Using the emergency room as a GP?

SlavOz on 21/09/2020 - 11:53
Last edited 23/09/2020 - 13:20

As someone with poor health who's prone to unexpected trips to the ER quite often, I've always noticed that there are way too many people who are not in an emergency. Most are there because their baby won't stop drooling or sneezed a couple of times prompting a panic attack. Others are just there doing general GP stuff - getting prescription, checking test results, etc.

This has always been a big problem and now even more so due the pandemic. Why do it?

EDIT so it seems most people condone going to the ER anytime you are worried because that's what triage is for. Please note that filling the waiting room with non emergencies increases the time it takes for a nurse to triage a real emergency, or could even contribute to the ongoing stress of these people. To each their own but I dont condone this.

Health & Beauty

Comments

      • sarahlump on 24/09/2020 - 22:10
        +1

        SlavOz, did you have to wait an extra 10 minutes? Is that why you made this thread? Did the 3rd time you hassled the nurse not get their attention? Did you shout at your doctor?

  • Hithere on 21/09/2020 - 14:23
    +1

    If OP spent as much time looking after their "poor health" as they do trolling posting here maybe they'd be someone with good health?

  • Halo375 on 21/09/2020 - 14:32
    +5

    I seriously doubt people want to wait in those hell holes for 5 hours unless they had a damned good reason.

    • supercheapguy on 23/09/2020 - 08:04

      That's Australia health system for you. I had internal bleeding and had to wait 6 hours because of some people get headache and running nose in Emergency department. That's what the nurse told me.

      • serpserpserp on 23/09/2020 - 10:08
        +1

        Uhhhh I doubt the nurse knew you had internal bleeding when the made that statement. If that was the correct statement or just what you thought they said.

  • KBZ on 21/09/2020 - 15:13

    What makes you so qualified to judge OP?

    • spackbace on 21/09/2020 - 15:19
      +3

      He owns a Mustang, puts him in the upper echelon

  • [Deactivated] on 21/09/2020 - 15:33
    +4

    ED triage patients based on acuity, so if they're being attended to before you, means your condition isn't as serious…

    • ribze1 on 22/09/2020 - 22:03

      I had a broken leg and sat in the waiting room for 3-4 hours (had the x rays proving it).

      • Tambani on 22/09/2020 - 22:18
        +11

        Believe it or not, there are higher priority emergencies than that.

        • supercheapguy on 23/09/2020 - 08:07
          -2

          Like mother going crazy and yelling at the nurse because her kid got headache and acting. That's Australia health system

          • serpserpserp on 23/09/2020 - 10:10
            +2

            @supercheapguy: Does that mother get her child seen before a genuine emergency? No.

          • [Deactivated] on 24/09/2020 - 23:00
            +1

            @supercheapguy: I had my child in the emergency department like that. They assessed him as urgent and gave him a bed.
            Reason? that's when I found out for the first time he had a condition that could inflame his trachea and he could stop breathing at any time.

      • ssquid on 22/09/2020 - 23:27
        +9

        Obviously they knew they could get away with it because you didn't have a leg to stand on.

  • solidweiner on 21/09/2020 - 15:52
    +13

    This reeks of either trolling / stupidity / prejudice or all three. Complete with obvious traces of unconscious incompetence (if anyone's heard of the Dunning-Kruger effect).

    Unless you work in an ED providing care to these people, you don't have a right to judge.

      • SydStrand on 22/09/2020 - 14:27
        +4

        It's old news that EDs receive trivial cases and panicked parents who think their kid's stomach ache is appendicitis (I was one of those kids). But it's for the triage nurse to determine the order in which people will be seen, not you. If YOU had a genuine emergency, you'd be seen before the sniffles and sore backs anyway, so what are you complaining about?

        Also, I know this is hard for you, but try to show a little compassion for people (especially parents) who are worried enough to take family to an ED. No one wants to spend 3 hours in a waiting room after finding out it's not an actual emergency, they do it out of love. As the person who actually has to diffuse and assure these people, it can be frustrating, but I understand the instinct. If I had kids and didn't know any better, you bet I'd do the same thing. So for once in your life, pull the stick out of your ass and try to empathise instead of assuming the worst

        • SlavOz on 22/09/2020 - 17:31
          -6

          Also, I know this is hard for you, but try to show a little compassion for people (especially parents) who are worried enough to take family to an ED

          I'm all for compassion but you do realise that with more cases in the ER, the longer it will take to eventually analyse and triage an emergency? That hour waiting in line could be the difference between life and death because the nurse only realised later that the next patient should be been seen hours ago before all the trivial sore backs and dry coughs.

