Can someone please explain the workings of A&E UCHG please?

2rkehij30qtza5

Having sat in A&E with someone for 8 hours today (they have a serious condition and were sent in by their GP with a letter) and then the nurses telling the person that they won't be seen for at least another 8 hours...I am BAFFLED as to how this system works!!!!!

People seem to be marching in on front of the person I am with and getting seen to. We have asked where in the queue my relative is and we are told they are not going to be seen for hours and hours.

And yet,...a group of clearly drunk people have come in..saw a family they are clearly feuding with and a bit of hassle started. And all of a sudden they are whisked away into the treatment rooms. Seems to me that if you cause trouble you will get seen to quicker.

The whole system is a shambles. Yes I know it's busy in there, understaffed etc...but my relative is seriously sick and in need of urgent treatment and it's going to be 'hours and hours' more before they are seen to. He is exhausted and all he has is a plastic chair to sit on in the middle of the A&E waiting room for the past 8 hours and for another 8 hours too by the sounds of it.

Is A&E always like this???......is this just UCHG or a usual thing with hospitals???? I'm gobsmacked...it's just 3rd world carry on here....

Blink182rock

Whitney Tiny Skit wrote: »

Having sat in A&E with someone for 8 hours today (they have a serious condition and were sent in by their GP with a letter) and then the nurses telling the person that they won't be seen for at least another 8 hours...I am BAFFLED as to how this system works!!!!!

People seem to be marching in on front of the person I am with and getting seen to. We have asked where in the queue my relative is and we are told they are not going to be seen for hours and hours.

And yet,...a group of clearly drunk people have come in..saw a family they are clearly feuding with and a bit of hassle started. And all of a sudden they are whisked away into the treatment rooms. Seems to me that if you cause trouble you will get seen to quicker.

The whole system is a shambles. Yes I know it's busy in there, understaffed etc...but my relative is seriously sick and in need of urgent treatment and it's going to be 'hours and hours' more before they are seen to. He is exhausted and all he has is a plastic chair to sit on in the middle of the A&E waiting room for the past 8 hours and for another 8 hours too by the sounds of it.

Is A&E always like this???......is this just UCHG or a usual thing with hospitals???? I'm gobsmacked...it's just 3rd world carry on here....

I'v been to A+E five times in UCHG and have had experiences like you.. I used to give out about it so much till I was waiting for an x-ray one day and a nurse was with a patient that she seemed to know and was literally crying about how bad it was,and how the nurses/doctors don't care in there that's they only care about themselves and going home.

Was quiet star struct to hear that from a nurse telling a patient. Made me think about it a bit more!

Its a shambles.

ben.schlomo

Whitney Tiny Skit wrote: »

Having sat in A&E with someone for 8 hours today (they have a serious condition and were sent in by their GP with a letter) and then the nurses telling the person that they won't be seen for at least another 8 hours...I am BAFFLED as to how this system works!!!!!

People seem to be marching in on front of the person I am with and getting seen to. We have asked where in the queue my relative is and we are told they are not going to be seen for hours and hours.

And yet,...a group of clearly drunk people have come in..saw a family they are clearly feuding with and a bit of hassle started. And all of a sudden they are whisked away into the treatment rooms. Seems to me that if you cause trouble you will get seen to quicker.

The whole system is a shambles. Yes I know it's busy in there, understaffed etc...but my relative is seriously sick and in need of urgent treatment and it's going to be 'hours and hours' more before they are seen to. He is exhausted and all he has is a plastic chair to sit on in the middle of the A&E waiting room for the past 8 hours and for another 8 hours too by the sounds of it.

Is A&E always like this???......is this just UCHG or a usual thing with hospitals???? I'm gobsmacked...it's just 3rd world carry on here....

Im not trying to be smart now but if they are that bad surely they are going to be seen soon and if not would you not just kick up a grand stink and make they be seen if thats how it does work up there, feel sorry for you stuck up there.

2rkehij30qtza5

ben.schlomo wrote: »

Im not trying to be smart now but if they are that bad surely they are going to be seen soon and if not would you not just kick up a grand stink and make they be seen if thats how it does work up there, feel sorry for you stuck up there.

Trust me, he is bad. The triage nurse and another nurse were saying he would need to go to the medical assessment unit ASAP but no joy. We are trying to kick up and get him seen to-it's incredibly frustrating. In fairness the staff have their work cut out for them trying to keep fights under control-the Gardaí have been in twice from what I have seen.

It's a joke. He wouldn't be here only he is so sick and his GP referred him here. I'm just completely bamboozled as to why he is not a top priority to be seen on their list. They insist he is but as they are so busy he has to wait. I mean, one could actually die out in the waiting room from lack of being seen. It's just baffling.

From what I am seeing...anyone who causes trouble gets whisked into a treatment room straight away. And all these drunken egits coming in....honestly, I am gobsmacked.

I mean, how sick do you actually need to be to get seen to ASAP?...imminent death??

