"Care was appalling!"

I went to the A&E early on a Sunday morning for dizziness, vomiting and diarrhea that had lasted more than a week. The admit clerk yelled my medical complaint and my name, address and phone number across the waiting room when he was registering me. Everyone in the waiting room now knows my address, DOB and phone number. Hopefully my identity won't be stolen.

I was triaged quickly and labs were drawn then I was sent to another waiting room. I could see empty rooms with stretchers, however for the next 3 hours, I sat in a chair and watched the nurses get coffee/tea, text and generally waste time. I was finally taken to a stretcher for another check of my blood pressure. The nurse tried to take my BP over my winter coat and several layers of jumpers. I had to tell her that the number would be wrong. She also tried to give me IV fluids without flushing the catheter first or even clean the hub before she hooked the line. When I asked her to wash her hands, she glared at me and walked out. The junior doctor came in and did a very limited assessments, and decided I was dehydrated.

At no time did anyone ask me my medical history, if I took any medications or if I had any drug allergies. No one even bothered to check my name and if I was the patient they were suppose to be seeing. An utter lack of the most basic safety precautions.

I was sent back to the chairs and after another hour the doctor came and said I could be discharged. After another hour, she saw me still on the chair and asked me why I hadn't left. I advised I still had the IV catheter in my arm and thought it should come out before I left. Again the eyes rolled at my apparent foolishness.

After over 6 hours in the hospital, I received no diagnosis, no medication and saw no one that I thought had any professional medical knowledge. The next day I purchased private insurance.