          • SydStrand on 22/09/2020 - 19:09
            +9

            @SlavOz:

            I'm all for compassion but you do realise that with more cases in the ER, the longer it will take to eventually analyse and triage an emergency?

            That's not how it works. You're revealing your ignorance of not just the science, but procedure. Triage takes 1-5 minutes upon entry regardless of the queue, which then assigns how long it'll take for you to be seen. You're confusing the triage nurse with a treatment nurse, because it does not push you further down.

            That hour waiting in line could be the difference between life and death

            Anyone who shows up obviously critical will either get brought in via ambulance or be treated immediately. It will not take you an hour to be triaged. Find me a single report of someone dying in an ED waiting room in Australia, even during the COVID crisis. Hospitals know what they're doing, you don't.

      • solidweiner on 22/09/2020 - 23:26
        +4

        As someone who has worked in multiple EDs and has had to deal with both people using the ED for repeat scripts and cardiac arrest, my opinion differs from yours.

        Only the treating physician and nursing team are qualified to decide if something is trivial or not. Not for you to judge. And the reason triage exists is because patients do not have the expertise to realise if their ailments can wait the following day or not.

      • Cunning Linguist on 24/09/2020 - 14:51
        +1

        Don't confuse smiling and nodding as someone agreeing with you. I do that all the time when I get asked stupid questions

  • [Deactivated] on 21/09/2020 - 17:47
    +5

    From personal experience, the ED is too liberally used but the alternative of turning people away could actually increase net cost to Medicare.

    I have seen people with stab wounds wait around quietly whilst people with a "very very very bad headache" beach and moan.

    I have seen someone with a minor heart attack let someone else cut in line because the other person was bleeding.

    It's a silly place with a lot of silly people but it is there in case there are actual emergencies.

    • triviums on 21/09/2020 - 20:30

      stab wounds wait around quietly whilst people with a "very very very bad headache" beach and moan

      That's a bad example. Adrenaline would make the stab wound feel like it's nothing.

      • [Deactivated] on 21/09/2020 - 20:37

        The dude knows he has a stab wound. He just happens to be from a very sheepish background.

        He was also waiting for over three hours. The nurse didn't pick out that it was a proper stab wound. It was a flip knife clean through the palm. He had a bandage over the hand and didn't realised it leaked and had a few drops on the floor. Before we could see him, he insisted on cleaning up.

        • pegaxs on 22/09/2020 - 17:51
          +3

          I was as the ED one night after a car vs motorcycle accident (I was on the bike), waiting patiently and two very, very intoxicated guys turned up in a taxi. They were there laughing the whole time because Idiot A had fallen backwards into the fire. They got seen almost straight away and we're in and discharged out in about 30mins.

          When I finally got seen, about 2 hours later, I had broken shoulder, broken collar bone, torn tendons in my arm, massive internal bruising and several cracked ribs… The reason I wasn't seen sooner was "you didn't seem that injured because you weren't complaining enough" even after I told them I could hardly breathe.

          Sometimes, it seems you just need to be annoying so they churn you out quicker.

          • [Deactivated] on 22/09/2020 - 17:55

            @pegaxs: Wear protective gear.

            I had to double check your location as there was someone in SA years ago who waited in the waiting room. He was a regular for fractures due to motorbike incidents. Refuses to wear proper gear.

            • pegaxs on 22/09/2020 - 18:13
              +3

              @[Deactivated]: Dude, I am an ATGATT rider. I didn't have a single cut or abrasion on me, and that was the other thing that threw them off.

              There is no amount of protection I could have worn that would have stopped the injuries I got after being t-boned off my bike by a car doing 40km/h…

              I am just thankful to this day for the gear I was wearing. I often wonder what I would have been like today had I have not been wearing leather, with armoured inserts, kevlar pants, bike boots and kevlar knuckled gloves and a decent helmet.

              • [Deactivated] on 22/09/2020 - 18:17

                @pegaxs: Good on ya.

                Not saying you're unsafe. Your waiting in the waiting room story just reminded me of Cpt Unsafe.

