My wife was referred by her gp as suspected congenital heart failure. We attended at 7pm. She was not seen by a doctor until 2.30am.
The staff were very pleasant but the system is completely haphazard.
In triage the nurse briefly looked at the referral notes from our doctor and took blood pressure (which was very high) as well as temperature and oxygen levels.
If the notes from her gp were read properly then all was needed was a chest X-ray and a ecg which was given 8 and a half hours later.
If accident and emergency is to be managed correctly then all that is needed is a junior doctor to work in triage and to read any referral notes completely. Should the junior doctor not be able to diagnose the patient he, or she, could go to a more senior doctor to get a second opinion.
This would get patients seen faster and stop people having to wait for 8 hours before been seen.
Reception
Staff attitude