"Long waits and no answers"

I was admitted into New Cross recently via emergency ambulance. I had chronic indigestion and acid reflux which meant I was in severe pain and discomfort. 

The ambulance crew was fantastic, they made me as comfortable as they could and I felt like I was in good hands. 

I was going to taken to Stoke when they had a message over the radio asking to take me to New Cross instead which was fine, as long as I got seen I didn’t mind where. 

Got to New Cross, the ambulance crew trying to book me in with a nurse who’s attitude stunk, they were so unfriendly and abrupt with the ambulance guys which there was no need for. 

While I was waiting with the ambulance crew for a bed, a lady who’d been sat on a chair fell off the chair and hit the floor. The nurses looked at her and tutted. The booking in nurse told her to get up and then started tugging on her arm. A couple of the ambulance crew helped her to her feet and got her onto a bed when she was taken to a bay. The nurse said to me oh how dramatic to which I thought oh here we go. 

I get put in a bay which felt like a 3rd world country hospital, overlooking everyone in the room and left there for a while before a young nurse came to do my observations. They wanted to take a blood sample and I told them where my good veins are as I’m difficult to bleed, they ignored me and went in another vein which I’ve never been successful with and I told them that. As expected no blood so instead of trying again they gave up and took me to same day emergency care (SDEC) of which I had to chase them around the corridors to get to as they sprinted there despite me having chest pains which were making it difficult for me to breathe. They were told to take me to another waiting area which I later found out was just the main A&E waiting area. Even though I’d already been in the hospital for nearly 2 hours at this point I was added to the end of the waiting list which was predicated to be a 5+ hour wait because they were waiting for the next shift of doctors to start. 

I hadn’t been offered a drink, food or pain relief so as expected got very angry and upset with the staff in the waiting area. Finally I was given some morphine to help with the pain and due to exhaustion I lay across 3 chairs to try and get some sleep while I waited which was comfortable. I finally get to see a doctor after being there for over 8 hours who asks for some blood tests to be taken. The lovely nurse listened to me and got blood straight away and was the first person to offer me a drink and further pain relief and indigestion relief. 

They asked me to sit in another waiting room which had more comfortable seating but the windows wouldn’t stay shut so it was freezing in there. I sat there for 2.5 hours before I decided to ask how much longer it would be to find out my blood tests came back hours ago. The student nurse took my results to the doctor who then discharged me as they came back normal and told me to go to my GP for further investigation into the problem. 

I have been waiting/trying for 3 years to get a diagnosis as to what’s causing my chronic indigestion attacks so to not get any form of investigation at the time of attack seemed ridiculous, maybe it would have shown something which isn’t detectable when I’m not having an attack. 

Home care was suggested, just take paracetamol and my usual indigestion relief despite this not helping prior to going into hospital in the first place. 24 hours later and I’m still suffering and just trying to manage it as best as I can. With it being a bank holiday weekend my GP is now closed until Tuesday so I’ve got a long time before I can speak to my doctor. 

All in all, I was not impressed with having to go through the usual A&E queue and being tagged on to the end of the list. My usual hospitals would have admitted me straight into A&E and put in a bed and a bay so I’m comfortable. I have never had to sit for this many hours on uncomfortable seats in chronic pain while no one cared to offer any relief. 

To top it off I was on my own, had to find my own way home of which I was very lucky my friend hasn’t traveled home for the bank holiday yet. My husband doesn’t drive and there was no shuttle service to Stafford like there is with Stoke to Stafford. Taxis were quoting me over £60 to get back which I didn’t have on me. 

One word for this hospital is shocking in my opinion. I do not want to return here.