Health chiefs rubber stamp Ealing A&E closure
 

www.ealinggazzette.co.uk/A/E Closures

Now l know that this government do not give a damn about the voters, the A&E departs of FOUR hospitals are to be closed under cutbacks.

Central Middlesex, Ealing, Charing Cross and Hammersmith are to close its A&E for GP led surgeries. Health Chiefs gave the go ahead, to make sure that patients that cannot get GPs appointment now have to wait longer.

I know for a fact this won't work, it happened to me recently at West Middx, they refused to see me and l was in terrible pain and attempted to make an emergency appointment for my GP, instead of an X Ray l was given g=cream and sent home on strong painkillers.

Hospitals that still have A & E means that patients will have to travels miles for an emergency hospital.

Re: Health chiefs rubber stamp Ealing A&E closure
 

http://www.ealinggazette.co.uk/ealin...4767-32840587/

I'm assuming this is the link Arthur didn't try to post

Re: Health chiefs rubber stamp Ealing A&E closure
 

And people have just shown him how to do it.

Re: Health chiefs rubber stamp Ealing A&E closure
 

he knows full well how to do it ,he was doing around christmas

Re: Health chiefs rubber stamp Ealing A&E closure
 

Re: Health chiefs rubber stamp Ealing A&E closure
 

And not one decent word about the title

Re: Health chiefs rubber stamp Ealing A&E closure
 

you can't base your opinion on weather or not it will work as you put it purely on your own bad experience.

every time I've been to a&e I've been admitted, never turned away.

i really can't see them turning away anyone without good reason, and if i wasn't satisfied I'd go somewhere else.

Re: Health chiefs rubber stamp Ealing A&E closure
 

Hi Dilligaf, don't like to say this, but that is all changing, IF you have a Doctor, you will be sent to see him or her under new guidelines.

My nearest hospital West Middlesex, l was told by my GP, that if the paid did not go away with medication, then go straight up the hospital which l did, they refused to see me, and told me to go back to the gp under the new guidelines set by the government.

You just cannot walk into A&E now wihtout a GP appointment letter.

Re: Health chiefs rubber stamp Ealing A&E closure
 

I suspect if your condition is serious enough you will still be admitted.

I think what they are trying to stop is something that was actually a major problem when I worked for my local hospital (not in A&E but I knew a few people who worked there).

That problem was that a lot of people were seeking treatment in A&E for injuries or illnesses that could have been treated by a GP or even with over the counter medicines by the patient themselves. A lot of these patients had been referred by GPs.

Our local health authority even went as far as converting one of the smaller hospitals in the borough to a state of the art minor injuries unit that local GPs could use to perform minor surgery on patients. with the idea that it freed up resources at the borough's A&E department for more serious injuries and illnesses.

The MI unit was so underused that the HA ended up converting it back to a hospital.

Why is this a problem? Simple. Cost. It costs the NHS several times as much to treat a minor injury at an A&E department as it does for the GP to treat the injury at either their own surgery (assuming it is so equipped) or at a local MI unit. Obviously, if the patient is able to themselves using over the counter medicine, it costs the NHS nothing.

Re: Health chiefs rubber stamp Ealing A&E closure
 

yes you can walk into and get treat in a&e without seeing a gp first.

Re: Health chiefs rubber stamp Ealing A&E closure
 

That's what confused me. You can walk into any department in a hospital with a GP referral. Why would the GP refer you to a department that is not a specialist one for the condition or injury you have?

Re: Health chiefs rubber stamp Ealing A&E closure
 

We all know that but Arthurs got a bee in his bonnet so you can't

---------- Post added at 19:29 ---------- Previous post was at 19:27 ----------

Not much of an accident or emergency either if a doctors referral is needed to sew your finger back on .I think Arthurs getting mixed up again

Re: Health chiefs rubber stamp Ealing A&E closure
 

Shurley not ... :erm:

Re: Health chiefs rubber stamp Ealing A&E closure
 

When Arthur is in rant mode, all facts go out of the window

Re: Health chiefs rubber stamp Ealing A&E closure
 

Of course you can, you nana. Seriously, if you have a urgent problem you will be triaged, probably made to wait hours and then be seen (and god help you)......but you will be seen, that's why it's called A&E. Don't get me started on how bad the service there can be but it is a walk/limp in service. Granted, some of the time wasters who turn up will probably, quite rightly, be told to bugger off and see their GP......

