"Stay in Ulster hospital A&E for a stomach bug"

I went to the Ulster Hospital A&E on Sunday feeling really unwell from a stomach bug. Despite it being busy, I was triaged within about 30 minutes and then started treatment within about 40 minutes after that. The doctors and nurses were so thorough and reassuring, diagnosing severe dehydration and an acute kidney injury.

I spent the next 48 hours in “yellow zone” section of A&E on a drip to rehydrate with various other tests and scans to ensure that nothing else was wrong.

Despite no bed on a ward being available, I was comfortable and well looked after the whole time and without exception every nurse and doctor I saw was incredible. They were attentive, caring and very thorough and I can’t thank them enough.

To be honest, I feel like the care and attention I received in A&E the past 48 hours was even better than that I recently received on a ward I was on (for other reasons). I also saw how hard the nurses and bed managers worked to find beds for all patients, patients were constantly being moved to wards but unfortunately the number coming in the doors of a&e is just too many for the numbers of beds in the hospital. It is not through their lack of trying and hard work.

There are only two things that I feel could be improved at the hospital and that is, providing showers for those that need to stay in A&E for several days, and secondly that there are beds for the A&E cubicles rather than reclining chairs. The chairs aren’t the end of the world, but a bed would definitely be more comfortable.