BhoscaCapall

Cause some trouble then.

ArtyC

BhoscaCapall wrote: »

Cause some trouble then.

How helpful.....

Keep positive for your sick friends sake. It's a tough process.... Drinkers should definitely be organised seperately. Any more about that "drunk tank" they were in talks about?

confusedquark

Sorry to hear about your experience, hope your relative is ok. Yes, the system is a shambles, it's very much a staffing and capacity issue. I've worked in the A&E in Mullingar, and assume UCHG works much the same.

Patients are triaged in categories 1-5 depending on how serious the triage nurse considers their problem to be. Category 1's are medical emergencies, such as cardiac arrests and heart attacks, that usually come in via ambulances. Category 2's are life-threatening conditions, such as chest pains, possible strokes, severe shortness of breath, etc. Category 3 patients can still be very unwell, but are deemed to have something not acutely life threatening, e.g. chest infection, abdominal pain. Category 4 patients tend to be well, but have something relatively minor, such as a finger injury. Category 5 then tend to be people who probably shouldn't be in A&E.

So, when somebody comes in, they're triaged and put into a certain category, and people in the categories above them will be given priority, even if they come in later. It's ridiculous that drunk people and trouble-makers have to be accommodated above people who fit into higher categories, but unfortunately that's a security issue and it's not safe to leave those people in the waiting area with others, and it's also not safe/moral to kick them out of A&E when they still need to be seen.

Depending on how busy A&E is, you could have several people in who are Category 2, and they'll all have to be seen before you can get to the Category 3 patients, and then there could already be 10 Category 3 patients ahead of you in the queue, and then more Category 2 patients could come in in between. Thankfully there aren't too many Category 1 emergencies, but when there are, everything gets held up further. I'm not sure how well UCHG is staffed, but there are often are only 2 or 3 A&E doctors working, and it can take a good half an hour to assess a patient properly, and then the need to do bloods, request x-rays, chase up on the results, and start treatment etc. With the A&E doctor staffing crisis, many posts are left unfilled, and replacement locums aren't always available (for one reason or another). Being even one doctor short has a huge impact on waiting times.

Unfortunately with all the cut-backs and talk of the hospital expenditure bills, things aren't going to get better. But it's not for lack of trying on the part of the doctors and nurses.

cats.life

had to bring my husband in there on xmas nite cos he had a seriousely bad pain in bowl area, his stomache was swelling so much cos he couldnt go to the toilet, went to west doc first was seen strait away and he was given a letter to go to A and E. he was seen by nurse in triage after 10 mins he didnt come back out cos he fainted on to the floor a nd getting very sick ,i heard the comotion and was let in to where he was on the floor :eek:shock. never seen him like that in my 10yrs that i know him. he was put on a bed like trolly, was put into a cubicle waiting for doc . i cant remeber the time line cos i was kept busey with foning my 15yr and 9yrold to make sure that they were ok on christmas night..doc came and gave him 2 injections for relaxing the tummy and stop the sickness, any time i went out side to call the boys the waitingarea was empty but 5mins later it was half full,, there were people there that could have waited for their GP, i was listening to their pains and woo,s cos all that there is between us and them is a curtain..the nurse,s were getting through the patience in a quick pace. the ambulance men and wemon were very busey that night aswell. saw few nasty things ..the nurses had a smile and a nice things to say to the patience even though they have being on their feet 12hrs.

2rkehij30qtza5

confusedquark wrote: »

Sorry to hear about your experience, hope your relative is ok. Yes, the system is a shambles, it's very much a staffing and capacity issue. I've worked in the A&E in Mullingar, and assume UCHG works much the same.

Patients are triaged in categories 1-5 depending on how serious the triage nurse considers their problem to be. Category 1's are medical emergencies, such as cardiac arrests and heart attacks, that usually come in via ambulances. Category 2's are life-threatening conditions, such as chest pains, possible strokes, severe shortness of breath, etc. Category 3 patients can still be very unwell, but are deemed to have something not acutely life threatening, e.g. chest infection, abdominal pain. Category 4 patients tend to be well, but have something relatively minor, such as a finger injury. Category 5 then tend to be people who probably shouldn't be in A&E.

So, when somebody comes in, they're triaged and put into a certain category, and people in the categories above them will be given priority, even if they come in later. It's ridiculous that drunk people and trouble-makers have to be accommodated above people who fit into higher categories, but unfortunately that's a security issue and it's not safe to leave those people in the waiting area with others, and it's also not safe/moral to kick them out of A&E when they still need to be seen.

Depending on how busy A&E is, you could have several people in who are Category 2, and they'll all have to be seen before you can get to the Category 3 patients, and then there could already be 10 Category 3 patients ahead of you in the queue, and then more Category 2 patients could come in in between. Thankfully there aren't too many Category 1 emergencies, but when there are, everything gets held up further. I'm not sure how well UCHG is staffed, but there are often are only 2 or 3 A&E doctors working, and it can take a good half an hour to assess a patient properly, and then the need to do bloods, request x-rays, chase up on the results, and start treatment etc. With the A&E doctor staffing crisis, many posts are left unfilled, and replacement locums aren't always available (for one reason or another). Being even one doctor short has a huge impact on waiting times.

