"Long wait with disappointment"

After experiencing over 10 hours at Blackburn Hospital's A&E, it was clear, they were severely under staffed.

After suffering paralysis on one side of my face and severe head pain, I contact Burnley urgent care for advice, they said I should be ringing for an ambulance, which I did. The ambulance crew were at my home within minutes and from start to finish, were excellent. They were concerned I could have suffered a stroke or had a blood clot.

On arriving at the hospital it was clear to see they were exceptionally busy. I wasn't expecting any preferential treatment but due to the nature of my condition, I thought 6 hours before I saw a junior doctor was a disgrace. I arrived at around 5:30pm, had bloods and an ECG taken at 9:15pm. It was at around 11:30pm when I saw the junior doctor. Around 3:00am when I had a ct scan and 3:40am when a more senior doctor came to see me.

I asked one a number of occasions for a trolley bed, purely because I have a para umbilical hernia and fibromyalgia. Sitting in chairs is excruciating for me, not to mention the pain in my head. Despite asking in a polite and courteous manner and explaining why I needed one, I kept getting told I would get one. Needless to say, I never got one. I was told by the junior doctor that I was being kept in overnight for more test., I was then told at 3:40am I would be going home. As I had gone on my own due to my husband working weekends, I asked if I could get an ambulance. The nurse I asked, suggested I get a taxi as it costs a lot for an ambulance to take me home. Considering I live in Nelson, it wouldn't have been cheap. In the end I woke my husband, who collected me just after 4am. In all my time there, I wasn't once asked if I was okay or if I wanted a drink by the nurses. In fact drunken individuals got better treatment.

In the end I was diagnosed with probable Bells Palsy. They didn't know for a fact, just diagnosed probable. I was given some steroid tablets and sent on my way with no follow up appointment even suggested. The doctor said they didn't really know what caused it. So I've been left in pain, paralysed down the right side of my face and told the feeling could come back, but with some patients it may not.

I fully understand that they were busy and stretched to the limits but is this really what the NHS has become? Patients on trolleys in the corridors, patients being ignored. Considering I could have had a blood clot, 9 1/2 hours is a long time to keep someone waiting for a CT Scan. Isn't it? Or am I just being unreasonable? One nurse even told one patient, if he didn't like waiting to go private. He only mentioned he'd been waiting a long time. I don't blame the nurses, it's the management that need to get a grip on reality.