                He did eventually get into a catastrophic incident where his hip was practically a jigsaw puzzle. My mate pieced him back and he was in physio rehab for over a year before he could limp around unassisted.

                I was also witnessed the aftermath of a road incident between a vespa rider and a curb. It was a residential street. No one was around. He fell, slid and hit the curb. It doesn't look high speed. Helmet wasn't strapped in and his leathers were fashion leathers.

                He didn't make it. Neck snapped on impact with curb.

                • pegaxs on 22/09/2020 - 18:22

                  @[Deactivated]: The ED nurse I finally got to see said that they don't usually get riders in that wore gear and noted to me their disappointment that they didn't get to teach me a lesson about not wearing gear by scrubbing the ground up clothing, dirt and gravel out of my flesh with a scrubbing brush.

                  I have some friends who work in ED and they are always telling me about riders coming in who were obviously not wearing any protection other than the government mandated helmet.

                  • [Deactivated] on 22/09/2020 - 18:36

                    @pegaxs: Heh. Just like fatties killing themselves with junk food, there are plenty people not taking any effort for their own safety.

                    I see a lot of people who have skin cancers. Where I am, if I were to tabulate the data, I can confidently say that more than 50% patients aged 60+ have/had some form of skin cancer.

                    I take a lot of care. I have given up many passions because I cannot afford the cost of being injured. Call me old school but I still calculate the total cost of time lost, opportunity cost and the cost of my medical bill (as if medicare doesn't exist) when I weigh up risks.

          • serpserpserp on 23/09/2020 - 10:16

            @pegaxs:

            got seen almost straight away and we're in and discharged out in about 30mins.

            Unless they discharged themselves they would have been there for 4 hours.

            • pegaxs on 23/09/2020 - 10:21

              @serpserpserp: All I know was, I was there for almost 2 hours before these guys even turned up and they were well gone by the time I finally got seen, well over an hour after their initial arrival.

              Maybe "discharge" is a technical word I don't know the correct usage of.

              I have also had my daughter to the ED on numerous occasions for anaphylaxis and have never had to wait 4 hours before being given the OK to go home.

              • [Deactivated] on 23/09/2020 - 11:18
                +1

                @pegaxs: Discharged is correct.

                They keep you in observation depending on the procedure (if any) or if they suspect there's something fishy.

                I have kept a few people in obs because I thought they were drug seeking.

          • [Deactivated] on 23/09/2020 - 23:43

            @pegaxs: Protip, if you have the same thing happen in the future, you should call an ambulance as you will bypass the waiting room 99% of the time that way.

  • ozbking on 21/09/2020 - 20:46
    +18

    I work in both. I think you'll find it's very hard to actually do many GP things in an ED. I certainly wouldn't give you repeat scripts while I'm in the ED, or simply give you test results. To wait a few hours (even up to 8 hours) to be told that would be very frustrating indeed.

    The training is also quite different. If you have a heart attack, you want an emergency doctor to be managing you. If you have arthritis, the emergency doctor isn't able help much other than giving Panadol. The GP on the other hand can link you up with Medicare programs to see the physio, and provide ongoing regular care.

    Also, it's not really your place to say if others are needing emergency care or not, you don't even know their background. Things like drooling can definitely be an emergency, if there were a Quinsy or epiglottitis. The benefit of Australia's system is that all patients at least have a backup to get emergency care without bankrupting them.

    Certainly from a medical perspective I do see plenty of patients presenting to my ED who could be more easily seen in a GP practice, though on the other hand, also patients in my GP practice who should have presented to an ED in the first place. But unless you have the training, how would you know?

  • HelpMeiCantSee on 22/09/2020 - 08:23

    Yup. You are absolutely correct. ED is a free one stop shop. Quite a lot of GP won’t take responsibility for their patients and actually treat them (TimE restraints, lack of education about outpatient/community services etc) so they just send a patient to ED, or worse send a patient home to call an ambulance lol.

    Babies are the exception to the rule. Kids in general can deteriorate very quickly, and it’s usually very fast to ascertain if a kid is at risk or not (at least in an ED). Plus, it shows that at least the parent cares.

    It’s pretty simple, if you’re not going to die in the next few hours (bleeding profusely etc), GP should be your first choice. Can you walk? You don’t need an ambulance. Our health system is crippled by non emergent cases, and drowning in non urgent cases.

