"Care in Emergency Department"

I attending emergency department (as advised by GPOOH) on bank holiday at approx 22:30 with 15 month infant with vomitting and diarrhoea for 4 days with no wet nappy for 14 hours. Triage was fairly quick, clinical observations were recorded and blood glucose level.

After triage we were directed to paediatric area awaiting to be seen. We waited for over 1 hour when a junior nurse came over to us to say my infants blood glucose level was low and that he needed an anti sickness and then glucose. This was given at this time and we waited for another 2 hours when she came back to recheck a blood glucose level.

The blood glucose level was only 0.2 higher at this time therefore another glucose was given. We continued to wait and now given that it was 02:00 I was now becoming very concerned that my infant had not been seen by medics.

It was now over 18 hours from urine was passed and had multiple episodes of diarrhoea from arriving at 22:30. I had to go in search of a nurse to escalate my concerns and I ask for a blood glucose level to be rechecked. I was told to take a seat and someone would be with me.

Around 15mins later a doctor came and reviewed my infant and decided assessment was needed by paediatric team. A nurse then came back to inform us that we needed to go to the paediatric ward and it was only at this time that a repeat set of observations was done (last one in triage at 22:30) and a blood sugar (which had not been checked from before second glucose given at 01:30. We then arrived on the paediatric ward and the experience was totally different, and assessment was done immediately and a decision to admit was made at 03:30.

The emergency department care was poor in my opinion. There appeared to be one nurse who was very junior to manage the whole of the paediatric area with approx 10 children awaiting to be seen. There did seem to be limited space for medics to assess patients due to bed waits however it was unacceptable that children where waiting all this time to be assessed.

The nurse also kept disappearing and for lengthy periods there were no staff visible to speak to never name if there was an emergency situation. I had to walk to the front of the department at 02:00 to escalate my concerns.