Missing, common sense

Common sense... does it exist anymore?

It's really not so common.

Had the misfortune to be at A&E with my small person on Saturday and the sheer number of idiots who turn up there for ridiculous reasons is really beyond me.

One entire family (mother, father, two younger brothers and an aunt) had rocked up because a child aged about 7 had staved her finger. She needed a lolly stick and some tape around it. Could this not have been done at home?

Someone else was there because they'd stubbed their toe.

The one that really, really took the biscuit was the 5 year old child who was there with her mother and her mothers friend (or sister, or whatever) running around the waiting room, playing with toys, emptying the water cooler and generally causing havoc.

As their 5 year old looked well, and my small person didnt (she was covered in blood) they asked me what had happened, I told them and asked why they were there, in reply they said - "Oh, she was bitten by a dog." I looked at the child and asked where. "There, on her hand. I've called the police, dogs shouldnt be allowed to roam off the lead when children are playing."

Well, you could have knocked me down with a feather. The childs hand was barely marked, the skin wasn't even broken. She needed to put some savlon on it and tell her not to go near dogs, but no, she was sitting in A&E contributing to the 3 hour waiting time because she wanted an attendance documented so that she could phone the police and waste their time pursuing a prosecution.

This morning I saw a status on facebook asking for witnesses to come forward to the "vicious and savage attack" on her child by a dog outside a local shop.

Vicious and savage!? The child wasn't even bleeding!?!

I knew that common sense was a dying thing, but holy carp I didnt think it was this bad.

Stop the world I want to get off.

I don't think its always a lack of common sense so much as some people have an agenda to push.

Who goes to A&E with a stubbed toe tho? Seriously?
That's like phoning 999 to say you found an umbrella. (which I believe has also happened!)

yeah the people who work in A&E must wonder about people. Last time i was in dislocated my knee, was sat for a good 7 hours during this time some lady was up complaining none stop about how she was being made to wait. She had a sore chest or something i got took before her she went ape **** shouting at me cause I got took before her.

Turned out there was a rather nasty fatal car crash and everyone was working on that, on my way to x-ray seen her again, heard her say "and so their more important than me cause they might die" I won't forget what she said for a long time. On way back from x-ray she was being taken out by the staff as she was told their was nothing wrong with her and she should go home, all while she was screaming how they knew nothing and she hadn't even had an xray.

Some people begar belief.

The problem with common sense is that its not that common...

I was at A+E once and this woman was moaning. She had a mild tummy bug and wanted antibiotics. Aye right. Anyway, she waited an hour. Yep, one whole hour.

She wouldn't stop ranting! I ended up saying to her: "I went to A+E with a broken hand once in Dundee. It took 6 hours before I was seen and I was in agony - stop moaning and let them get on with their jobs! And while I'm at it, well done on bringing a stomach bug into a hospital when all you need is paracetamol for your fever and dioralyte."

Then I got seen before her! Hahaha!

[Fallout]

It's just so much easier not to get ill.

Maybe A&E should have an amputation policy. If it's bleeding, it's coming off.

Another technique could be potty mouth triage. When people rock up, they're verbally abused relentlessly. Serious cases will stay, non-serious cases will go home to cry.

I'm sure there are other equally effective solutions.

.... really need to go to bed.

I've been a doc for just under 2 years now, and have worked in general surgery and ear/nose/throat for over a year. A lot of this job entails taking the A&E referrals if an admission under the surgeons may be warranted.

I don't quite get to see the ones that really take the biscuit as they wouldn't get referred on to us in the first place. We do see many overly anxious parents that bring their children in for things that could have waited for a GP, though in all fairness abdominal pain can be quite worrying, particularly if you're unsure about the signs/symptoms.

The ones I really don't get however are the patients who have waited in A&E for many hours, referred on to us, been told by us they need to come in (usually for something like IV antibiotics), but have had enough and self discharge against medical advice. If you're coming into hospital because you're worried about something you have, and are subsequently told that you need to come in for treatment but refuse, why on earth are you turning up in the first place? For a magical quick fix or reassurance that you're not going to die tomorrow?

[andrewsmith]

Speak to anyone that works in A&E the non cases get funnier, and what people do is terrifying.

Had this 2 year's ago when I gashed open my hand. People moaned when I got seen before them then changed their mind when they saw my hand bleeding when the pressure was taken off

sent from place where even the devil is afraid

It does help if your wife used to work in the local A&E (still has contacts there) and our next door neighbour is senior A&E nurse there now, so I either get treated at home or can preferential treatment if I do need to go.

When I did this...(interfaced with a garage door)



My neighbour just came round on the night and glued it for me, no A&E trip for me

Some of the people who call for an ambulance or go to A&E for unnecessary 'treatment' are on the lower end of intelligence scale, got nothing to do with common sense.