Unfortunately with all the cut-backs and talk of the hospital expenditure bills, things aren't going to get better. But it's not for lack of trying on the part of the doctors and nurses.

Thanks for explaining. My relative would have come under category 3 so by the sounds of it. Having sat on a plastic chair all night and watching drunk people come in and out etc. he discharged himself this morning having NOT BEEN SEEN. Couldn't take it anymore.

So brought him to out-of-hours GP who is trying to treat him now with strong antibiotics and steroids, when what he needs is IV. These drugs seem to be making little difference. Don't know why they couldn't just even sit him on a chair last night and administer the IV. He is incredibly sick, he really is. He has been to the GP 4 times in the last 2 days at a cost of €50 per time. It's all crazy.

The nurses last night wanted him down in MAU but there were no spaces. The GP today was trying to convince him to go back to A&E and we are all trying to get him to go back but he is just so fed up at having spent 14 hours with zero treatment sitting on a plastic chair and getting worse as the hours go on. I'm beginning to agree with him....from what I can see you either need to be a trouble maker or come in to A&E in an ambulance to be seen.

My fear is that if he keeps getting worse he will end up going in there in an ambulance.

The HSE should be ashamed of themselves. The middle of Christmas and they clearly have a severe shortage of staff. The way the place is managed down there in UCHG (the A&E dept) is just shocking. You are left sitting for literally more than a day with no information about when you will be seen...very ill, sitting on a plastic chair when you are barely able to sit and should be lying down and on oxygen.

If a GP considers one to be unwell enough to attend hospital then the hospital should treat the patient. The GP even rang ahead for him and a specific doctor was supposedly waiting for him but we never got to see this doctor. It's not like my relative is just walking in off the street. He has a very serious disease and there is a file thicker than a phonebook on him down there. But yet it's impossible to be seen.

So my relative is now resigned to staying at home feeling horrendous, popping pills that are making no difference when all he needs is a few rounds of IV treatment....but it just seems impossible to get.

He thinks he will deteriorate over the next few days and so does the GP he saw today and then we will be paying €500 for an ambulance to take him in...but at least then he will be seen. It's a disgrace.



Just editing to add: a guy came in with a bashed arm last night, wasn't broken but cut. He was seen within about 2 hours and bandaged up and sent on his merry way. How in the name of God is someone like that seen before my relative? Even the nurse in triage was saying my relative was very unwell. She wrote "very unwell" on the computer! Then proceeded to say he needed to be seen in MAU, phoned MAU but they were too full. I just don't get it. You need to be on death's door to be seen in my opinion.

And yes, I agree that too many people attend A&E when they should be going to their GP. This is not the case with my relative. His GP rang A&E and sent him in with a letter as the GP felt he needed to go into hospital.

snubbleste

You do realise you always have the option of going to a private hospital? This will cost money. http://www.galwayclinic.ie/accidents-emergency

Cllr P Conneely is chairperson of the HSE West board and vaunts this position on local wireless broadcasts. He is your paid elected public representative, maybe telephone him and moan at him about the state of affairs. Invite him down to the A&E.

As for your original query, contact the HSE and ask them: Can someone please explain the workings of A&E UCHG please?
http://www.hse.ie/eng/services/ysys/Tell_us_your_story/Complaint/

2rkehij30qtza5

snubbleste wrote: »

You do realise you always have the option of going to a private hospital? This will cost money. http://www.galwayclinic.ie/accidents-emergency

Cllr P Conneely is chairperson of the HSE West board and vaunts this position on local wireless broadcasts. He is your paid elected public representative, maybe telephone him and moan at him about the state of affairs. Invite him down to the A&E.

As for your original query, contact the HSE and ask them: Can someone please explain the workings of A&E UCHG please?
http://www.hse.ie/eng/services/ysys/Tell_us_your_story/Complaint/

God never thought about the Galway Clinic. Thanks. Yes I am going to say it to him now. Think we wil definately head there. Thank you.