    • ssquid on 22/09/2020 - 13:34
      -1

      So I'm not going to die in the next few hours but when I ring the GP to make an appointment I'm told nothing is available for the next 3 weeks. What now?

      • stayhome on 22/09/2020 - 22:55
        +1

        If you live in a major city, ring another GP.

      • serpserpserp on 23/09/2020 - 10:18

        Explain to them why it is urgent. If it is they'll see you or tell you to go to ED.

      • HelpMeiCantSee on 27/09/2020 - 09:26
        -1

        Assuming you live in the city- country folk tend to already understand limited resources.

        You pick up a communications device, commonly knows as a telephone. These can be fixed to a wall (wired/landline), portable (cordless) or entirely untethered (mobile phone).

        You use this device to call a series of phone numbers, assigned to magical places knows as medical centred and doctors surgeries. Once connected to a person located in one of these places, you tell them your story of why you need medical attention. One of these places will be able to see you, and wait for it, TREAT you appropriately in the community.

        It’s almost like we already have a system in place for treating non emergencies and routine care. Who would have thought!

        Hot tip as a side note, if you have the faculties to say your pain is greater than 10/10 (11/10 for example, know your will be treated appropriately as a douchebag).

  • backpaqer on 22/09/2020 - 08:39
    +5

    That's why hospitals have someone called a triage nurse. They decide who gets seen next based on criticality, not order of arrival like in a doctor's office. If you're not likely to die in the near future, you can wait.

      • SydStrand on 22/09/2020 - 14:07
        +13

        Nurses aren't really trained at spotting life threatening illnesses in advance, they just look at vitals.

        Do you work in ED? No, well I do. This is incredibly ignorant. I'd trust the pattern recognition of most experienced nurses I've worked with over many physicians, certainly any GP. Secondly, their results are double-checked with an ED doctor.

        Also, this post smacks of ignorance. Those vitals you scoff at, are more valuable than any imaging or blood test in determining urgency. There are only a handful of systems that would cause rapid decompensation and death within a minutes-hours timeframe, e.g. Neuro or CVS, and a TPR is usually sufficient to determine whether you warrant immediate intervention, i.e. the point of triage.

        Appendicitis presents will present with a suggestive history and signs, is easily diagnosed via physical exam and CBC, and kills in days-weeks, assuming it doesn't resolve spontaneously - and you can bet they'd be pushed to the front of the queue. Septic peritonitis can result in SIRS and death, but presentation and changes to vital parameters (there we go) are obvious.

        Countless people I know had theirs removed "just in time" according to the surgeon, some even had leakage

        Oh, yes? You know 'countless' people who were snatched from the jaws of death? I have a question: how many people do YOU think die from septic peritonitis/appendicitis in Australia each year? Alternatively, when was the last time you heard of someone dying from it? Funny how everyone thinks their appendix is like a ticking time bomb when mortality is so low and the vast majority of us live long, normal lives without ever needing an appendectomy. And as if to make my point, the last high profile death was a child who died within a week of onset of signs and was allegedly misdiagnosed by a GP who didn't check vitals.

      • Scot on 22/09/2020 - 14:23
        +8

        How very insulting you are to ALL the Highly Trained Registered Nurses who work in the ED Department like me. I have over 45 years experience working in Emergency Departments and I can tell you Triage Nurses don't get to be there unless they have undertaken extensive training and experience. Our job is to listen and look at the patient and I can tell you that I can tell almost straight away if someone needs to see a Doctor straight away sometimes without even doing their Observations. We also work with strict protocols. You show your ignorance by your last comment.

      • KBZ on 22/09/2020 - 19:42
        +3

        I wish negative comments didn't have to be hidden to the public to show how goddamn ignorant you are.

      • pegaxs on 22/09/2020 - 20:38
        +4

        Nurses aren't really trained at spotting life threatening illnesses in advance, they just look at vitals.

        Good lord. I don't think you could possibly top the amount of ignorance you have displayed in this single sentence.

      • HelpMeiCantSee on 27/09/2020 - 09:32

        There are many emergencies. Not just gsw and heart attacks.

        Appendicitis can be urgent but can also be conservatively managed. As someone who has had an appendix rupture, yes you do have outward vital signs alerting “just a nurse” to your condition, most commonly tachycardia.

