"A & E"

I want to start by saying the staff are doing their upmost and most are very good at their jobs. Unfortunately they’re stretched to breaking point and they can’t cope.

I was admitted to A&E via ambulance, my suspected illness was very serious and my pain management required very strong medication. A&E was absolutely the right place for me to be and I went through the correct channels to get there.

I then spent 24 hours being pushed from pillar to post in A&E before finally getting a bed on a ward; due to lack of beds.

There were people on trolleys, visitors seats and hospital wheelchairs in every available space. It was honestly like a scene from a 3rd world countries hospital.

The staff tried their upmost but it is clear to see they are at breaking point.

At every interval I had to request my medication, chase times for scans/xrays; which at one point I was told had already been done!! They hadn’t and I actually had to be quite forceful about the fact that I hadn’t received my X-ray!

I was left in the main thoroughfare of the A&E department, corridors and even moved off of a bed having received morphine and made to sit in the waiting room, because they had no where to triage. Apparently it would be ok because a nurse was there, she had no idea who I was or that I was already a patient!!

Elderly were left in their own mess, some having requested to go to the toilet some 40 minutes previously and being told to wait, until the inevitable happened.

I reported one of the toilets as it was disgusting, it took 6 hours to get it cleaned.

I barely slept and being stuck in the centre of the noise and commotion of the A&E department was truly awful. People were breaking down in tears through lack of sleep, lack of dignity, lack of care a huge lack of compassion.

There were elderly patients clearly suffering from dementia screaming, crying, trying to get out of their beds even though they were clearly incapable. It was very frightening as a patient to witness and try where possible to help prevent an accident, that got to the point where it was ultimately inevitable.

I had to request a sheet to cover my trolley mattress as the blue paper towel was useless and trying to sleep on the plastic was just gross. I asked 3 times and in the end when my friend arrived she went and found one for me. A&E doesn’t have pillows either, which if they could stick to their 4 hour guidelines I could understand. However as I have mentioned previously I was there for 24 hours and I wasn’t the longest stay by any means.

Under NO circumstances would I recommend or allow any of my family members to go anywhere near the A&E department.

The staff are breaking themselves to keep the department running, to be as kind and caring as possible; but they are only human and people can only sustain that level of stress for so long.

Bottom line AVOID!!