ETA: I wonder can I get the referral letter back from UCHG. They will need that.

jugger

i have been there a few times for different reasons and i belive they really do try to do there best with very limited resources

like confusedquark said they are always prioritising who get seen and this means that a person could keep getting bumped down the list i know this is no comfort to you and yours and the lenght he was left with out been seen is not acceptable

last time i was there i had only a short wait as i needed stiches but when i got taken inside i could not belive it staff where in short supply and people were every where i mean everywhere chairs trolleys wheelchairs one gentleman i over heard had been there two days :eek:

i belive some gp's may take the easy route i needed four stiches and so i headed to my gp he looked at it and played with his computer for a bit then wrote a letter sending me to a+e personally and i could be wrong but i think a gp should be able to give you stiches but it is much easier just to refer you to a+e and get fifty euro for a referal letter and this in turns impacts on patients like your friend who need more care than a gp could provide

i hope your friend pulls and i know what you both are going through but i really do think a+e do there best and i am sorry you two had such a terrible time there

Shakti

It is demonstrably the worst of the worst A&E's in the country and nobody cares so why should the staff, I would advise driving to Beaumont Hospital in Dublin, you'll be seen sorted and back home in Galway before a consultant manages to answer their beeper in UCHG. The only sort of prompt "treatment" you will receive in UCHG A&E is 'brush off', 'Cold Shoulder', 'Defensive' or 'Humiliating' all while you or the person you accompany is at their weakest.

Little My

To be honest, I don't think its much different to any other A&E department. I've been there a few times, once myself (by ambulance) so was dealt with straight away), once with a baby and we were also seen right away. Another time I was there with my husband who had serious post-op complications at night so we went in. We waited all night to be seen, not knowing, and not being told, that we had to wait for the original op team to come on at 8 to deal with it. Had we have known we would just have stayed at home and come in at 8.

I also waited 8 hours for 2 stitches in an English A&E. I got very faint when the doctor was doing the stitches so I asked for a glass of water. The doctor left and never came back so I ended up getting someone to go to the vending machine for me and then we just left.

I think in all cases the staff do the best then can given the stretched resources. It is a shame it gets clogged up with drunks and people after fights.

2rkehij30qtza5

Yes the staff do their best but clearly

(1) there are not enough staff on duty

(2) there is not enough space to accommodate patients

(3) there are clear breakdowns in communications if a doctor who the GP spoke to on the phone was supposed to meet my relative in A&E and then never showed up

(4) People with cuts on their arms get seen to sooner than my relative. My relative was visibly very sick and as previously said, the triage nurse even wrote this on the computer and said he needed to go to MAU

(5) drunks and people who cause fights get seen to faster..maybe there is method to their madness, who knows...

(6) nobody tells anyone anything. You could sit there for 14 hours and you wouldn't be told where you are in the queue. You could be in dire need of a bed and not a plastic chair and nobody will tell you anything. You are left 100% in the dark.

My relative was TOO UNWELL to stay sitting on a plastic chair in the middle of the waiting room. We really had no choice but to leave. He needed to lie down. He was collapsing off the chair with exhaustion. That's the truth.

There appears to be a charge of €100 or thereabouts to stop people just waltzing in off the street but I can say with certainty and from observing the reception desk that not all people were referred from their GP.

It almost seemed like a 'meeting place' for some people...like a social event. People were coming in, gangs from the same families....mothers,fathers and about 8 children and meeting other families who they were related to or whatever....and then when 'rival' families would come in there would be bother. It was just bizzare.

I am just saying that the whole system is rotten to the core.

Surely the HSE knows that this time of the year, with all kinds of bugs, drink induced injuries, etc etc...that there should be MORE STAFF ON to deal with the demands??????

Wards that are closed with empty beds should be opened!!!!!!!

It's a disgrace.

We tried the Galway Clinic but they closed at 7pm. I am worried for my relative that we will be calling an ambulance for him to get into the hospital. Seems to be the only way you will get seen to...that or be a member of a feuding family and cause a bit of hassle. I'm beyond annoyed.

inisboffin

What's the story with The Reigional? Can you try the A and E there? They seem to be a bit quicker- just basing it on friends and neighbours' stories.

Is it to do with what area they serve?

confusedquark

God, it's a real shame he waited that long and didn't get seen. It's even more of shame that the HSE can't provide a half-decent service for people that they have to consider going privately for A&E.

I know it's easy for me to say, and he must have reached the end of his patience to discharge himself, but once you get seen, you do get treated properly, so as painful and frustrating as it is, it's always best to wait out as many hours as it takes until you get into the system - you will eventually get seen. Otherwise you just end up at the back of the queue again if you do get worse and need to come back. Friday and Saturday nights are often the worse, and December/January are always the busiest months of the year anyway, so that doesn't help things either.

Do complain about your experience to both the hospital and your local TD - the more the issue gets highlighted, there's a chance somebody might do something about it.

Jugger, you're right to a certain extent about GP's taking the easy route. Lots of GP's do suturing and a lot of other good work to keep patients away from A&E. Some only suture wounds which are simple cuts and refer more complex/deeper ones in to A&E. Some don't suture at all - that could be because they never received any training in it, or because they have busy waiting rooms and can't fork out the time it takes to suture properly, or because it actually costs them more money to have a facility to suture in their practice than what they get in return. GP's have been hit very hard in the past few years with cut-backs in government fees (with more cuts announced in this budget), and many practices are struggling to keep their doors open. So, unfortunately, as they're effectively running businesses with staff wages and expenses to cover, the services they provide and time they invest into them are to a degree dependent on what they get back in return. If the government focuses more on funding GP's to manage more things in primary care (e.g. increasing payments for suturing, for which they currently get 20-odd Euro - barely enough to cover the cost of a disposable suturing set), and interact with them more on organising services better to take some of the pressure off A&E, that would help things. But unfortunately, all you get with the HSE is unilateral cuts without discussion.

