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

crazyground2005

Whitney Tiny Skit wrote: »

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??

I understamd your frustration with system however it is not only a problem in UCHG it is a NATIONAL PROBLEM. When a GP refers a patient into A&E it is because the patient requires further treatment. It does not mean the patient requires urgent immediate care.
The triage nurses role is to examine the patient and categorise the patient accoding as had been outlined above in other threads. The GP telling you that your relative needs to be seen immediately and will be accepted by MAU and he will be send straight off up to a bed then in VERY misleading. The GP has no idea what space or beds are available in th ED or the wards nor does the GP have any control to say you will be seen immediately. If your Gp is that concerned and felt yor relative was that unwell he would have rang an ambulance and accompanied the pt to ED. The triage nurses will NEVER triage a ptient who is dangerously unwell back out to the waiting room. They are highly knowelgeable trained people.

MAU takes patients directly from Triage with Medical conditions only such as shortness of breath, chest pain, epiosdes of collapses etc. If for example MAU can hold 13 pts in their unit and at the moment of triage the Mau is full then the triage nurse can do nothing about that nor does she or any other staff have any control of Mau being full. The triage nurse puts ur relative in the queue for A&E. Regardless of the GP letter if Mau is full its unfortunatly full until those pts in Mau are discharged or admitted to their beds on the wards.


Drunken eejets that present in A&E is a major problem but by law nobody can be turned away from A&E. If a somebody presents that is completely intoxicated and cannot sit in a chair then yes that person is given a trolley to rest on. That patient is the nurses responsibility. That patient is not deemed safe to site on a chair in the waiting room if he is not fully awake, activley vomitting, reduced level conscious etcetc. This is the same treatment if a 15 yr old presents intoxicated (yes it does happen)


I hope your relative got the treatment he needed eventually. Staffing is a major issue and there is nothing they can do only argue their case on a daily basis. i can only imagine it is incredibly frsutrating for the staff in there. I know theydont get a break half the time.
hope this helps