How can I get seen faster in A&E?
Arrive at 6-7am. That is when the waiting time is least, as a new shift of doctors and nurses has just started. Also the senior doctors are all there in the morning. So, they can be called if the more junior ones need help.
But there are other things you can do. So, how else can I get seen faster in A&E?
Use other NHS urgent care services
At or near many A&Es, there are other services when you can see someone face-to-face. These are especially important if you think you are ill, but not that ill, and need to be examined:
- Urgent Treatment Centre (UTC). This may be on the same site as your nearest A&E
- Walk-in centre. Ditto.
- Minor Injury/Illness Unit (MIU). Ditto.
In some areas you access these via A&E.
You can ask the receptionist at A&E to organise it. Or if that is not possible, you may be sent there after the triage nurse assessment at A&E (that you should wait more than 20 mins for).
Or in some areas, you can go there straight there and not wait for the receptionist or triage nurse assessment. There may be information on the hospital website to explain how it works locally.
This will reduce the time waiting in A&E and allow you to be treated more quickly. Often the waiting time in those other places is under 2 hours, when it can be 8 hours at A&E.
Another ‘trick’
Oh yes. This is not really a trick. The best way to get seen faster is to have a legitimate problem serious enough to get moved up the list. Don’t go to A&E with things that can be taken care by your GP (or the other options above).
Summary
That is how you can get seen faster in A&E. We hope it has been helpful.
