"The level of care I experienced was unacceptable"

I attended Monklands A&E 6 weeks pregnant and suffering from severe chest pain. Unfortunately I had nobody available to care for my two year old daughter so she attended with me.

Triage staff were amazing - allowed her to take part in what was going on and were communicative about what the plan was going to be. Kay did many of my triage assessments and I can’t say enough about how amazing she was. 

Unfortunately following the great experience at triage I had a pretty substandard experience waiting to see a Dr. The waiting time on the board stated five hours. I arrived at Monklands at 7:15pm and by 12:15am had not been seen by a Dr, no update was given as to the time scale being changed, reception staff were standoffish and rude when I queried the waiting time which I emphasised was beyond their control however I had a 2 year old with me and it was getting later and later.

I eventually informed reception staff that I could no longer wait due to my two year old needing to go to bed. I was told I had to sign a form as this meant I was refusing treatment. I refused to sign the form as I was not refusing treatment and would accept a phone call from the Dr should this be necessary based on my investigations. My bloods were taken at 9:30pm - by 12:15am I still had no clue if they were normal or if they needed intervention.

The children’s waiting area is unsafe and unclean with fans balanced on top of tables and all of the toys and equipment within the area are no longer working. 

I appreciate that NHS services are under pressure but the level of care I experienced whilst at Monklands A&E was unacceptable.