24 hours in a and e

[TVC]

I think there is a big difference between "mostly useless" and "useless"!

(I would take "might live" over "will probably die" any day.)

Colin, you might be the proof of why you need to do it, and do it properly. The BBC 'Casualty' portrayal of two breaths and a dozen chest compressions fixes the problem is very, very wrong. Now I, and others here are trained as Rescue Divers, and this showed me that things that are perfectly treatable in a hospital bed are one thing , if they happen 20m underwater, then you are surfacing with a corpse. It's about situation and luck.

To tie back to the OP, and the general point. People expect the NHS to fix everything, and these TV progs only reinforce that. What they don't show is those who turned up beyond help, or those who should have helped themselves. The story of the likeable person who got to be fixed and go to their grandaughters wedding after all is rare.

The truth is that A&E smells of piss and shoot and fear and tears, and anyone who manages to work in that environment is a much better human than me.

 

[summerdays]

As an aside to the main topic, but also perhaps an insight to why A&E is clogged.

I decided to be public spirited and become a first aider for my company. I took the three day Red Cross First Aid at Work course. In my first three years of the role I dealt with many minor cuts and stuff in eyes but only two proper incidents, one was a head injury that needed an ambulance, the other a saw cut to a finger which meant a car trip to minors for stitches. However in that time, a guy showed me his decayed teeth and asked if he should see a dentist, another burnt his finger cookeng toast, but left it and drove to work so I could treat it. I was asked repeatedly for medication for headaches and period pains, and have been shown many blisters, pustules and rashes, supposidly so I can diagnose them. I am no longer a work first aider because people thought I was some sort of Doctor. I can't imagine what shite health care professionals go through.

For those who don't know, work first aiders have three rolls: 1. Give you a plaster. 2. Try to stop as much bleeding as possible before the ambulance arrives. 3. Give CPR although it's generally agreed to be mostly useless, until the ambulance arrives and they give CPR although it is useless.

You missed out the bit where you aren't allowed to give out medication! I was one in a previous job 20 years ago, and in my 5 years or so I only had to give out plasters, and paracetamol. I would have some in my desk and inform them that they could have one from my personal supply!

The most serious thing that ever happened regularly was a really nice diabetic guy, well there were two, but one was stable, and the other not, and he used to become aggressive as the first sign that he needed some sugar, but Pete the other diabetic was the best person at persuading him to take some sugar!

 

[ComedyPilot]

Not a fan of hospital a&e. I was injured whilst skydiving, and went to a local hospital. In all my visit lasted 12 hours. In that time I was made to wait whilst drunk fight 'victims', druggies and mouthy people were shepherded through. I was polite and quiet at all times, yet the nursing staff were rude and ignorant towards me. The drunks, druggies and mouthy were all spoken to in an 'oh my poor dear' fashion.....

 

[shouldbeinbed]

Not a fan of hospital a&e. I was injured whilst skydiving, and went to a local hospital. In all my visit lasted 12 hours. In that time I was made to wait whilst drunk fight 'victims', druggies and mouthy people were shepherded through. I was polite and quiet at all times, yet the nursing staff were rude and ignorant towards me. The drunks, druggies and mouthy were all spoken to in an 'oh my poor dear' fashion.....

I was in my local one the other day, not bike related either, they were the epitome of professionalism and courtesy from the booking in team through to the consultant who finally dealt with me.

 

[Kiwiavenger]

I recorded this week's one to watch with my wife but her elderly grandma passed away and the blurb said something about elderly couples so she really doesn't want to watch it yet!!

 

[ColinJ]

[QUOTE 3381569, member: 76"]The wierdest A&E admission I have seen is a chap who was, er, pleasuring himself and to increase the pleasure he wound a colied kettle flex down his urethra, all while, um in a state of arousal. With the coiled kettle flex down his member he, well he lost those urges that had got him to the state of 'preparedness' to insert the flex
[/QUOTE]
You mean he 'went off the boil'!

 

[Headgardener]

[QUOTE 3381569, member: 76"]The wierdest A&E admission I have seen is a chap who was, er, pleasuring himself and to increase the pleasure he wound a colied kettle flex down his urethra, all while, um in a state of arousal. With the coiled kettle flex down his member he, well he lost those urges that had got him to the state of 'preparedness' to insert the flex

The Doctor who sorted it out was able to do so because in his previous job, they had had an admission for exactly the same thing That means that in the South West there are at least two men with a very interesting story to tell, and a kettle with no flex [/QUOTE]
There's some bloody big lumps of plastic on either end of a kettle flex.