        A displaced femur for example, is an emergency because of the risk of bleeding and fat embolus. An intact hairline fracture causing pain is not an emergency. Both of these are easily assessed immediately and triaged appropriately.

        By your reckoning, any infection is an emergency, because untreated infection can lead to sepsis.

        You’re an ignorant and offensive knob, sir. Good day.

  • OzHunterNSW on 22/09/2020 - 10:04

    This is the system you accepted in privatising health care to the point it has become exorbitant to say the least.
    Look around, these people are just as in poor health than you.
    The world is not crated just for you.
    If you have enough money, go to a private hospital

  • Frayin on 22/09/2020 - 10:43
    +3

    People are saying OP is a troll.

    I think they're most likely, characteristically just an annoying person.

  • Sleepy Jones on 22/09/2020 - 11:22
    +3

    Whenever my kids get sick (not a runny nose) and I'm not sure, I call the Health direct line (a government setup with registered nurses), give the symptoms over the phone and get a bit of advice, on occasions they'll tell me to head to emergency, other times it's just some reassurance that I'm doing the right thing. Last thing I want to do it clog up emergency.

    • Frayin on 22/09/2020 - 13:40
      +8

      Don't ever feel bad for taking your child to the ER over concerns. Even if the concerns pan out to be nothing, it's better safe than sorry. Clogging the ER or not.

    • pegaxs on 22/09/2020 - 18:07
      +7

      Same as user above, don't EVER let people like OP make you feel bad about taking your kids to the ED.

      I have a daughter that suffers from severe anaphylaxis, and one day she was given a great that no one knew had something it that she reacted to.

      Straight to the hospital with half her face swollen up and wheezing. Nurse didn't even triage her and took her straight in to be seen.

      After being there for over an hour and injections and hooked up to machines, were were finally cleared to leave. As we were leaving, there was someone with a few scratches on their arm from a run in with a power tool yelling at the nurses about other people being seen before them.

      As we were leaving, they stopped and started yelling at us for cutting in. "Their child doesn't even have a mark on them, why they (fropanity) did they get to go before me?"

      As soon as I read some of the shit OP has been posting here, all I could think of was the arsehole in the hospital ED lobby yelling at everyone because of their entitled attitude.

      Just because someone isn't bleeding, doesn't mean that they are not in more danger. It's not a "first come, first serve" and some people need to pull their heads in and let the nursing staff do their jobs. Something that looks simple to untrained people may be ringing alarm bells for a triage nurse.

      • SlavOz on 22/09/2020 - 18:22
        -7

        You keep using worst-case examples of when going to the ER is justified. I never nobody should ever go, I just said that people should think twice because there are A LOT of cases where they have no business in the ER.

        Data shows this. Talk to any doctor and they'll tell you the same thing. Why else do you think the government used to make those ads saying "save 000 for emergencies"? It's because way too many people use our overwhelmed healthcare system for trivial reasons. Taking your child due to an allergic reaction is certainly not trivial. But I've blatantly seen parents come in with their kid who bumped their head saying "please tell the doctor it's an emergency".

        • pegaxs on 22/09/2020 - 20:50
          +5

          You keep using worst-case examples of when going to the ER is justified.

          No, I am using an example of when my kid looked normal and had a "cough/wheeze" and some entitled arsehole took it upon themselves to be the mouth piece for the ED lobby all because my child didn't show what they thought were life threatening symptoms.

          A runny nose, cough and general lethargy and pain in a kid could be meningitis and life threatening. And that kid with a "bump" on their head may have concussion and or a brain bleed. It's not up to you as some know-nothing, self entitled internet troll to work out what is wrong with people who present to the ED.

          Your absolute ignorance in this thread is just mind boggling. I am glad that you do not work in a hospital or around the ED. You really need to re-evaluate your view on things. Your continual sense of entitlement across any thread you post is bordering on sicking and becomes more and more outrageous every time you post, which leads me to believe that you are nothing but a deliberate troll, with nothing better to do with your time than to post shit that is solely purposed to inflame people. I almost refuse to believe anyone is this stupid.

          Let me guess, next post is going to be about masks, how Covid is a hoax and that vaccines gave you autism?

