"I was disappointed with the way in which I was treated"

Over the past 12 years I have always thought the care I received through the NHS was great. However, when I suspected I had broken a bone in my foot and went to the Ayr Hospital A&E I was disappointed with the way in which I was treated.

I was seen by a staff member who examined my foot very thoroughly and carefully and agreed that I may have a broken bone but would need to have my foot x-rayed for a confirmation. She took me to the Radiology Dept for the x-ray. It was quite a distance to the department, bearing in mind I had a broken bone I was not offered a wheelchair, she just walked ahead of me and, because I could not keep up with her, she kept looking back at me as if I were loitering. We then had the walk back.

When we were back in the A&E she showed me into a small room, checked the x-rays and told me she would get a supporting boot for me to wear. I explained that I could not wear such a boot as I have a problem with my balance and a heavy boot would aggravate the balance problem. She said she would go and talk to an occupational therapist or physiotherapist to look at alternatives.

When she left I checked the time on the clock in the room – it was 12: 00 noon. At 1: 30 there was still no sign of her, had she gone for lunch? I went out of the room to see if I could find someone to ask what was going on. I found someone who said they would go an find her. After about 10-15 minutes she came back – no explanation about what had happened in the hour and half I had been kept waiting.

It's just not acceptable to leave a patient without any explanation. She seemed to have a very different attitude to other people working at the hospital.