‘Only way to be seen earlier’: Readers on why millions go to A&E with minor health problems
Our community said the NHS is under intense strain, with long GP waits, under-resourced out-of-hours care, and systemic underinvestment forcing many patients to attend A&E for minor ailments
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Independent readers reacting to figures showing millions of minor ailments clogging A&E said the crisis isn’t down to patients – it’s a system pushed to breaking point.
Many argued that impossible waits for GP appointments – sometimes stretching weeks – leave people no choice but to turn up at A&E, often for conditions that could have been treated much earlier.
Several shared alarming experiences of being ignored or sent home despite serious symptoms, raising questions about triage and the blurred line between urgent and non-urgent cases.
Some offered solutions ranging from triage nurses and priority coding to financial deterrents for non-emergency visits, aiming to steer minor cases back to GPs, pharmacies, or NHS 111.
Debate over accountability and incentives was fierce. Some blamed GP practices for failing to provide timely appointments, suggesting they be charged when patients end up in A&E, while others focused on personal responsibility and the need to use services wisely.
Overall, our community painted a picture of a stretched NHS where underinvestment in primary care, social support, and out-of-hours services is driving a tidal wave of avoidable A&E visits – leaving staff struggling to focus on genuine emergencies.
Here’s what you had to say:
A disgrace
I had a fall backwards in the summer and thought I had broken my shoulder blade.
I already had a spinal fracture from January – and it took the GP two months to order an X-ray, which revealed the fracture. I had woken up unable to move and it took me an hour to find a way to get out of bed – the GP had said this was nothing.
In the summer the GP told me to go to A&E, which I did. I waited 6.5 hours and then went home without being seen, let alone X-rayed. My blood pressure was over 200 and, at age 76, I thought I would have a heart attack if I waited any longer. Other people of a similar age were all seen in a couple of hours with the same condition – broken arm, broken shoulder.
The staff seemed to me to be fooling around and could easily have seen me if they had wanted to. The X-ray unit was idle, with plenty of staff doing nothing. A lot of people had come to A&E with serious symptoms similar to mine. One girl aged about 25 was sent home on the basis that her knee could not be broken because she could walk on it. She hopped out on the other knee. The whole unit was, in my opinion, a disgrace.
Ring 111
These people with symptoms of a cold could ring their out-of-hours GP service or use the NHS 111 phone advice system.
Making it compulsory to do so before going to A&E makes sense for the majority of cases.
The Dutch system
In the Netherlands, during office hours, you first call your GP. If you call the hospital or the emergency services, they will refer you to your GP first. At your GP you’ll first speak to a nurse or assistant who will do triage. Only patients with cases serious enough will get to the GP and/or hospital.
Out of hours we have the ‘Doktersdienst’ (doctor’s service), a co-operation of all GPs in a geographic area who do a joint roster for 24/7 availability. They have a nurse or assistant doing triage and a car with a chauffeur to do house visits if necessary. That way no sore throat makes it to A&E and there are no ambulances queueing.
But hey, you know that nobody does healthcare as well as the NHS, so we should envy you your queues, because queueing is the national pastime in England.
GP access is too slow
Those people would see their GP if they could, but appointments in three weeks’ time, if they can get one, don’t help, so A&E it is.
There are two big issues in the NHS. The first is disastrous social care: too many people have to stay in hospital because there isn’t any available care at home or in a care home, hence blocking beds in hospitals. The second is the lack of GP appointments in time, so people just go to A&E instead (if you are ill you want help now) and overload capacity.
Looks to me that Labour still hasn’t solved this problem after 18 months in power.
GPs should be charged
Living in Norfolk, the four-week wait for a GP appointment seems to be the target, not the limit, to see them.
If I’m ill, I will have to go to the hospital to see a doctor. GPs should be charged for the patients that visit the hospital, if they can provide proof that they tried to see the GP.
Petty empires
The underlying problem is the practice managers at the GP. They have built themselves petty empires doing process that mainly involves making it difficult to see a doctor.
The solution would be to allow A&E to charge the GP practice for every visit that should be dealt with by the GP.
Non-emergencies should be turned away
Turn them away at the door. People are triaged, so why not say this is A&E for accidents and emergencies and your problem is neither – go to the chemist and buy something.
I would have no problem if this was said to me or anyone else. It is ridiculous that any time is taken up by people with a blocked nose, headache or constipation.
Take some responsibility – sort yourselves out, people.
Financial penalties
Any non-emergency visits to A&E should be chargeable at a level high enough to discourage misuse. A clear financial deterrent would push most people to use GPs, pharmacies or NHS 111 instead, and help keep A&E available for genuine emergencies.
Serious conditions are being dismissed
I’ve recently been to A&E and was fobbed off and sent away despite my blood pressure being dangerously high at the time and having the symptoms of intracranial hypertension.
There have been many instances over the years of people getting turned away from A&E despite having life-threatening conditions. Too many doctors are dismissive of what patients say and don’t properly record symptoms. Severe headaches could be caused by any number of life-threatening conditions; constipation could be bowel impaction and result in ischaemia, etc, etc, etc. Many A&Es are now a combination of A&E and urgent care centre, and people are directed there by 111 as they can’t get a GP appointment.
A&E becomes the only option
There are many cases where headaches have been ignored until they become severe and turn out to be brain tumours. And the GP’s advice is you should have come to us earlier. Now, given that you can wait weeks for a GP appointment, the only way to be seen earlier is via A&E.
Charging could curb irresponsible use
Free at the point of delivery will inevitably mean irresponsible use and wasted resources, cf free bicycles in Amsterdam, which all ended up in the canals. This is yet more money taken away from real needs and real priorities. The obvious solution is a small payment (say £40) for GP and A&E visits (doubled for no-shows), reimbursable for a small group of the most needy (eg over-85s, under-8s).
Bound to get worse
Most hospitals have a Minor Injuries department open from 8am to 10pm, and patients are triaged when they come to hospital. Moreover, the Emergency Department has two tiers: urgent and non-urgent. So, nobody goes as an urgent case to the ED with a blocked nose. However, since the out-of-hours medical coverage is wanting and GPs insist on working office hours and refuse to cover emergencies, this situation is bound to get worse.
Some of the comments have been edited for this article for brevity and clarity.
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