"Very uncomfortable and isolating experience"

A few weeks ago I took an overdose and ended up in A&E. I was there for a few hours having blood tests etc, and was then taken to Ambulatory Care at about 11am, as the dangerous period for the tablets I’d taken hadn’t passed yet and I needed to be observed until 2pm. They said at that point they would contact the mental health liaison team. 

I was not really expecting the very uncomfortable and isolating experience in AC as I’d never been before. Me and my husband were shown into the waiting room style area and then just left completely alone. The only member of staff I spoke to before 2pm was someone asking if I wanted a sandwich. I didn’t interact with or see any medical staff at all and nobody seemed concerned about my welfare. I was very drowsy due to the tablets I’d taken and really wanted to sleep until I was seen, but we were on chairs so this was nearly impossible. I ended up mostly just staring at the walls for 3 hours. I was also very distressed in general so felt like I’d been abandoned and ignored by the staff. It really was not a good place to be when I was in that kind of state. 

At nearly 2 I decided I’d had enough and went to the nurse’s station in tears. They said they had been keeping an eye on me, but this was the first interaction we had! They were very nice at this point and offered us a private room with a trolley where I could at least lie down, but I don’t know why this wasn’t offered when we first came in and why I had to kick up a fuss to feel like I was being cared for. It was kind of too little, too late at that point. 

The assessment they tried to organise with the MH team never materialised - at 4 we were told that it could be another 24 hours but would “hopefully” be before 9pm. I felt like waiting in hospital  another 5 hours without anyone to help would only do more damage to my mental state, and neither of us seemed likely to be able to sleep, so we eventually left at about 5pm. I luckily had a prearranged appointment with the CMHT the next day or I think I would have been made to stay. 

I’m sure that in many circumstances the AC ward is perfectly appropriate, but that didn’t feel like the case here. Leaving someone who is in crisis in a waiting room for 3 hours without so much as a “how are you feeling?”, and only responding when they come to you crying and shouting because they feel so desperate, isn’t good enough. I was really disappointed and felt very alone.