners owe money (but not £2bn according to this http://blogs.channel4.com/factcheck/foreign-visitors-owe-nhs-2bn-factcheck/16194 )

 

I know friends whove travelled abroad and needed to use A&E while here, and outside of London, the hospitals were clueless on what to do in case of outsiders. They need to train up staff on how to handle these issues accordingly and chase up the funds as such. Its not that they didnt want to pay, the hospital was lost on what to do next.