"Efficient and friendly service despite pandemic"

I was recently sent to A&E by my GP. Once there I was quickly triaged by the nurse at the front desk (and was very grateful of the chair by her desk too), and was then immediately called to the second desk to check my details, before being sent through for second line nurse triage and bloods approx 10 min later. The second nurse did an excellent job of putting a cannula in first time even though I was very dehydrated (harder than it sounds). I was then moved to a cubicle in majors to wait to be reviewed by a doctor. One arrived surprising quickly and then wrote a treatment plan, and then a nurse set up my drips. Approx 2 hours or so later I was then well enough to try drinking some fluids and the doctor personally brought those over which was very kind of him, and eventually I was well enough to be discharged with a clear plan for what to do if the treatment stopped working. The outpatients pharmacy was also quick to dispense my prescription so I could leave the hospital, so I was able to be seen, treated and discharged within around 3 hours.

All of the staff that I encountered from front desk to pharmacy were very friendly and while there may have been some waiting around, with A&E that is inevitable as they need to treat the most seriously unwell patients first. The nurse who took my bloods in minors also came back to check on me twice which was very kind of her.

The only other point I would mention is that the staff had to keep paging security as there were several patients who were upset about not being able to smoke or vape in the hospital. However, I don’t believe this is a pandemic specific situation and the staff dealt with it in a very calm and rational manner.

With regards to the pandemic, that did not impact my treatment at all. COVID-19 infection controls were kept throughout my visit and I had to wear a mask which staff also wore (in addition to gloves and aprons). I was also tested for COVID 19 though I did not test positive. It was relatively quiet, and anyone concerned about visiting A&E if they are very unwell or sent by their GP should not be. Please note however that visitors are generally not permitted at the moment, so if someone accompanies you they are unlikely to be able to go with you beyond the front desk.