"Partner in A&E with suspected stroke"

I am very disappointed by the experience that my partner received at A&E Crosshouse hospital.

We went to A&E because my partner (a fit man in his late 70s) suddenly lost the ability to use his right leg and his left leg was weak.

I gave this information to the reception staff and was asked to wait for triage.

We waited over an hour for triage and five hours to be seen by a doctor.

I discovered later that my partner suspected he might have had a stroke of some sort and was aware that there is a window of about an hour for the appropriate treatment to be given to reduce the  effects of a stroke. This window was well and truly passed by the time my partner was triaged. After five hours waiting we saw a young doctor and it was obvious from the questions asked that the young doctor also suspected a stroke .

My partner was kept in for observation and discharged at 5.30 am with an appointment for an MRI.

The day before this appointment, we received a phone call from a consultant asking my partner to go to Crosshouse Hospital for further tests.

This time a nurse took my partner's blood pressure while he still had his outer jacket on and the systolic blood pressure reading was 200 and elicited a comment from the nurse about my partner having high blood pressure, my partner had to tell the nurse he does in fact suffer from low blood pressure. I would have thought this might have triggered and alarm bell for the attending nurse.

We later had a consultation with the consultant who had contacted us that morning. It was obvious that they also suspected a stroke of some sort and arranged for a CT scan to be done.

We informed the consultant that we had an appointment for an MRI arranged by the doctor my partner had seen.

The consultant said they would request an MRI of the head in addition to the spine. This consultant also explained where we should go in the hospital.

But when we arrived at the Outpatients department it was closed because it was a Bank Holiday. A member of staff then directed us to go to the X-ray department which we did.

A member of staff checked the system and my partner's name was not on it. They did a check on another system and found my partner's name and a request and details for an MRI.

But, the necessary authorisation and procedure for the MRI had not been carried out and he was told that he would probably have to wait 4 weeks for an MRI scan . I cannot express how disappointed we were on hearing this.

I have to say that once through the triage doors, all the members of staff dealing with my partner were wonderful.

However, the response to symptoms before and during triage of a possible stroke were woeful. As was the arrangement for the MRI.

I know the A&E department was busy, but I felt the triage system was very slow and the nurse did not seem to be aware of my partner possibly having a stroke, bearing in mind that there is a window of about an hour for the appropriate treatment to be given to reduce the effects of a stroke.

Perhaps my partner would have received faster treatment if I had called for an ambulance instead of taking him to A&E, but there was no guarantee of a timely arrival of an ambulance which is why I decided to drive him to A&E.

My partner also said that during the period of observation, he was on a trolley in the corridor with very little heating and only a thin blanket to keep him warm in his gown - he was frozen when he got home and went straight to bed to try and warm up.