"Terrible treatment at Royal infirmary Edinburgh"

I had to go into a+e as my arm had swollen up from a previous operation I had which was originally my fault but this time it wasn't. I was getting dealt with orthopaedics but they put me in a vascular ward which to be honest I don't mind where they put me. I just want looked after. The care in a+e was great, the poor guys have a nightmare getting canulas into me and it always takes hours of me getting stabbed to hell with needles the longest being 5 hrs of getting canulas stuck in me until they finally done it.

Anyway, great care at a+e despite the hours of being there but then I got moved to ward 105. I got moved into a room of my own next to the desk which was fine, it didn't bother me one way or the other. What did bother me was when they accused me of injecting drugs into this canulas that was in my shoulder that hadn't been working since the night before.

I told them this and how I couldn't reach with my bad arm if I wanted to anyway. Next thing they said they were going to phone the police on me as a nurse seen me injecting in this canulas that didn't work. I've been doing great for years.

Because they moved me to a vascular ward everyone was accusing me of being a drug addict and I got treated like one. I said I'd welcome the police and if they thought I'd done that why didn't they test the thing and who in their right mind would do something as stupid as that in front of 2 big windows next to the desk.

They had me in tears and all sorts. I was told I wasn't allowed to leave my room or they would phone the police and they treated me terribly. It got to the stage where I wasn't getting fed, no one was listening to me. Even when I was getting antibiotics put in another canula that wasn't right I was telling them my fingers were going numb and my arm was really sore. Ah it will be fine they said. It always feels like that. It doesn't. I'm in the hospital a lot and I've had lots of iv antibiotics and they definitely don't do that. Half way through I said please stop, it's ok it's fine was the answer. Even after they put it all in I was told it would be fine and the staff member walked out the room. That arm ended up more sore than the infected one.

I asked one of the staff if they could ask someone to take it out. It was killing me. I heard someone in the corridor saying just leave him. I seen the same staff again and I had to say listen if you don't take this out I'll have to take it out myself. I couldn't move my fingers by this point and my arm went stiff. The staff member took it out and I got dressed and left the hospital. When you get to the stage when you're getting threatened by police, not getting fed or watered, didn't even get my bags of fluids. I was meant to get hydration, people aren't even listening to what your saying any more is when it's really getting dangerous. I had to leave. It was just getting worse and worse.

There was a few other things that happened but I think you get the point. I got treated terribly because they never bothered to check my records to see that I wasn't a drug addict and I wasn't on drugs. They didn't seem to care in the slightest. I'm in the hospital a lot and I usually always get on great with the staff and have a good laugh as I'm so used to it now.

This was one of the worst experiences I've ever had in my life. To have me crying like an idiot is unheard of. I'm ex army, I'm a big tough lad and I can't remember really crying before but this was emotions just flooding out. I didn't care in the slightest about the police. If they wanted to search me or the room or something then fine. It would have proved I was right, it was the treatment and what I had gone through

I've been in some horrible situations but none of them made me feel how these people did. It was really bad and they never let up they just kept pushing and pushing. So I left at half 6 that morning after that nurse done that to my good arm which was sorer than the badly infected one after it. If that's how you get treated in hospitals nowadays in the main wards I'll take the risk elsewhere.

My arms still in a complete mess. I was meant to be in for another 3 days at least. I'd rather be in agony and risk sepsis than go through that again. I do want to say though there was nice nurses there but they were put in such an awkward position by whoever came out with the injection statement that it was like they didn't want to come near me.  I'd usually calm down and leave it when I get upset etc I definitely won't be this time. So now I'm in a right mess. I feel that I could lose this arm.