Things you do when sitting in a+e
 

Whether you think you have broken your leg or are waiting for an assessment of some sort you do funny things to pass time!

So far me and Oliver (frenchhorn) have:

Pulled funny faces
Attempted to tell William (Oliver's cute teddy) a story
Knitted
Used the NHS phone and electricity!
Ate there ok-ish snack box consisting of cheese and crackers, egg sandwich and a mango and apricot yogurt

AND made this thread!

So what things do you do to keep busy!

I remember I had to go to A&E when I was in a therapeutic community once years back. Two other members came with me and started stealing - and wearing - things out of the cupboards in the little cubicle. You name it - rubber gloves, aprons, incontinence pants, they were all dressed up in them. It was mortifying.

Generally make fun of each other and just talk about stupid random things.
If there for mentals, joke about it, it's best to make light of a bad situation and can be quite funny.

Generally act like children, and it is always a good time for a catch up. Or a sleep.

Loled.

Like others have said generally make jokes especially if tis MH related, and often resort to the A-Z of bands and singers/films/whatever game when extremely bored.

We have thought of a new one!

Educate the whole of the green area with classical music

Yay for Peter and the wolf :)

And another one!

Having you medical physical assessment thing and seeing you best friend who is having said medical.

It's a funny thing.

I tend to panic and fiddle with scarf/jacket/zip end.
But then I've only been to a and e a few times and both were connected with bad anxiety related to physical symptoms.

I was once hand cuffed to a wheelchair and I started to propel myself down the corridor really fast. That was fun. Especially when the officers with me had to leg it down the corridor after me!
I also asked them if they could arrest someone for wearing socks and sandals.

Its not A&E, but when I used to get put in the police cells, I would stick a cup to the wall and play basketball with a screwed up napkin.

I usually read all the leaflets. There are plenty. Or the posters. Or play games on my phone.

I usually just get bored, then tap my leg because i'm bored.

Or last time I was in A&E I had a break down in the waiting room, that was fun and passed the time :)

Or i'll text some unlucky person.

Once in the waiting room, I tried to convince Jocelyn the tattoo on my wrist didn't exist and she was just hallucinating it. I asked some poor guy if it was there and he said no, I liked that man :)

ummm....my most entertaining time was when my a-level archaeology teacher took me to a+e, I was doing my AS level at the time, and she had an A-level paper with her....so we passed the time with her testing me on an exam I wouldn't take for another year...it was fun.

I've only been in A&E twice. Once when my brother was having his mentals and then he was non verbal so I chatted to the police staff who were waiting with us. They were lovely :) and we were seen fairly quickly anyway (so police could get back to work) and then when I broke my hand and was waiting 4 hours to be seen but I was in too much pain then to really do anything at all.

Play the "What's wrong with them" game, guess what's up with other people.
Read ALL the posters.
Learn how to sleep sitting upright.
Count the roof tiles.
Count the floor tiles.
Befriend anyone who is alone or looks distressed (use some caution obviously, not everyone is friendly)
Once played the "Look after the fitting person that the receptionist says isn't fitting because they have MH problems" game. I won that one.

luckily I haven't been to a and e in my life but when I'm sitting in a waitingroom I sometimes start to guess what job/family/home the other people there have.

I had an indepth discussion with a 3 year old about the crayon they had stuck up their nose whilst I was waiting to see someone about my knee a few years ago.

My favourite thing to do in a+e is try to get out.

I normally check out any hot women who are about then leer at them

I sit & plot my escape route & hope to hell they'll let me home

Same here!
That or i plan what to doin the event of a zombie apocalypse!

Hmm was in A&E this morning. I ended up listening to music so loudly that I didn't hear them call my name. Had a psych support worker sit with me incase I absconded however I couldn't really without leaving a trail of blood everywhere. Planned different ways to try and escape.

I think I spent alot of the time hiding my face as nearly all the doctors knew who I was.

I get lots of time in the emergency room. When I'm not getting poked and prodded and I'm not watching TV I usually will stare at the monitor and watch as my heart rate goes up and down, up and down, always amusing.

When people are with me they tend to go through the cabinets, play with the foamy hand sanitizers, ect.

Mostly I just think to myself "please don't let me get admitted, please don't let me get admitted" doesn't work too often though.

Trolling nurses. Got to be done.