        • Jaystea on 24/09/2020 - 00:07
          +2

          Talk to any doctor and they'll tell you the same thing

          I'm a doctor. I won't tell anyone this. Why? Because in context, it's simply not true You're not a doctor, and you don't have the ability to tell the nuances between serious and non-serious conditions that present sometimes, quite simply. Can the GP fix it? Maybe, maybe not. Does it mean you're wrong for coming in? No. I don't tell patients off for it, because it happens all too often (insert countless stories from physicians). And you know what? You do not get to make that decision or judgement call for them.

          You also don't get to speak for me or on behalf of any other clinician nurse/medical practitioner or otherwise on this thread.

    • HelpMeiCantSee on 27/09/2020 - 09:37

      Kids are a free pass. They compensate really well and then fall off a cliff.

      The worst thing that happens by taking your kid to the ed is you waste a few hours in the paeds area. I’ve never known anyone to get upset at a concerned parent.

      Parental concern is one of the major diagnostic criteria when dealing with kids. It’s a sign to not be complacent and look more closely.

  • Hithere on 22/09/2020 - 18:35
    +2

    I've blatantly seen parents come in with their kid who bumped their head saying "please tell the doctor it's an emergency".

    Maybe the kid is suffering from severe concussion, a Hematoma, Edema, or Diffuse Axonal injury.

    You aren't a Doctor, or obviously qualified to diagnose the patient OP.

    • SlavOz on 22/09/2020 - 18:36
      -5

      You aren't a Doctor, or obviously qualified to diagnose

      Well neither are the parents.

      • SydStrand on 22/09/2020 - 19:10
        +2

        Are you seriously blaming the parents for erring on the side of caution for their own child? Wow.

      • pegaxs on 22/09/2020 - 20:53
        +5

        Well neither are the parents.

        No, that's why they take them to the ED… FFS.

      • [Deactivated] on 22/09/2020 - 23:38
        +2

        SlaveOz, either Ozbargain's most successful troll or a true loner.

        One day, please reveal which it is.

  • Hithere on 22/09/2020 - 18:38
    +1

    Do you know all the parents then?

    • SlavOz on 22/09/2020 - 18:45
      -3

      No, but even if they were medical specialists it's not their job or remit to declare something an emergency, especially when there's a conflict of interest

      • SydStrand on 22/09/2020 - 19:15
        +3

        What the hell are you talking about? No one is treated first, just because they claim emergency. It's the job of the nurse and physician to ascertain that, not yours.

        • SlavOz on 22/09/2020 - 21:25
          -2

          Yet like I said, unfortunately not everyone understands this. My friend works in the ER and gets at least 1 case a day where someone comes in with their child and claims that it's an emergency, even though it never is.

          the fact that we have triage nurses at the ER pretty much tells you that even the health experts know that most cases won't be an emergency. If it was an actual ER where only legitimate cases of life-threatening illnesses were presented, we wouldn't have triage.

          • SydStrand on 22/09/2020 - 21:46
            +9

            @SlavOz:

            If it was an actual ER where only legitimate cases of life-threatening illnesses were presented, we wouldn't have triage.

            Yes, you would. Triage has been used for centuries and adapted to countless settings from scarcity to wartime to determine urgency of intervention because it works, but okay, let's scrap it because Mr. Dunning-Kruger here thinks he has a better solution. Even if we magically excluded non-critical cases from ED, there will always be prioritisation of resources. Even if two patients are likely to die, who determines which one is likely to die in the next 60 minutes and who in the next 12 hours? Triage staff, not you. The fact you haven't bothered defending yourself to earlier replies shows this is just another ignorant, hateful SlavOz post.

          • Randolph Duke on 22/09/2020 - 21:48
            +1

            @SlavOz: Wow, 1 whole case! Hospitals must be buckling under those 1 whole cases

          • Cunning Linguist on 25/09/2020 - 21:04

            @SlavOz: Your comments make it sounds like you expect someone should wait it out to the next day if they dislocate an elbow in the evening and GPs are closed.

            You need to remove the idea that ED is only for life threatening situations. If someone breaks an arm or dislocates a joint, it may not be life threatening but they should absolutely go to ED - they might have to wait longer for other people with more life threatening situations and that's fine and up to the hospital to prioritise.

            What is your condition by the way that constantly requires you to go to ED? It seems if you are a regular you should get your s**t sorted out a little better. Please share with us - it's seems only fair that if you get to judge everyone else in ED that we get to judge whether you actually have a legitimate reason to be there.

