"Unfit A&E department "

Was take to Addenbrookes A&E by ambulance on Thursday night at 9pm after having an asthma attack at work. On arrival I was told that I had to have a Covid test as a precaution as I was coughing. This was done in a timely manner and I had the results in about an hour and then transferred to the main A&E waiting area to see the doctor. Waited for 2 hours before seeing a doctor, which I think is an acceptable time in a busy A&E department. I was then told that I needed to have a chest X-ray, nebulizer and a medication review and sent back to the wait room for this to be done. After another hour I was taken to a medical assessment ward and left to wait until I saw the doctor.

After a total of 11 hours waiting in an uncomfortable chair I left the department against medical advice and without treatment as I could no longer stand waiting in an uncomfortable chair and I made an appointment with my GP’s asthma nurse to at least get the prescription for steroids that I had to start to get my asthma back under control, at this appointment I was told that the doctor also wanted to do an ECG to rule out anything going on with my heart. But I wasn’t told this and that might of caused me to change my mind.

While I was in the assessment ward I spoke to patients that had been there for 15 hours before seeing the doctor. It is obvious that the department is under staffed as there was only 1 doctor in the ward that I was waiting in. I heard that people where waiting to be seen for rule out stokes, heart attacks having to wait for as long as I was there and yes in A&E the most serious ill should take priority but having to wait for 12+ hours for conditions such as heart attacks, strokes & asthma attacks which can have live changing complications is unacceptable and just shows how a world leading service has become a national joke and this isn’t the fault of the nurse and doctors that are trying to do the best they can with a system that has become a joke.

I’m just glad that if I ever had anything serious wrong with me like cancer or a heart condition I wouldn’t have to wait on the joke that is our NHS for treatment as I have private medical insurance.