^ Stop trolling the nurses THEY DON'T SPEAKY DA AARDVARK!!! ;-p

They do now!
Although I have to admit, he wasn't too impressed with "the wound fairy did it"

;p

^ Can't imagine why ;-p

I like this thread :)

Usually I play 'spot the doctor/nurse'- I am in there quite a lot so I look out for those I know and try and remember their names etc ;)

If I am with my friend we go through all the things in the room and make up what strange things they could be used for!

Play games on my phone/tablet

Text lots of people and catch up with old friends!

Play the 'guess what other people have wrong with them' game, and try and guess who will be next to be seen ;)

Talk to other people waiting (if they look friendly and if I am feeling up to it)

If I am with my friend we usually end up walking round the room in circles as we get bored :P

Curl up with my head in my lap and try and have a nap

Catch up with some uni work or therapy homework!

Hide from nurses and doctors who don't like me

Providing I haven't got a cannula in yet then I will do my hair

Pick off all my nail varnish through nerves

If I am with my friend then giggle about stupid things!

Knit.

Panic about money.

Read.

Count everything.

Chelsey is currently singing the my "little pony theme" tune....

My next activity will be to convince psych that she is the one that needs to be seen......

I dare you both to start doing the YMCA dance across the room :-p

Totally would have done but just left.
Next time maybe! :p

She was playing imaginary sports outside a&e while we waited for the taxi. Was very entertaining and she had a captive audience by the time the taxi came!

- Read
- Predict which public health ad is going to appear on TV next
- Guess what people are there for
- Play games/use apps on phone
- Make nice plans for once it's all over!

Last time I was there I was panicking as I had cut before the other incident happened(I reacted to putting deep heat on my ex gf) so we hid in the toilet and made sure the cuts were cleaned and then just sat there for 4 and a half hours with Ali asleep on my lap. All they gave me was a bloody antihistamine.

Watch the television

watch people

try to work out which doctor i will see and which number door he/she shall call me in to.

count the number of times people push the light switch instead of the exit switch

fiddle with my mobile

They always have BBC1 on in my local A&E. I've watched Peter Pan, Armaggedon and Sunday night a film called A Boy called Dad. Was a bit awkward because there was a rather obvious sex scene! :s
In the kids A&E there, they have a gamecube with mario kart double dash. At least they did when I was 15/16, I'm too old for there now :(
If they have still got it, I bet some kid has beaten my high score :plain:

There are kids A&Es? Like, ones that are not intended for adults!??!?!?

WHAT.

Yep, filled with cute but screaming children. I think both the two closest to me have seperate paeds area.

Every hospital I've been to (a lot!) Have had a separate paediatric A&E.
I could see one of them from my room in a psych ward, I spent about 5 months trying to work out what was on tv in the kids A&E department (it was quite far away)
After months of surveillance, I concluded it was CBBC.

my local doesn't have a paeds at all but the one further out has a separate part for little people.

I like to think intently about what life would be like as a Borrower, and look around for things to 'borrow' and how I'd use them to scootle my way around the waiting room.

I've befriended the reception staff a couple of times.

Katy and I played a lot of word games! :)

Once, the channel they had on played Sister Act so I managed to quote and sing (loudly and without shame) my way through the whole movie. That was one of my favourite visits as I wasn't there for MH reasons either!

I also spent a lot of time judging other patients for wearing leggings as trousers.

We did indeed, plus I think slightly unnerved the staff with inappropriate (but hilarious) MH jokes.

I'm clearly not as inventive as the rest of you!
I've not been many times but I tend to just have the occasional cigarette & text. Boring much?!
If I end up there again at any point (fingers crossed this doesn't happen!) then I may try to be a bit more inventive. :P

I wound (no pun intended) the doctors up when I was last in a&e by saying tgings like 'last time, the Dr did this or last time a nurse fetched such and such. Like, not in a nasty way.

Turns out the Drs and nurses in my a&e see reallly competitive.

if i'm in a & e I've usually ODed so not really up to much other than sleeping or being a bit mentals

I just told the doctor that I had my pet ostrich at home to look after me. ;D

When I was in the kids A&E in January and February I played on my phone but when the battery ran out I played on my scientific calculator , read private peaceful,went to sleep and played with my stress ball- the reason why I had my scientific calculator was because I had come with my mum the first time straight from school in an ambulance and the second time I came from school with my dad in the ambulance so I had my school bag with me as I didnt have time to put my bag in to my parents cars.