"The worst pain I have felt in years."

Attended MIU due to having acquired 2nd degree burns whilst on holiday.

The dressings which I was given by Pharmacy First were aggravating the burn and puss was leaking through my waterproof dressings. I attended the Minor Injuries Unit (MIU) as there is no other option due to treatment room have 1 week + wait and GPs not dealing with dressings.

When I attended MIU the reception staff could not have been nicer, attended to me quickly and told me to have a seat. I was then greeted by a staff member whose demeanour could not have been any more unfriendly or less interested. They sighed as they watched me struggle to take off my polo shirt, and explained to me that they were in fact too busy in Inverclyde Royal Hospital Emergency Department (IRH ED). As a nurse myself - never in my life would a treat a service user in such a way. I was then quite abruptly told to go back to the waiting room, glared at once again as I struggled to put on my top.

I was then greeted by another staff member, who again seemed extremely stressed and was, it appeared, to be pretty uninterested too. I was told that they would leak and continued to debride my blisters and clean them out with sterile swaps and normal saline. This was absolutely excruciating, I was almost in tears and I was not offered any pain relief. I had asked if there was jelonet we could apply to the wound - which again seemed to be the end of the world.

A dry dressing was then applied to burned skin surrounding the area, which has since come off and taken the skin off completely. I asked if there was any jelonet or dressings I could take home to redress myself after a few days. I was told to buy these at a pharmacy. No advice given on how to redress the burns and no worsening advice given.

I am able to advocate my rights and ensure no harm comes to me when receiving health care, I just fear for vulnerable patients in this situation.

After leaving the MIU I sat in my car for around 40 minutes until I felt able enough to drive after experiencing the worst pain I have felt in years.