"Told to go elsewhere or come back tomorrow"

I arrived at minor injuries at 7.30pm (08/08/2017).

I was surprised that the receptionist did not book me in, instead asking me what was wrong and saying they were going to get a nurse to 'assess' me.

A nurse came out to reception and asked me what was wrong. I said that I thought I had cellulitis again, possibly from an insect bite. They asked where it was and I said my toe. The nurse told me I was unlikely to have cellulitis in my toe. I asked if they wanted me to remove my shoe so they could see, which they declined. The nurse asked me why I had left it so late to come to the department. I explained that what I believed was an insect bite did not initially require treatment but that in the last hour or so, a red line had started to track across and was now half way up my foot. The nurse said that the department closes in half an hour, that there are others waiting to be seen and that they need to shut the department at some time and was unlikely to finish on time tonight and they would probably need to stay there until 9. The nurse suggested that I should have come earlier and that my options were to go to A&E, phone 111, come back tomorrow or book to see my GP tomorrow. All this without even leering my foot!

I phoned 111 when I returned home and was advised that I need to be seen within 6 hours and an appointment was made for me to be seen at Kent & Canterbury Hospital at 10pm. I was diagnosed with an infection in my left foot as a result of an insect bite and prescribed a 7 day course of antibiotics. My heart rate and temperature were also checked. I was advised on pain relief and the importance of keeping my foot raised to reduce swelling. I was in and out in 5 minutes and would have happily waited for as long as it took just to be seen.

I would never have dreamt of leaving this infection until tomorrow as suggested by the nurse for fear of developing Sepsis! I am fortunate that I have the means to travel elsewhere and know that medical advice was needed, others may have felt their concerns had been trivialised and not had the means to travel elsewhere that late.

I have visited minor injuries at Deal on 2 previous occasions, once when I had a previous case of cellulitis and once when my son injured his ankle. On both those occasions I absolutely could not fault the friendliness and service. My experience last night was quite shocking really. I felt patronised and throughly told off like a naughty child and in front of my own children... I'm 47!. It's now 3am and I'm writing this review because my foot is itching intensely and woken me up but the red line is thankfully subsiding. I appreciate that your department is busy and that staff need to go home, but the nurse could have been a little more pleasant about it and honestly if she had spent that time looking at my foot instead of just telling me off and dismissing me with a flea in my ear, I probably wouldn't have felt quite so aggrieved.