"Urgent Care Attendance"

I attended Rochdale Urgent Care Centre in November 2020. 5 days previously I had been walking my dogs and twisted my wrist very sharply. This was incredibly painful and it didn't resolve as I thought it might so I decided to attend Urgent Care at Rochdale.

I realise due to COVID-19 restrictions that services are being delivered differently however when I arrived I was asked to sit on a chair near to the door, whilst an admin assistant stood approx 4 metres away. There was a screen separating the other side of the waiting room and I was expected to shout out all my personal details to confirm them to the admin assistant so name, address, Date of Birth, GP and mobile number. I did ask if there were other patients waiting at the other side of the screen and she confirmed there were. I expressed that I wasn't comfortable shouting my details across the room for other people to hear. The admin worker persisted to ask me the questions and wrote down declined to share on my paperwork.

I wanted to explain that I wasn't being awkward but that it was a clear breech of Information Governance to expect me to disclose those details out loud, but instead was made to feel uncomfortable. Following this experience I eventually was seen by a Nurse Practitioner and explained my injury. The Nurse Practitioner looked at my wrist, I didn't feel that they examined it closely, and they quickly came to the conclusion that it was just a sprain. I explained at this point that I was a nurse myself and I hadn't come initially as I thought it would resolve itself, but when it hadn't I felt that it may be more than just a sprain.

The nurse Practitioner was quite arrogant I felt and said what do you want then? an x-ray? Because I can tell you now that you don't have a fracture. I was made to feel quite small and intimidated. Since then I am still having pain in the same wrist, but because of this attitude towards me, would not feel comfortable attending there again.

Just 4 weeks ago, I had a fall whilst walking and went to save myself with my other hand and hurt this wrist which also became quite sore. Again, I would not go back to Rochdale Urgent Care because of the way I was treated previously. I am concerned that I may not be the only person who has been met with this poor attitude and this may be a barrier to others as well as myself in attending the Urgent Care centre which is why I have decided to write my story. Regardless of the injury to myself in November 2020, I should have been met with care and compassion, understanding and listening and I wasn't.