"Waiting in SAU"

I accompanied my friend when she was referred to the SAU and we arrived just after 12 midday. There were a few people in the waiting room and my friend was triaged quite quickly but warned there would be at least a four hour wait.

We were actually in the SAU for 6 1/2 hours which is not a problem. However, we have made some observations for improvements that either cost £0 or very little.

1. Please put signs on the wall in the waiting room explaining where the nearest toilets are.

2. Please put signs on the wall to advise where the nearest drinking water can be located, as there were two small jugs and these were not topped up for the whole time we were there. Either that or install a drinking water station in the room.

3. Please put signs up explaining that if a patient is in pain, then they should let a member of clinical staff know (more on this in a moment).

4. Please put signs up explaining where to get food, and suggesting how they let staff know that they are needing to pop out for food/water or the loo, so they don't miss a call or worry about missing a call.

5. This room was the most uninspiring and uncomfortable waiting room. All the patients waiting in there were in pain and there were no upright supporting chairs or even larger chairs for those patients. Also, a TV with subtitles or the radio on in the background would be a welcome distraction and stop everyone listening to everyone else's conversations with clinical staff or each other.

On the subject of pain, surely it would be possible for someone to pop in every 1/2 hour to check on those waiting? Many were on their own. Some couldn't manage to get themselves a drink or were afraid to ask for pain relief. There were three patients who were there when we arrived and still there when we left. I was able to help with water but was also looking after my friend.

On a slightly separate topic, my friend's cannula was not inserted correctly into her ACF and so when she had contrast for her CT, this entered the tissues around her elbow and up her arm. It was quickly rectified by staff and another cannula inserted into the other arm for the contrast. The staff said they would inform SAU and gave my friend a leaflet with possible side effects of the mistake. They said SAU would check on her and she needed to keep hydrated.

When we arrived back in SAU, no-one even came to check on her or ensure she had arrived back in the department. She was in alot of discomfort from the contrast entering the tissues in her arm plus the ongoing pain form her medical issue. She finally saw someone about three hours later who took the new cannula out and said she was leaving. She had not even been told the results of her scan or seen anyone and the only reason she was coming home was there were no beds and she had an adult child at home. She was still in the same condition she arrived in, but was just given antibiotics to go home with. We even had to ask for an information sheet on the diagnosis she had been given.

We both work for the NHS and understand the pressures, but the above points may help patients in the future feel more comfortable and less abandoned without basic information.