"Lack of basic support"

We took our toddler to A&E after he fell from his high chair and cut his eyebrow. We were really worried, as he had a bleeding wound that later needed glue and steristrips.

We arrived around 5pm and were shocked to find ourselves waiting over four hours before seeing a doctor — all while our son’s cut was still open and bleeding. He was crying and visibly distressed for much of that time, and as parents we felt helpless watching him in pain. No one offered us anything to help clean or manage the wound while we waited, which made the whole situation feel even more stressful.

The children’s waiting area itself added to our worries — it was dirty, and after crawling around while we waited, our son’s hands and knees were completely black. This felt especially unsafe with his open wound and made us very anxious about infection risk.

When we finally saw a doctor and had the wound glued, we were relieved, but our ordeal didn’t end there. We were made to wait a further 1 hour and 15 minutes before being discharged, due to delays in hearing back from children’s social care. By this point, it was nearly midnight. The waiting area felt unsafe as the night went on, with intoxicated individuals nearby, which was frightening with a small child.

We completely understand that A&E departments are under pressure and that waiting is often unavoidable. But the lack of basic support for a bleeding child, the state of the children’s area, and the long, late wait in an increasingly unsafe environment left us feeling distressed and let down.

We are sharing this because we hope lessons can be learned. Families need reassurance that children with open wounds are supported while waiting, that the waiting areas are kept clean, and that they are not left unnecessarily in unsafe environments for hours late into the night.