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How would you improve the A&E wait time

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Two relatives of mine have died in A&E. One died after waiting for an ECG for 9 hours after a heart attack; the other died of pneumonia after a 14 hour wait.

According to the official statistics, each was seen within the 4-hour limit.... by a nurse who took a few details and decided neither was an urgent case.

The heart attack was thought to be heartburn and the ECG was "just to make sure", the pneumonia was "shortness of breath due to age."

I don't blame the doctors and nurses on the front line; they are so overstretched that mistakes are inevitable.

I blame the current medical system which means that people who should go to GPs are forced to go to A&E for any kind of medical attention. This means A&E are handling cases that should be dealt with by a GP.

For example, if a friend of mine who lives about 150 miles away needs to see her GP (Monday to Friday only!), she has to phone for an appointment on the day. The phone line opens at 8am; by 8:15am all appointments are taken and she is told that if she needs to see a doctor today she should go to A&E.

Things are slightly better at my own surgery - my wife can almost always get an appointment on the same day; as a bloke I can usually get an appointment within a few days. And we have tested this - I phone, "next appt is two days time". Wife phones 10 mins later : "We'll see you today."

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