Hospital waiting hours in emergency

I just checked my Kaiser Medicare Advantage Plan: ambulance co-pay is $150 per trip. Doable. Have only needed one ambulance ride in my life - and that was nearly 20 years ago. DH has never needed one.
 

Myra said:
We have a lack of nursing staff here. Some of the ER beds are being held up by patients that have been admitted to the hospital that can't get a room due to staffing shortages. I often wonder if there is a pricing difference if one is forced to stay in the ER as opposed to an actual hospital room.
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are tosl the same thing.. the lack of nurses is the problem... but the irony is.. we're told the lack of nursing staff is caused by the low wages.. and our nurses immigrating to ..wait for it.... the USA...for higher wages
 

hollydolly said:
are tosl the same thing.. the lack of nurses is the problem... but the irony is.. we're told the lack of nursing staff is caused by the low wages.. and our nurses immigrating to ..wait for it.... the USA...for higher wages
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I'm uncertain how much more they will earn here in comparison. The hospital here is doling out bonus pay like it's bubble gum.
 
Too many hospitals allow the A&E to be used as an overnight recovery for drunks, druggies and those who have missed their last bus home. After witnessing it myself one Saturday night, a nurse told me that the hospitals do not have to allow A&E to be used this way but, there is a financial incentive for the hospitals which do. The night we were there, if A&E had only been treating the genuine emergencies, it would have been at least half empty.

A few years ago, Booze Buses were trialed but, I am not sure if that has been quietly shelved or not. The idea was that the buses would provide a safe place for people to recover from the excesses of their Saturday night and would be charged a fee when they sobered up.
 
Trish said:
Too many hospitals allow the A&E to be used as an overnight recovery for drunks, druggies and those who have missed their last bus home. After witnessing it myself one Saturday night, a nurse told me that the hospitals do not have to allow A&E to be used this way but, there is a financial incentive for the hospitals which do. The night we were there, if A&E had only been treating the genuine emergencies, it would have been at least half empty.

A few years ago, Booze Buses were trialed but, I am not sure if that has been quietly shelved or not. The idea was that the buses would provide a safe place for people to recover from the excesses of their Saturday night and would be charged a fee when they sobered up.
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this may be happening in many towns and cities, but I've been to A&E on several occasions over the years...arrived in the morning.. no drugs or drunks there, yet I was still there 10 hours later.. in fact on the last occasion, until Midnight from late morning , when they finally admitted me to a ward..
 
hollydolly said:
this may be happening in many towns and cities, but I've been to A&E on several occasions over the years...arrived in the morning.. no drugs or drunks there, yet I was still there 10 hours later.. in fact on the last occasion, until Midnight from late morning , when they finally admitted me to a ward..
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Fortunately, I haven't had to visit A&E for quite a few years so, don't know if it still goes on. I guess it also depends how near the city centre the hospital is. It was quite surreal actually because, as we were leaving the hospital the next morning, all the overnighters had vacated A&E and were lounging in the reception area, drinking free coffee and watching morning TV!
 
I guess I've been lucky; no bad ER experiences.

One thing you have to find out: are you being "admitted" or are you being "held for observation"?

I was admitted last time but spent the whole two days and nights in the ER for lack of beds. Or you can spend a couple of days under observation, but never admitted. Medicare differentiates between those two statuses.
 
hollydolly said:
Not here unfortunately..

the average Nurses pay ..that's a qualified SRN or SEN is between £27-£32 K
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WOW!!! No wonder British nurses are leaving for the US. Those are some horrifcally low wages for such a crucial skill. And now I understand why you brought up the added insult of them having to pay high parking fees at the very hospitals who employ them at these insulting pay levels.

Full time RNs in CA earn between an average of $110K/year, so roughly 2.75 times the higher number you quoted, Holly (£89K at the current exchange rate).
Speciaty nurses - like ER RNs in CA pull in an average of $170K/year.

Nurses with lower license levels earn less. LVN/LPN (average $72K/year). CNAs (Certified Nursing Assistant), the lowest tier, average $43K/year.
 
StarSong said:
WOW!!! No wonder British nurses are leaving for the US. Those are some horrifcally low wages for such a crucial skill. And now I understand why you brought up the added insult of them having to pay high parking fees at the very hospitals who employ them at these insulting pay levels.

Full time RNs in CA earn between an average of $110K/year, so roughly 2.75 times the higher number you quoted, Holly (£89K at the current exchange rate).
Speciaty nurses - like ER RNs in CA pull in an average of $170K/year.

Nurses with lower license levels earn less. LVN/LPN (average $72K/year). CNAs (Certified Nursing Assistant), the lowest tier, average $43K/year.
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Oh goodness as you can imagine Star, no-one would be complaining about paying parking fees at work if they were earning anywhere near 100k...

This is why I was so stunned at the naysayers on that thread...

many of these nurses are also single parents. and have to go to food banks to feed their families ... to take more of their earnings in parking fees is low...IMO.. and nothing will change my mind on that.
 
The waiting times at A&E just gets worse and worse

Someone has just posted on the Neighbourhood App that they've been at A&E with their teenage son for 21 hours ... and counting.. waiting to be admitted.


A second said their relatives was Blue lighted to the same hospital on Monday..left on a trolley , and then eventually put into a large cupboard !🙁
 
hollydolly said:
The waiting times at A&E just gets worse and worse

Someone has just posted on the Neighbourhood App that they've been at A&E with their teenage son for 21 hours ... and counting.. waiting to be admitted.


A second said their relatives was Blue lighted to the same hospital on Monday..left on a trolley , and then eventually put into a large cupboard !🙁
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It sounds like the hospitals are understaffed and overcrowded. Not a happy combination.
 
Out of curiousity, I checked the wages of a RN in British Columbia. The stats were from 2021. A new RN started at $6000/month and the highest step after 9 years was around $8000. There were many extra pay steps for shift work, weekends, etc. There are many lower levels of nurses who obviously don’t make this much. They still make a decent salary.

We have a nursing shortage. About 25+ years ago, the government of the day closed some nursing schools. It was so stupid as the population was growing. The other reason is some nurses refused to get the covid vaccine. As far as I know they haven’t been hired back. Our cost of living is very high in BC and many are moving to other provinces.
 
StarSong said:
It sounds like the hospitals are understaffed and overcrowded. Not a happy combination.
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waaaaayyyyy understaffed... and of course dealing with high numbers of migrants... as well as GP's who are impossible to get an appointment for under a month, and so people use A&E like a Doctors Surgery..(office)
 


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