Re: Health chiefs rubber stamp Ealing A&E closure
 

Long time since i've been to A&E but wasn't that the problem ,too many people with very minor injuries that a sticking plaster would have sorted taking up time for those with limbs hanging off

Re: Health chiefs rubber stamp Ealing A&E closure
 

it was just the kind of thing Karl Pilkington would say is all.

---------- Post added at 19:44 ---------- Previous post was at 19:41 ----------

I've been to a&e a fair few times over the last year and even this year. you do still get the plaster brigade but as rammy says triage at the door. if you need setting you get seen. I've never had to wait more than 10 mins but I don't go unless it's really needed.

Re: Health chiefs rubber stamp Ealing A&E closure
 

Triage is the secret. But the few times I have had to go (or be taken in an ambulance) to an ER/A&E/Casualty there has been no sign of active triage. Just queues that got longer and longer, with some patients collapsing or bleeding profusely, babies and kids screaming, tempers fraying, (admin) staff being abused, fights breaking out.

In this fairly large city, it seems daft to have only one emergency department, and even dafter to have one so undermanned that it is scarey to patients.

It's the sharp end of the NHS, so why are they cutting resources?

Re: Health chiefs rubber stamp Ealing A&E closure
 

I've been in a number of A&E's over the years with major cuts and i have found they differ greatly some are good and some not so good ,i think it's down to the individual hospitals management as to how their A&E's are run

Re: Health chiefs rubber stamp Ealing A&E closure
 

and it was like that before resources were cut......

Re: Health chiefs rubber stamp Ealing A&E closure
 

If you go into West Middlesex today, there are TWO queues, One to check into the A &E, you are then past to another queue and see a Sister/Charge Nurse.

She then decides if it can be treated by a GP,makes the appointment for you and that is it. For the first time ever at this hospital, The waiting room was empty as the sister was sending everyone home. I asked her why this is was, and was told it was new guidelines set by the government.

I was in terrible pain in my neck and right arm, and told to take painkillers, and that was it.

My GP gave me Algesal cream, which is a waste of time and the GP told me that herself, IF it gets worse, she will send me for Physio when it gets worse as it will cost her money, to send me.

This not a rant, I was also told that guidelines are also saying that it will now get much tougher, and you may have to pay private for treatment as Gps are no longer going to pay for this treatment in there budgets.

And the surgery told me that.

Re: Health chiefs rubber stamp Ealing A&E closure
 

If A&E departments are getting tough and sending people home who have neither had an accident, nor are requiring emergency treatment, then IMO that is a good thing.

Re: Health chiefs rubber stamp Ealing A&E closure
 

Agreed the Name says it all ACCIDENT and EMERGENCY any thing else should be your Doctor. If Arthur was in pain but it was NOT a ACCIDENT and NOT a EMERGENCY then why go to A&E

I have terrible pain in my shoulders and arms at times due to my arthritis and have to take tramadol to lower the pain. I don't go swanning off to A&E each time :mad:

Re: Health chiefs rubber stamp Ealing A&E closure
 

So you got triaged and sorted. Sounds like it's working fine to me.

Also you didn't need a GP's letter did you - as you just pitched up and walk in and put in the appropriate line.

---------- Post added at 13:27 ---------- Previous post was at 13:25 ----------

Exactly - and if I don't need a&e I go to my walk in dr's. Sorted.

Re: Health chiefs rubber stamp Ealing A&E closure
 

Okay if you can wait two weeks for a doctors appointment.

Re: Health chiefs rubber stamp Ealing A&E closure
 

Just to answer a few pointers that have been up regarding my hospital visit.

I was under the GPs,, but was told by the practice nurse that if the pain continued then go straight to A & E, which l did, l went there and they told me they couldn't see me, even though l was in great pain, l have never felt pain like it.

The hospital said that l have a trapped nerve between the back muscles and it should be treated by the GP and not the hospital.

The muscle is between the neck and the arm socket and the pain goes down through the shoulder blades.

I went for an emergency appointment, the practice nurse said it was due to the cutbacks that they sent me back to the GP, and she put me on Adesal, which they said doesn't work.

And there was no other medication that would work, but the nurse told me it could be a frozen shoulder and there was plenty of medications out there that would work.

My GP did not send me for an xray or examnin me, l have lost faith in thwe whole lot.

Re: Health chiefs rubber stamp Ealing A&E closure
 

May be wrong but I think Dilli was referring to a walk in doctor service, hence no 2 week wait for a GP appointment.