NHS and ambulance waiting times

[Otis]

Anyone else had any very long waits?

My dad had a fall. It's it's second in two days and he's 92. Been waiting for an ambulance since 6.30am.

I am guessing this is quite the norm.

 

[Nick]

Fucking hell, that's shocking.

Is he stuck as in needs them to help him get up with their inflatable stuff?

 

[shmmeee]

Luckily not had the need. But I hear it is the norm at the moment.

Hope he’s OK Otis.

 

[shmmeee]

help him get up with their inflatable stuff?

Didn’t know you could get that on the NHS!

 

[Deleted member 9744]

Anyone else had any very long waits?

My dad had a fall. It's it's second in two days and he's 92. Been waiting for an ambulance since 6.30am.

I am guessing this is quite the norm.

Very sorry to hear that Otis and do hope he gets the care he needs. Of all of the failings of this Government their failure to fund and support the ambulance service is the worst. It has been in crisis for some time now, despite the amazing professionalism of its staff. I don't understand why more people and the media are more concerned about this.

Meanwhile the Government is looking the other way and spending its energy and money on gimics like the Rwanda scheme.

 

[Deleted member 5849]

It is the norm. This time last year my Mum had a fall in the middle of the night. I got there before the ambulance. In fact, as an ambulance couldn't actually get to her, I had to take pictures and send them to a paramedic to judge, who then directed me what to do. By the time an ambulance was available I'd cancelled it as there wasn't much else they could do by then(!)

Sooner we give some actual cash to a service we all need, the better.

 

[Sky_Blue_Daz]

Sorry to hear about your Dad mate , hope he’s ok and you get sorted soon

 

[Earlsdon_Skyblue1]

Very sorry to hear that Otis and do hope he gets the care he needs. Of all of the failings of this Government their failure to fund and support the ambulance service is the worst. It has been in crisis for some time now, despite the amazing professionalism of its staff. I don't understand why more people and the media are more concerned about this.

Meanwhile the Government is looking the other way and spending its energy and money on gimics like the Rwanda scheme.

Surely by not deporting people that shouldn't be here, the NHS gets more overwhelmed?

 

[PVA]

My mate's 2 year old daughter has a condition which leads her to (thankfully rarely) have seizures which need urgent medical attention when they happen.

She had one a few weeks ago and the ambulance was there in less than 10 minutes.

Seems if you're not a young child then you have to wait hours and hours. People are presumably dying because of it. It's awful.

 

[Flying Fokker]

MIL. 94 Had a fall a few weeks back. 8pm. Ambulance came at 3:30 am. Discharged after a short stay in hospital. Readmitted following day with a broken T9 vertebrae No fall in between.

 

[Otis]

So, the ambulance came at 18.06.

I was going to go with them in the ambulance and they said no point, as they will just be sat at the hospital in a queue of ambulances for 4 hours when they get there. It's a madness isn't it

 

[Otis]

Fucking hell, that's shocking.

Is he stuck as in needs them to help him get up with their inflatable stuff?

Yes, sort of. He was just so immobile. It was impossible for me to be able to get him into the car. They needed to get him into a wheelchair and strapped into the ambulance.

 

[stupot07]

Sorry to hear that Otis, hopefully they will be with him soon and he is ok.

Sent from my SM-G965F using Tapatalk

 

[Deleted member 9744]

So, the ambulance came at 18.06.

I was going to go with them in the ambulance and they said no point, as they will just be sat at the hospital in a queue of ambulances for 4 hours when they get there. It's a madness isn't it

Complete madness. The reason there are no ambulances is that they have to wait for hours outside A&E.

 

[Earlsdon_Skyblue1]

Utterly clueless nonsense

I'm not sure what he has said that's so outrageous really. The NHS is run very badly. That doesn't mean it doesn't need more support and government help, but it isn't managed well from the top down whatsoever. It could be a hell of a lot more efficient with the funds it does have.

 

[fernandopartridge]

I'm not sure what he has said that's so outrageous really. The NHS is run very badly. That doesn't mean it doesn't need more support and government help, but it isn't managed well from the top down whatsoever. It could be a hell of a lot more efficient with the funds it does have.

Can you give some actual evidence? Studies have shown it to be one of the most efficient health services in the world. At individual trust level it does not have enough management or supporting infrastructure, they are managed on a shoestring, a private company that had an equivalent turnover to an average Trust would employ an awful lot more people to manage it. There might be an argument to say there are some people employed in central government for NHSE who serve little useful purpose but that's not what I believe you're talking about.

