Perhaps I wasn't clear enough.PureFodder wrote:
If they wait a couple of days and see a GP, are they not going to incur similar costs and resources then. If they're only seen when there is no serious problems to take care of, therefore only increasing wait times to similarly low level injuries and the government will be carrying the costs whether they see a GP or go to an ER, what's the big issue? It should neither incovenience you or cost the ER anything.FEOS wrote:
I fully realize that patients are seen according to the severity of their presentation, not the order they arrived (did you miss the part where I said I've been to the ER with my son innumerable times?). The point being that regardless of how they are prioritized, those non-emergent cases are taking up resources and cost (keep in mind we're talking about basically non-paying patients here) in the ER rather than waiting a day or so to see their GP.
I'm talking about what it's like in US ERs. I won't comment on ERs (or A&E depts) in the UK since I haven't been through one, nor will I pretend to be an expert on the UK medical system in general since I neither live there nor work in your medical system.
In fact, without them, wouldn't there be times when the ER staff lack critical patients and are therefore wasting time and resourced doing bugger all, when they could be seeing to some low level injuries while they wait for the next major one?
Going to see the GP doesn't pull resources away from the ER staff or facility. Pulling resources away from a GP is less critical than pulling them away from an ER.
And believe me, wading through a sea of people without emergent conditions in order to get your son who is in respiratory distress into the ER (and clear up the triage area so he can be seen) is quite inconvenient.
“Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.”
― Albert Einstein
Doing the popular thing is not always right. Doing the right thing is not always popular
― Albert Einstein
Doing the popular thing is not always right. Doing the right thing is not always popular