            • SlavOz on 26/09/2020 - 00:09

              @Cunning Linguist: No mate, this isn't a case of comparing health problems. This is a case of accepting the data - and the data says that at least 30% of ED visits are not worthwhile and only serve to clog up the system.

              You can keep ignoring this if you like but if you choose to do so then the onus is on you to present something to the contrary. I've done my part.

      • Jaystea on 24/09/2020 - 00:10
        +1

        This would literally make it even more so their job to bring the attention to light.

  • baker bob on 22/09/2020 - 22:14

    I highly doubt someone is waiting 6 hours in a room for "general GP stuff" or to get a prescription and I also doubt the staff at the ER are going to let those types of people waste ER resources. Unless you have a super power that reads peoples minds or you have supersonic hearing, I doubt you really know why someone is in the ER and it's bold of your to presume.

  • koalabargains on 23/09/2020 - 00:09
    +3

    OP you really ought to seek psychiatric help.

    • ripesashimi on 30/09/2020 - 15:53

      Hey buddy, read your post about double glazed window and heat system a few months back. Just have a few general questions to ask. This is obviously not the place but you dont accept inbox messages so. If possible, please inbox me. Just a family of four trying to stay warm. Many thanks.

      • koalabargains on 01/10/2020 - 03:03

        Hi, I didn't realise I had private messages off. I've inboxes you, hope I can help, but I mainly just rant ineffectively.

  • AustriaBargain on 23/09/2020 - 01:49
    -1

    I don't know why hospitals don't just set up walk in clinics right next to the emergency room, and triage all the non emergencies there. Then again I bet it's real easy to misjudge out of control cranial pressure as a runny nose, like if it'd cost lives then maybe we shouldn't be encouraging peopel too much to not go to the ER.

  • maxyzee on 23/09/2020 - 01:58

    Can we ask what was OP’s reason for being in ED himself in the first place?

    • KSMLJ on 23/09/2020 - 06:29
      +6

      Fell off his high horse.

    • Cunning Linguist on 26/09/2020 - 00:15

      He won't say… apparently its only ok for him to judge everyone else

  • Dsquall on 23/09/2020 - 07:28

    Wow, so much hate for OP and a descent into personal attacks.

    OP does have a valid concern, the ED is a public good and some people misuse it. I think the reason is due to a lack of education and understanding around general health. As part of schooling and getting citizenship maybe everyone should have a brief class or series of classes on basic health concerns.

    • KBZ on 23/09/2020 - 07:44
      +1

      Maybe if OP didn't insult the profession of nurses by saying all they were good for were "looking at vitals."

      And yeah let's tell all Australian's to self diagnose that won't be harmful at all.

      • SlavOz on 23/09/2020 - 08:29
        -1

        That's not what I said. I said the only thing triage nurses rely on is checking vitals and they're not really trained to know that something uncommon like appendix or gallstones could eventually turn into something much worse and fatal. Only specialists tend to know that journey.

        And yeah let's tell all Australian's to self diagnose that won't be harmful at all.

        Your comprehension skills really are terrible since you've completely misinterpreted what he said here as well.

        • serpserpserp on 23/09/2020 - 09:47
          +2

          I said the only thing triage nurses rely on is checking vitals and they're not really trained to know that something uncommon like appendix or gallstones

          You couldn't be more wrong. Those two things mentioned are not uncommon in emergency rooms.

        • Jaystea on 23/09/2020 - 15:52
          +1

          The more you explain yourself, the more wrong you get. Literally everything you could possibly guess is wrong. Try this: say the opposite of what you think you know - you'd be a hell of a lot closer to being accurate.

      • Dsquall on 23/09/2020 - 21:46

        Not telling people to self diagnose, just arming them with enough knowledge so they are aware of their limitations and capacity.

        Knowledge is never a bad thing.

        P.S Don't be hypocritical. In one sentence you judge OP for looking down on nursing staff, in the next you look down on pretty much all of society.

    • koalabargains on 30/09/2020 - 00:22

      OP is a massive and presistent troll.

  • dcash on 23/09/2020 - 09:14
    +1

    Yup, I have witnessed this on several occasions. I remember the triage nurse telling the angry patient, "I already told you that the wait time will be at least 7 hours!". The patient clearly still wasn't getting the message that perhaps their condition wasn't really that serious and could be dealt with by a GP.