 

[Earlsdon_Skyblue1]

Can you give some actual evidence? Studies have shown it to be one of the most efficient health services in the world. At individual trust level it does not have enough management or supporting infrastructure, they are managed on a shoestring, a private company that had an equivalent turnover to an average Trust would employ an awful lot more people to manage it. There might be an argument to say there are some people employed in central government for NHSE who serve little useful purpose but that's not what I believe you're talking about.

The NHS does not have enough resources on the front line, which is the biggest hole. The bigger the hole, the more negligence claims there are as well (13.6 billion pounds in 2021). Now, that can be solved by throwing more money at it. I'm not saying it doesn't need more funding. It would however, also make more sense if the money was spread out better from where it is being wasted across the entire NHS and put into more useful places. That's the point I am making, and I can't take anyone seriously who is genuinely saying that the NHS isn't wasting money.

If you want, in your words, actual evidence, then you can find it in a whole heap of places. Start here, by looking at the spending reports for the NHS: NHS England » What we spend and how we spend it

A quick google 'where does the NHS waste money' will show you article after article of further breakdowns, and might help crunch the data a bit easier. That said, if you don't want to acknowledge personal accounts from people that have worked in the NHS or in its supply chain (that includes myself, members of my family, and other people that have posted on this board), then I'm not sure you'll be prepared to listen to any other points of view whatsoever. There is such a waste of money in useless job roles, middle management positions, contracted agency staff, stock procurement, dodgy contracts, and overpriced equipment.

I don't agree with underfunding of our health service, or the emergency services in general, neither the shit pay that these people get paid for doing the work they do. It's a disgrace in that sense. If we are that fucked though (we are), then there needs to be a much smarter approach to how money is spent across the entire NHS. The budget for 2022/23 is about 180 billion, there's no question a chunk of that could be better used.

 

[Brighton Sky Blue]

This isn't the thread for this kind of debate. Hope for your old man Otis that by now he's been seen to and is on his way to recovery.

 

[fernandopartridge]

This isn't the thread for this kind of debate. Hope for your old man Otis that by now he's been seen to and is on his way to recovery.

Agreed, sorry Otis and hope your Dad is on the mend

 

[Otis]

Cheers, everyone.

 

[Nick]

Hope he's OK! It's really not good enough at all.

 

[Terry_dactyl]

Just seen this…hope your old man is all ok now. All the best.

 

[dutchman]

So, the ambulance came at 18.06.

I was going to go with them in the ambulance and they said no point, as they will just be sat at the hospital in a queue of ambulances for 4 hours when they get there. It's a madness isn't it

I think it's just so the headlines don't read "was kept on a trolley in reception for 4 hours" like people used to be?

It didn't stop a neighbour of mine being given a front seat ride in a separate ambulance from her husband two nights ago.

A total of three ambulances and a paramedic car were sent to collect a single patient and his wife. If you happened to be passing on the Butts at that time you may have thought there'd been a major incident.

 

[Covrock]

Hope your old man is on the mend.
I had a heart attack in the early hours and my defibrillator, which is connected to Walsgrave, kicked it back to life. Next day I had a call from the hospital saying the consultant has requested you get to hospital ASAP, there's a bed waiting for you. Called an ambulance only to be told there's a 7 hour wait. It was there in 10 mins. Off to Walsgrave, 3-4 hour wait in the ambulance. Didnt care.
My previous stay opened my eyes. Patients were told they are going home, just waiting for your medication at 9-10 in the morning, the meds arrived at 9 at night. That was 3 out of 4 beds on the ward, bed blocking the A&E, causing long ambulance waits. Could easily be sorted with leadership. NHS are the dogs bits, saved my life on numerous occasions.

 

[hill83]

My dad has been waiting for an operation on his ankle (having it re broken and pinned) for 3 years.

Shoulder the same but 2 and a half years.

