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Long waiting times

Posted By ste1234

"Long waiting times"

About: Craigavon Area Hospital / Emergency Department

(as the patient),

Got sent by my GP to Craigavon hospital toay for a chest x ray and bloods. Waited 4 hours and only had bloods drawn. Staff I encountered were not helpful at all. Waiting rooms full of people and apparently no doctors to see them.

Not the first time this has happened and I feel it’s an absolute disgrace to have such long waiting times .

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Responses

Response from Paul Smyth, Head of Service Emergency Departments, Medicine and Unscheduled Care Directorate, Southern Health and Social Care Trust 11 months ago
Paul Smyth
Head of Service Emergency Departments, Medicine and Unscheduled Care Directorate,
Southern Health and Social Care Trust

Submitted on 13/06/2024 at 16:32
Published on Care Opinion at 16:32

I am sorry to hear your experience was not good. GPs would have access to radiology so I am guessing your GP wanted an emergency medical opinion as well as x rays and blood tests.

Can I assure you we do have enough Doctors on each shift, the waiting room is usually full because the emergency department has significant numbers of patients delayed in its cubicles waiting admission beds on the inpatients wards. This is the single biggest cause of long waiting times and the bed wait issue effects all the emergency departments in northern Ireland as well as the rest of the UK.

I am really sorry you had to wait so long and hope you did eventually get assessed and treated.

  • {{helpful}} {{helpful == 1 ? "person thinks" : "people think"}} this response is helpful

Update posted by ste1234 (the patient)

Yes, even sent up by the GP with a letter to go for x ray and bloods and still never got seen.

Went back to the GP again as I’ve only got worse. Will not be going to Craigavon Hospital again to wait for nothing.

Two entire waiting rooms were full and when leaving we were told to find a triage nurse to tell, went looking around the triage area and not a single nurse could be found!

My experience was that there are not enough doctors if there’s not even nurses!

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