Add to that the ever-increasing lawsuits against GPs and doctors in general, with the often large payouts, and doctors start avoiding taking as many risks as they can - which results in extra referrals for scans, out-patients and A&E. The massively long out-patients waiting lists (often literally years) then result in people ending up in A&E when their problem could and should have been sorted before it got to that stage. It's all a bit of a mess.

confusedquark

Whitney Tiny Skit wrote: »

There appears to be a charge of €100 or thereabouts to stop people just waltzing in off the street but I can say with certainty and from observing the reception desk that not all people were referred from their GP.

That charge doesn't apply to people with medical cards, and hence do you get some abuse of the system.

Shakti

inisboffin wrote: »

What's the story with The Reigional? Can you try the A and E there? They seem to be a bit quicker- just basing it on friends and neighbours' stories.

Is it to do with what area they serve?

Merlin Park? it has no A&E,
But the out-patients clinic is head and shoulders above UCHG plus they don't exploit your situation on the parking.

inisboffin

Shakti wrote: »

Merlin Park? it has no A&E,
But the out-patients clinic is head and shoulders above UCHG plus they don't exploit your situation on the parking.

A neighbour fell recently and went over to get an x-ray on his leg. Assumed that was a and e, but could it have been outpatients?

Shakti

inisboffin wrote: »

A neighbour fell recently and went over to get an x-ray on his leg. Assumed that was a and e, but could it have been outpatients?

X-rays are done there yes but there is no A&E anecdotally the guy in charge of running UCHG has the exclusive contract to provide imaging to the HSE in a public building in merlin park for nothing but a token rent, denmark rotten etc.

2rkehij30qtza5

Some interesting points on this thread.

Yes I may write (or encourage him to write) to the local TD and try to highlight this issue.

It's terrible. That someone can be so sick and literally wait that many hours and not be seen.

There is something DREADFULLY wrong with our health system.

It beggars belief that the place is so understaffed when there is clearly a demand.

Didn't realise that some people are exempt from the €100 charge and don't see why it isn't applied to all. Might stop the influx of all the people who appear to be clogging up A&E unnecessarily.

Afterall....if they are sick enough to be admitted they get the €100 back, or can claim it back at least. If they are not sick enough to be in A&E then they lose the €100 and it might make them go to their GP next time...where they get free treatment anyway. Makes more sense.

Anyway, bottom line is- WHO MANAGES A&E and lets it operate with insufficient staff levels???????

Wompa1

It's apparently better than it has been.

http://www.galwaynews.ie/29492-no-trolleys-uhg-and-portiuncula-line-national-trend

Shakti

I appreciate your position GG but A&E is like life and death roulette already and a €100 ante-up will only increase the misery of patients although I might lay a bet with PP on the odds of me surviving next I have to get a mis-diagnosis from some jobs worth in UCHG A&E

2rkehij30qtza5

Wompa1 wrote: »

It's apparently better than it has been.

http://www.galwaynews.ie/29492-no-trolleys-uhg-and-portiuncula-line-national-trend

This is complete rubbish. I SAW with my own eyes, people on trolleys in corridors when I went in to ask where in the queue my relative was. I can't believe the Galway News has that story.

ETA: granted we went in a day later than the date that this article refers to. Unless something drastically changed in the space of 24 hours...I don't know. But I can emphatically say I witnessed multiple occupied trolleys.

Anyway, if this is the case that they are not as busy as expected....why can't my relative get seen to???? Would he be sitting on a plastic chair for a week without being seen if they were 'busy'???? Basically a full day in terms of hours without being seen on a 'quiet' day. Bizzare indeed.

Still wondering, does anyone know WHO MANAGES A&E and decides that there should only be x number of staff on???

confusedquark

Whitney Tiny Skit wrote: »

Didn't realise that some people are exempt from the €100 charge and don't see why it isn't applied to all. Might stop the influx of all the people who appear to be clogging up A&E unnecessarily.

Afterall....if they are sick enough to be admitted they get the €100 back, or can claim it back at least. If they are not sick enough to be in A&E then they lose the €100 and it might make them go to their GP next time...where they get free treatment anyway. Makes more sense.

Can't argue with that.

Whitney Tiny Skit wrote: »

Anyway, bottom line is- WHO MANAGES A&E and lets it operate with insufficient staff levels???????

