Go to A&E or..?

[MellowshipSlinky]

Fell over a few weeks ago, landed on my arse but smashed my left wrist/hand on the ground.

It ached, but it's gradually got worse and now have shooting pains up my arm and slightly tingly fingers.
Really hurts when I press my finger in to a gap in the wrist, and when bending the hand back.

Knowing how stretched A&E is, and although an accident but not an emergency, who do I go to?

GP?
Seems a waste of their time and it's 2 weeks to get an appointment anyway.

Walki-in centre?
Would they just refer me to hospital?

Don't want to add to the NHS burden for what could be minor.

Cheers

[anonymous-user]

Walk in centre gets my vote

[Patch1875]

Yep minor injury’s

[gasman712]

Sounds like a scaphoid fracture. Minor Injuries unit can usually do X-rays ad refer to fracture clinic if required

[andy118run]

JPJPJP said:

Walk in centre gets my vote

Walk in centre is great for most things but if there's any suspicion of a fracture they'll just direct you to A & E for an Xray.
I guess there are regional differences, but where I am an injury like this would have to go to A & E.
They would then triage it upon arrival and probably send you across to the minor injury clinic.

[Shuff4]

I'd advise local walk-in centre.

My local walk-in are always useful (had my share of visits), usually require X-rays then seen to there or referred to the hospital if required.

[MellowshipSlinky]

gasman712 said:

Sounds like a scaphoid fracture. Minor Injuries unit can usually do X-rays ad refer to fracture clinic if required

Just Googled that - all the symptoms add up.
Especially when I press my snuff box

My local walk in seems to have an x-ray, so will call in there next week.

Cheers all.

[MellowshipSlinky]

Called in to the walk-in centre today - 2.5 hrs wait so not too bad.

Anyway, consensus was a probable scaphoid fracture but after the x-ray they found I’ve actually got a cyst growing in that bone.
Getting quite painful now.

Now need to see my GP for a referral to whoever deals with cysts.

[The_Doc]

Hand surgeon

Plastics or ortho

Cyst might be incidental

Why can't the walk in centre refer you on to fracture clinic or a hand surgeon? You don't need more primary care, you need secondary care. It s a waste of your GP's time to duplicate the referral and time.

[MellowshipSlinky]

Quite.

I was lucky (!) they actually x-rayed it there and then - said they don’t usually x-ray after 72hrs of injury...

So, I didn’t want to burden GP / hospital with my minor injury, and now I’ve got to.
No doubt rules is rules.

[caelite]

Is this not what NHS 111 is for? You phone them, they put you through to a practice nurse who gives you advice. They can book you into A&E if they agree its necessary. I used it when I knocked a tooth out, got directed to a dental nurse who told me how to store the tooth & booked me into A&E, got a taxi to A&E and walked straight in & was seen immediately, didn't even have to explain my ailment twice as the woman on the phone had written it up.

[MellowshipSlinky]

Well I'm not exactly an accident nor an emergency.

If I now need a referral from the dr then so be it.
Tried my best not to waste the resources available!

Have private health cover so will take myself out of the system from gp onwards.

[sawman]

The_Doc said:

Hand surgeon

Plastics or ortho

Cyst might be incidental

Why can't the walk in centre refer you on to fracture clinic or a hand surgeon? You don't need more primary care, you need secondary care. It s a waste of your GP's time to duplicate the referral and time.

Commissioning issues probably. Trying to gate keep resources which is actually going to cost more time and money than just letting secondary care finish the job they have started

[Riley Blue]

sawman said:

The_Doc said:

Hand surgeon

Plastics or ortho

Cyst might be incidental

Why can't the walk in centre refer you on to fracture clinic or a hand surgeon? You don't need more primary care, you need secondary care. It s a waste of your GP's time to duplicate the referral and time.

Commissioning issues probably. Trying to gate keep resources which is actually going to cost more time and money than just letting secondary care finish the job they have started

Don't know what 'gate keep resources' means, is it that the walk in centre won't have to pay for the referral but the GP will?

[sawman]

Riley Blue said:

Don't know what 'gate keep resources' means, is it that the walk in centre won't have to pay for the referral but the GP will?

More or less (as far as i understand it) ccgs are under pressure to balance their books and so are increasingly particular about what gets referred to secondary care.
As The doc says, the walk in has identified something which requires a further opinion and possible management, which is not their brief and for which they are probably not funded.
Daft as it may seem when the person they need to see is just down the corridor, but the patient now needs a specific referral from gp ( maybe sanctioned by ccg, depending on what the condition is) for an episode of care to begin and so that the secondary care trust providing this gets paid.
Of course in the good old days before the nhs internal market with providers and commisssioners this was all a lot simpler.
If we wait long enough that might be were we end up of course