Edit: Not strictly ambulance related, a 3 year wait would be mental

 

[chiefdave]

My Dad collapsed in the middle of dinner of Christmas Day last year and to be fair the ambulance was there in minutes but that was probably because they thought he'd had a heart attack and were talking me through CPR and the fact they quite often park up just down the road waiting for a call so we just got lucky

Once he got to hospital it was a different story, hours in a queue outside a&e then hours stuck in a&e

Then when he was ready to leave the hospital exactly as covrock says, he needed to go in to care and we had weeks of waiting for a place to become available taking up a hospital bed needed by others

The vast majority of NHS staff are brilliant but the system itself is on the verge of collapse. It's amazing to me how easily accepted some of these things are. We don't bat an eyelid that there will be a winter crisis every year, very little complaining about the things being mentioned on this thread like being stuck in an ambulance outside a&e for hours

 

[clint van damme]

My Dad collapsed in the middle of dinner of Christmas Day last year and to be fair the ambulance was there in minutes but that was probably because they thought he'd had a heart attack and were talking me through CPR and the fact they quite often park up just down the road waiting for a call so we just got lucky

Once he got to hospital it was a different story, hours in a queue outside a&e then hours stuck in a&e

Then when he was ready to leave the hospital exactly as covrock says, he needed to go in to care and we had weeks of waiting for a place to become available taking up a hospital bed needed by others

The vast majority of NHS staff are brilliant but the system itself is on the verge of collapse. It's amazing to me how easily accepted some of these things are. We don't bat an eyelid that there will be a winter crisis every year, very little complaining about the things being mentioned on this thread like being stuck in an ambulance outside a&e for hours

Its going to be horrendous this year with this respitory infection and a bad flu going round.
Just need a new virulent dose of covid to rear its head and we'll really be in trouble.

 

[Otis]

As an update, the ambulance came on Monday evening as I said. Took him to A&E.

It's now Wednesday and he's still in A&E. He's fine. They just need to do some observations on him. Supposed to be moving him to a ward and I have the ward number, but it's still not happened.

A&E is getting clogged up with the wrong patients. It's supposed to treat emergencies and then act as a conduit to allocate people to the right areas of care.

At the moment, it's almost acting as another ward.

 

[Nick]

As an update, the ambulance came on Monday evening as I said. Took him to A&E.

It's now Wednesday and he's still in A&E. He's fine. They just need to do some observations on him. Supposed to be moving him to a ward and I have the ward number, but it's still not happened.

A&E is getting clogged up with the wrong patients. It's supposed to treat emergencies and then act as a conduit to allocate people to the right areas of care.

At the moment, it's almost acting as another ward.

Glad he's OK.

A massive issue for as long as I can remember is how shit GPs are. If people could get into see their GP then they wouldn't be rocking up at A&E and filling it up with people who don't need to be there.

 

[chiefdave]

A massive issue for as long as I can remember is how shit GPs are. If people could get into see their GP then they wouldn't be rocking up at A&E and filling it up with people who don't need to be there.

Half the time when you ring my doctors its an answerphone message saying there's no more appointments available that day either call back in the morning or if you feel bad go to a&e

Then obviously when you get to a&e they don't want to tell you to go away and say its not something you should be there with in case it is

 

[Nick]

Half the time when you ring my doctors its an answerphone message saying there's no more appointments available that day either call back in the morning or if you feel bad go to a&e

Then obviously when you get to a&e they don't want to tell you to go away and say its not something you should be there with in case it is

Exactly.

Should be doing everything they can to make sure A&E is a last resort.

 

[wingy]

Not sure how busy it is these days but there is the drop in centre at the bottom of Stoney Stanton .. Maybe they could still make more of that .
Just for the generalized stuff .
Open up to 10pm and weekends too

 

[Deleted member 5849]

Not sure how busy it is these days but there is the drop in centre at the bottom of Stoney Stanton .. Maybe they could still make more of that .
Just for the generalized stuff .
Open up to 10pm and weekends too

The drop in centres are where they send you for 111 calls. I kept getting sent to the one in Stoke Aldermoor -pretty sure no illness would dare linger around there!

 

[Macca]

Can you give some actual evidence? Studies have shown it to be one of the most efficient health services in the world. At individual trust level it does not have enough management or supporting infrastructure, they are managed on a shoestring, a private company that had an equivalent turnover to an average Trust would employ an awful lot more people to manage it. There might be an argument to say there are some people employed in central government for NHSE who serve little useful purpose but that's not what I believe you're talking about.

That’s interesting (not arguing here) as my wife has just moved from 22 years in NHS to a private health company dealing with sub contracted NHS patients. She finds that there is a far leaner management structure

 

[Flying Fokker]

That’s interesting (not arguing here) as my wife has just moved from 22 years in NHS to a private health company dealing with sub contracted NHS patients. She finds that there is a far leaner management structure

It surprises me as to how many bods are needed in emergency departments. TV footage often shows a dozen or so people round some critical injuries. The night shifts in wards are very quiet compared to all the specialists milling around during the week days.