It's the A&E Consultant and Head-nurse's responsibility to oversee the running of A&E. They have limited control over staff numbers though - they can only tell the Manpower/Human Resources department of the situation, and then it's their responsibility to organise a locum if doctors/nurses are short. If there's a full quota of doctors/nurses working and there are still long delays - it's up to the hospital management and HSE to figure out why, whether it's a bed problem on the wards, or a one-off unusually busy night, or whether they need to consider increasing the number of staff employed to cope with the demand.

2rkehij30qtza5

confusedquark wrote: »

Can't argue with that.



It's the A&E Consultant and Head-nurse's responsibility to oversee the running of A&E. They have limited control over staff numbers though - they can only tell the Manpower/Human Resources department of the situation, and then it's their responsibility to organise a locum if doctors/nurses are short. If there's a full quota of doctors/nurses working and there are still long delays - it's up to the hospital management and HSE to figure out why, whether it's a bed problem on the wards, or a one-off unusually busy night, or whether they need to consider increasing the number of staff employed to cope with the demand.

Thanks for the input. Do you work for the HSE? You seem to have good knowledge of the systems.

100200 shih

Shakti wrote: »

Merlin Park? it has no A&E,
But the out-patients clinic is head and shoulders above UCHG plus they don't exploit your situation on the parking.

They now charge for parking !!! so yes, they do

confusedquark

Yeah, am a GP Trainee, so have worked in a fair few hospitals along the way.

Galwayguy35

I went to the A&E in UCHG once and can only describe it as organised confusion, 12 hours I was there.

I take it you live in the city OP but personally I go to Ballinasloe, it's 10 times quicker and just as good.

2rkehij30qtza5

confusedquark wrote: »

Yeah, am a GP Trainee, so have worked in a fair few hospitals along the way.

I figured as much...well, that you were a medic of some type. Must be frustrating having to work in such a system...although you are probably out in a GP practice now. Thanks for all the input. Has certainly enlightened me somewhat.

2rkehij30qtza5

Galwayguy35 wrote: »

I went to the A&E in UCHG once and can only describe it as organised confusion, 12 hours I was there.

I take it you live in the city OP but personally I go to Ballinasloe, it's 10 times quicker and just as good.

UCHG holds my relative's file, hence we had to go there. But next week, once everyone is back to work in there, I'm demanding that we get a copy of his file so we are never limited to going there again.

Shakti

100200 shih wrote: »

They now charge for parking !!! so yes, they do

I wish I was surprised,

Shakti

confusedquark wrote: »

Yeah, am a GP Trainee, so have worked in a fair few hospitals along the way.

As a GP would you be comfortable sending a patient to be treated in UCHG knowing that they will have to wait anything from 8 to 16 hours and beyond for treatment of an acute condition?

also.....
Do GP's ever complain to hospitals on behalf of their patients and how they have been treated and find out who?/why? etc.

confusedquark

Whitney Tiny Skit wrote: »

I figured as much...well, that you were a medic of some type. Must be frustrating having to work in such a system...although you are probably out in a GP practice now. Thanks for all the input. Has certainly enlightened me somewhat.

Yeah, it's not the healthiest system to work in, esp when compared to the likes of Australia, hence droves of Irish doctors are leaving the country. Yeah, in a GP practice now, so it's not as crazy. No worries for the input, I know it's very frustrating to deal with the system, and it does help to get a few answers. Hope your relative gets better.

confusedquark

Shakti wrote: »

As a GP would you be comfortable sending a patient to be treated in UCHG knowing that they will have to wait anything from 8 to 16 hours and beyond for treatment of an acute condition?

No, but there usually isn't an alternative. If they're bad enough to need admission, they need to go to A&E.

Shakti wrote: »

Do GP's ever complain to hospitals on behalf of their patients and how they have been treated and find out who?/why? etc.

Yes, depending on the exact nature of what happened.

Shakti

confusedquark wrote: »

No, but there usually isn't an alternative. If they're bad enough to need admission, they need to go to A&E.

But doesn't sending someone to get treatment to a care centre were you know they will at worst not receive treatment and at best receive sub-standard treatment after an inordinate amount of time, defeat the purpose of trying to treat your patient in the first place, in other words shouldn't you be making sure your patients receive the treatment they require by sending them somewhere were they will receive that treatment and not somewhere like UCHG as a matter of course in your practice.

Yes, depending on the exact nature of what happened.

Glad to hear it, does anything ever come of it?

cuana

I am grateful to the A&E staff in Galway who have taken care of myself, family & friends over the years. I have been left waiting, in pain & even frustrated at times but I just have to look around me very clearly see that the staff are under pressure & know that it is not for lack of trying on there part. I also am very conscious that there are some seriously ill people who need urgent medical attention & they have to be the number one priority. I can honestly say that when I eventually did get medical attention & treatment that they have been extremely helpful but also when I needed urgent medical attention I got it.


