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| My close shave with meningitis and A&E points to a system that is broken | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| I'd always assumed that if you were involved in an accident or became suddenly and seriously ill, A&E would be the best place to go. The doctors and nurses there had seen it all before, would know what to do and of course had the support of an entire hospital if needed. So when, over a matter of just a few hours, I changed from feeling perfectly fine at dinner to being in the worst kind of pain I've ever experienced by midnight, A&E was obviously the place to go. | I'd always assumed that if you were involved in an accident or became suddenly and seriously ill, A&E would be the best place to go. The doctors and nurses there had seen it all before, would know what to do and of course had the support of an entire hospital if needed. So when, over a matter of just a few hours, I changed from feeling perfectly fine at dinner to being in the worst kind of pain I've ever experienced by midnight, A&E was obviously the place to go. |
| My wife almost had to carry me from the car into the A&E waiting room – being a Friday there was nobody available to help her. I had searing pain in my neck and lower back, nausea, light sensitivity and the worst headache I'd ever had. As no chairs were available my wife agreed with me that it was probably best I just lay on the floor. Goodness knows what I looked like – shivering, covered in sweat while wearing sunglasses with a T-shirt wrapped around my eyes. I was taken through quite quickly and hoped this meant they recognised how serious my condition was. Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth. The young-looking junior doctor seized upon my admission that I suffered from migraines in my early teens (I'm now in my 30s), then demanded my wife take me home and stop wasting their time. Tired and in pain, I reluctantly agreed and went home, hoping sleep would do the trick. | My wife almost had to carry me from the car into the A&E waiting room – being a Friday there was nobody available to help her. I had searing pain in my neck and lower back, nausea, light sensitivity and the worst headache I'd ever had. As no chairs were available my wife agreed with me that it was probably best I just lay on the floor. Goodness knows what I looked like – shivering, covered in sweat while wearing sunglasses with a T-shirt wrapped around my eyes. I was taken through quite quickly and hoped this meant they recognised how serious my condition was. Unfortunately, nothing could be further from the truth. The young-looking junior doctor seized upon my admission that I suffered from migraines in my early teens (I'm now in my 30s), then demanded my wife take me home and stop wasting their time. Tired and in pain, I reluctantly agreed and went home, hoping sleep would do the trick. |
| Three hours later and the pain and nausea were worse still. Back we went to A&E to find yet more chaos, more patients and seemingly even fewer doctors. Again we were seen fairly quickly, this time by a different junior doctor. So as not to concern my wife, I waited until she stepped out for a moment and implored the doctor to at least consider the fact that I had almost all the known symptoms of meningitis. This was rejected out of hand and to make matters worse I was told not to come back under any circumstances for 24 hours – a point they forcefully made to my wife as well. Back home again, still in pain, I lasted another three hours until I could take it no longer. You often hear that in busy times, ambulances won't come and get you if you have an alternative means of transport. So my wife did the only thing she could – called 999 and falsely claimed I was unconscious, which wasn't far off the truth when they arrived. | Three hours later and the pain and nausea were worse still. Back we went to A&E to find yet more chaos, more patients and seemingly even fewer doctors. Again we were seen fairly quickly, this time by a different junior doctor. So as not to concern my wife, I waited until she stepped out for a moment and implored the doctor to at least consider the fact that I had almost all the known symptoms of meningitis. This was rejected out of hand and to make matters worse I was told not to come back under any circumstances for 24 hours – a point they forcefully made to my wife as well. Back home again, still in pain, I lasted another three hours until I could take it no longer. You often hear that in busy times, ambulances won't come and get you if you have an alternative means of transport. So my wife did the only thing she could – called 999 and falsely claimed I was unconscious, which wasn't far off the truth when they arrived. |
| With the arrival of the paramedics, we had our first dealings with experienced medical professionals. The senior paramedic recognised me from A&E, and demanded to know why my wife had taken me home. He then diagnosed meningitis in less than two minutes. An hour later I was in an isolation room and the treatment I received was first-rate until I went home a week later. A senior consultant visited me every day, apologised for the misdiagnosis and promised me that steps would be taken. | With the arrival of the paramedics, we had our first dealings with experienced medical professionals. The senior paramedic recognised me from A&E, and demanded to know why my wife had taken me home. He then diagnosed meningitis in less than two minutes. An hour later I was in an isolation room and the treatment I received was first-rate until I went home a week later. A senior consultant visited me every day, apologised for the misdiagnosis and promised me that steps would be taken. |
| What surprised me was that the hospital didn't try to cover it up or make excuses. They actually asked me to make a complaint – something I was uncomfortable doing. What became clear to me then and the recent report by the College of Emergency Medicine (CEM) appears to support, is that those in A&E know the system is broken and want something doing about it. | What surprised me was that the hospital didn't try to cover it up or make excuses. They actually asked me to make a complaint – something I was uncomfortable doing. What became clear to me then and the recent report by the College of Emergency Medicine (CEM) appears to support, is that those in A&E know the system is broken and want something doing about it. |
| The CEM report has said up to 30% of A&E cases could be seen by GPs or other healthcare practitioners at hospitals, but crucially not in overcrowded A&E departments. People will often want to go to a hospital full of doctors, knowing if their condition quickly becomes serious they're in the best place. The CEM has recommended the introduction of GPs and urgent-care centres at hospitals. This would allow people to still go to hospital but without causing congestion within A&E departments. Additionally, the number of hours senior consultants are in A&E would also increase if the new proposals are introduced. Perhaps if this system had been in place when I was ill, an experienced doctor would have been able to assist their junior colleagues, who in turn would've had more time to consider the possibility I wasn't yet another patient who should not have been in A&E. | The CEM report has said up to 30% of A&E cases could be seen by GPs or other healthcare practitioners at hospitals, but crucially not in overcrowded A&E departments. People will often want to go to a hospital full of doctors, knowing if their condition quickly becomes serious they're in the best place. The CEM has recommended the introduction of GPs and urgent-care centres at hospitals. This would allow people to still go to hospital but without causing congestion within A&E departments. Additionally, the number of hours senior consultants are in A&E would also increase if the new proposals are introduced. Perhaps if this system had been in place when I was ill, an experienced doctor would have been able to assist their junior colleagues, who in turn would've had more time to consider the possibility I wasn't yet another patient who should not have been in A&E. |
| Doctors undeniably provided the treatment that saved my life that day, but without the quick thinking of a senior paramedic the first two visits to A&E would have been my last. Without the persistence of my wife, I would probably have died from an illness that should never kill a healthy adult. | Doctors undeniably provided the treatment that saved my life that day, but without the quick thinking of a senior paramedic the first two visits to A&E would have been my last. Without the persistence of my wife, I would probably have died from an illness that should never kill a healthy adult. |
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