  • SelfMade on 23/09/2020 - 09:21

    That's our public health system for you. If you don't like it go private, yes a bit costly but MUCH better experience in most cases.

  • tomcat83 on 23/09/2020 - 09:25
    +1

    My wife had an asthma attack last Monday and our regular GP sent her to ED. It took us an hour to get through the que at the RAH to even get to the triage nurse. Amongst those around us were genuine emergencies right down to someone that stubbed their toe a week earlier and hadn't been to their gp. What I was more surprised about was the number of people that just stuck their headphones in after that point and waited, obviously then missing when they got called up to see a doctor because they couldn't hear and then getting annoyed at the ED staff. Keeping the emergency department free for genuine emergencies saves lives; but I understand it's difficult to know where it falls on the spectrum of concern before you actually get in to see someone.

    I've got nothing but respect for all the people working in ED, its a chaotic environment full of risk management.

  • luvv on 23/09/2020 - 09:39
    +1

    I think you may be encountering a sampling bias. Believe it or not, most urgent life-threatening medical emergencies aren't walk-in cases, they're brought directly in by the Ambos. If you're sitting there and waiting 6 hours in the waiting room, of course you're going to see only all the other people there that the Triage nurse has determined will survive waiting that long.

  • serpserpserp on 23/09/2020 - 09:43
    +7

    Lol at SlavOz. Mate if you are prone to "poor health" you might need to actually manage it outside of an ER and go and see doctors regularly yourself.

    If you have the ability to sit there and eye test everyone in the ER while you are waiting. You probably aren't very sick yourself.

    Because if you were actually very sick, you'd spend 0 minutes in the ER waiting room.

    • SlavOz on 23/09/2020 - 13:16
      -4

      Makes a smart ass remark about someone's health
      .. pretends to be on a moral high horse in a thread about judging health.

      Don't know who you are on here but you're not really intellectually consistent.

      • redslert on 24/09/2020 - 01:04
        +1

        But mate you are doing the same thing…

        • SlavOz on 24/09/2020 - 07:56
          -2

          Perhaps, but you don't see me walking on a red carpet and declaring my opinion as some sort of paragon of divine morality.

          • EFC94 on 24/09/2020 - 12:31
            +2

            @SlavOz: You're doing exactly that though?

  • gimme on 23/09/2020 - 10:22
    +1

    Welcome to Ozbargain (and internet in general) where most responses are extreme views one way or another. Much like anything else some people in ER don't need to be in ER and some that appear to be 'ok' should be in ER. Of course you get a mix. OP is partially correct but not in a position to accurately judge. That's what triage is for and even they don't get it 100% right. If you have a great or even good GP you can rely on, then you'd be in the minority. I can see why (some) will choose to wait in ER rather than roll the dice with their GP. I've probably had 20+ GPs in my lifetime (moving around etc) and come across only ONE I completely trust and respect.

  • torit on 23/09/2020 - 11:22

    How do you look to the general bystander when you visit the ED OP?

    • SlavOz on 23/09/2020 - 12:51

      Literally bent over in pain, unable to walk, and fighting for air in between screams of agony.

      If you can walk into the ER and sit around causally waiting while playing with your phone, you're not on an emergency. Emergency usually presents severe signs that would affect behaviour.

      • torit on 23/09/2020 - 13:43
        +1

        Then you'd be triaged accordingly. I have had to visit the ED after cutting my hand and needing stitches. I sat there quietly with my hand wrapped up while I waited to be treated. I'm sure it looked to some like I wasn't 'worthy' of being in the ED. It's not your place to judge who is more deserving of emergency treatment.

        • SlavOz on 23/09/2020 - 14:08

          Well now you're likening my point of view to that of extremeist. That's not the first time this has been done.

          Previously I was likened to someone thinking that a child having an allergic reaction isn't an emergency either. I have never said this nor the other. There are obvious circumstances where anyone would know it's an emergency…that includes an allergic reaction or severe blood loss.

          My concern is the mass of people who arrive sitting back casually with no real emergency, because sometimes its blatantly obvious that they're not in danger. That would include those with a skin infection that popped up overnight

          • Jaystea on 23/09/2020 - 15:53
            +5

            @SlavOz: The quietest patients aren't necessarily the least emergent ones. The loudest however, tend to be the craziest.

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