I do think GP's are wasting a lot of time particularly when it comes to minor injuries. I sometimes feel that my GP has sent me in over the years for fear of making the wrong decision & off loading the problem on someone else; A system already under pressure. Now I don't have any medical background so I could be talking sh!te for all I know but surely GP's could actually provide more services within there practices in order to support A&E. I'm sure there is much more they could do like Xrays for minor injuries etc. I know there is cost involved but there must be a better more efficient way. I have had to sit in A&E for hours one day for an Xray on my foot I knew it wasn't broken but hurt like hell! I went in on the advice of my GP and yes feeling miserable for myself but what a waste of time for those involved.

Shakti

Easiest way to relieve the pressure on UCHG is to stop closing and re-open the hospitals surrounding it, the staff in UCHG have been shafted by management and the minister time and time again and it shows and I can empathise with them but not half as much as I do with the patients,

confusedquark

Shakti wrote: »

But doesn't sending someone to get treatment to a care centre were you know they will at worst not receive treatment and at best receive sub-standard treatment after an inordinate amount of time, defeat the purpose of trying to treat your patient in the first place, in other words shouldn't you be making sure your patients receive the treatment they require by sending them somewhere were they will receive that treatment and not somewhere like UCHG as a matter of course in your practice.

I don't know what encounters you've had with UCHG, and although no hospital is perfect, the vast majority of people that are seen in A&E (after however long the wait) receive good and appropriate treatment. Do you honestly believe that every single person that attends there receives sub-standard treatment?

Shakti wrote: »

Glad to hear it, does anything ever come of it?

Sometimes yes, sometimes not.

confusedquark

cuana wrote: »

I do think GP's are wasting a lot of time particularly when it comes to minor injuries. I sometimes feel that my GP has sent me in over the years for fear of making the wrong decision & off loading the problem on someone else;
A system already under pressure. Now I don't have any medical background so I could be talking sh!te for all I know but surely GP's could actually provide more services within there practices in order to support A&E. I'm sure there is much more they could do like Xrays for minor injuries etc. I know there is cost involved but there must be a better more efficient way. I have had to sit in A&E for hours one day for an Xray on my foot I knew it wasn't broken but hurt like hell! I went in on the advice of my GP and yes feeling miserable for myself but what a waste of time for those involved.

Yes, GPs can do a lot more, but the services are set up so they don't have access to them. In your case, I'd be perfectly happy as a GP to bypass A&E and send you straight to the x-ray department for an x-ray, and if the report was back to me the same day and all was clear, it would save both you and the A&E staff the hassle. However, the way the system is set up, GP's can't request x-rays like that, and you'd often wait up to 2 weeks before you get the report back. Clearly if you do have a fracture, you don't want to be sitting around that long without treatment. Hence, the GP doesn't have a choice but to send you in just so you'll have the x-ray the same day and somebody can look at it in A&E. I can cite countless other examples of such inefficiencies, but the HSE don't interact with or listen to GPs to improve things - they think they know best and unilaterally decide on such matters.

Shakti

confusedquark wrote: »

I don't know what encounters you've had with UCHG, and although no hospital is perfect, the vast majority of people that are seen in A&E (after however long the wait) receive good and appropriate treatment. Do you honestly believe that every single person that attends there receives sub-standard treatment?.

Unfortunately I've had pretty appalling encounters to understate it with UCHG A&E but no I do not believe every single person receives sub-standard treatment in UCHG but if a patient has to wait 6-18 hours to be treated then this in itself constitutes sub-standard care from the outset. Waiting lists in public health seem to have obtained an expectational status as the default rather than the constant consistent failing day in day out of public health that the waiting lists actually constitute, not to mention the harm physically and emotionally that they do to patients and carers or family members, in short waiting lists kill and dis-ease.

flynnlives

welcome to Angola!

mikom

Remember the A & E that FG closed in Roscommon...........

Galwayguy35

I know that staff are under pressure but it's crazy that people have to wait so long to be seen.

Noone should have to wait more than 3 or 4 hours at most, we are a small country of about 4 million people and successive Governments have been bladdering on about making things better for over 20 years.

I thought Reilly might be better than what went before him but he is about as useful in that job as tits on a bull.

Looks like things will never change.

2rkehij30qtza5

Galwayguy35 wrote: »

I know that staff are under pressure but it's crazy that people have to wait so long to be seen.

This is my issue. If A&E is so busy, then there should be more staff on to ensure people are seen within a reasonable timeframe. There should at least be a contingency plan in place whereby if A&E starts filling up and is busier than expected, then extra staff should be able to be drafted in at short notice...and all patients seen within a reasonable timeframe.

Nobody should be left sit on a plastic chair with zero care for 16 hours etc.

If a GP deems that a patient is sick enough to warrant A&E care, then how is it reasonable for that person to be left for that number of hours with NO treatment whatsoever.

Confusedquark explained how A&E is staffed.

So from what i can see, there appears to be failings in the HR Dept of UCHG and in the Overseeing doctor and nurse down in A&E.

Yes, undoubtedly you do get good care ONCE YOU ARE SEEN in UCHG. But consider this...you are sent in to A&E in bad shape by your GP. Sixteen hours later with no sleep & no treatment...how do you think the patient will be by then?...clearly in a worse state than when they were initially referred. It's so wrong on so many levels.

On a positive note we are now in the Galway Clinic, he has been admitted, already has seen a doctor and he is getting the treatment he badly needs. We are lucky that we can afford this as an option. It's a shame that we had to go down this route but unfortunately we felt we had no choice. There are more people out there who would not be in a position to pay out the A&E charge to the Galway Clinic or do not have private health insurance & must endure the crazy waits in A&E.

And why I'd like to know???.....whoever is making the staffing decisions in A&E in UCHG should be ashamed of themselves. Supply should meet demand. It is UNREASONABLE to expect a very sick patient to wait for a full day and not be treated or seen. It's seriously 3rd world carryon.

BhoscaCapall

ArtyC wrote: »

How helpful.....

If the information provided in this thread is correct then that is the most helpful advice anyone has given the OP thus far.

jugger

Whitney Tiny Skit wrote: »

On a positive note we are now in the Galway Clinic, he has been admitted, already has seen a doctor and he is getting the treatment he badly needs.

any chance you can give us a time frame

how long from when you entered the building untill you were treated just so we can see the difference

if you dont mind of course

Reventon93

Just wanted to give my 2 cents because I was in A&E on St Stephens night. I was told by a nursing friend that i'd be there all night waiting to be seen. Luckily I wasnt!

I arrived at 7pm and was seen about 8:30 pm. Was then shortly sent for an x-ray within about 10 mins i'd say. After that I was seen by the ortho team and was finished with around 11. All and all the longest I was waiting was 3 hours for a bed for the night which was around 2am

I think that it depends on what youre there for. The man in front of me was in for chest pain, I think. And by the looks of it, there were people who didnt seem to be in much trouble

I hope your relative is ok and has gotten the treatment he needed.

cuana

confusedquark wrote: »

Yes, GPs can do a lot more, but the services are set up so they don't have access to them. In your case, I'd be perfectly happy as a GP to bypass A&E and send you straight to the x-ray department for an x-ray, and if the report was back to me the same day and all was clear, it would save both you and the A&E staff the hassle. However, the way the system is set up, GP's can't request x-rays like that, and you'd often wait up to 2 weeks before you get the report back. Clearly if you do have a fracture, you don't want to be sitting around that long without treatment. Hence, the GP doesn't have a choice but to send you in just so you'll have the x-ray the same day and somebody can look at it in A&E. I can cite countless other examples of such inefficiencies, but the HSE don't interact with or listen to GPs to improve things - they think they know best and unilaterally decide on such matters.

IMO that is just tragic truly shocking! It clearly lacks any insight for management of the HSE not to mention disrespectful to those in your area. Even I can see that GP's can influence & deliver on positive change within this sector.

cuana

Whitney Tiny Skit wrote: »

This is my issue. If A&E is so busy, then there should be more staff on to ensure people are seen within a reasonable timeframe. There should at least be a contingency plan in place whereby if A&E starts filling up and is busier than expected, then extra staff should be able to be drafted in at short notice...and all patients seen within a reasonable timeframe.

Nobody should be left sit on a plastic chair with zero care for 16 hours etc.

If a GP deems that a patient is sick enough to warrant A&E care, then how is it reasonable for that person to be left for that number of hours with NO treatment whatsoever.

Confusedquark explained how A&E is staffed.

So from what i can see, there appears to be failings in the HR Dept of UCHG and in the Overseeing doctor and nurse down in A&E.

Yes, undoubtedly you do get good care ONCE YOU ARE SEEN in UCHG. But consider this...you are sent in to A&E in bad shape by your GP. Sixteen hours later with no sleep & no treatment...how do you think the patient will be by then?...clearly in a worse state than when they were initially referred. It's so wrong on so many levels.

On a positive note we are now in the Galway Clinic, he has been admitted, already has seen a doctor and he is getting the treatment he badly needs. We are lucky that we can afford this as an option. It's a shame that we had to go down this route but unfortunately we felt we had no choice. There are more people out there who would not be in a position to pay out the A&E charge to the Galway Clinic or do not have private health insurance & must endure the crazy waits in A&E.

And why I'd like to know???.....whoever is making the staffing decisions in A&E in UCHG should be ashamed of themselves. Supply should meet demand. It is UNREASONABLE to expect a very sick patient to wait for a full day and not be treated or seen. It's seriously 3rd world carryon.

Delighted to hear that there seen & your happier. IMO this is also a big part of the problem within the HSE, some people are willing to pay for private health care thus I can only assume that this would influence negatively on the public services in terms of budgets, funding & resources available to them. Now I don't blame people using this alternative. There may be some positive elements I can only assume the point of introducing private care was to lessen the burden on the public sector & influence, generate income for the state but again it must come at a price for those in the public sector.