"Poorly managed A&E services"

I arrived at A&E with a ruptured ectopic pregnancy. 

I collapsed at the reception desk and was then taken to a room in A&E. I asked if my partner could be with me and I was told no. He was asked to wait in the carpark as the waiting room was too busy. 

I was going in and out of consciousness and I was extremely unwell. I was left in a room with my back to the door and the door shut for periods of time. I asked the doctor at one point not to leave me alone because I was scared. I made it clear to the doctor that I knew my Fallopian tube had ruptured and I was likely bleeding internally. I was told they’d leave the door open next time. 

The doctor was struggling to find a vein to give me pain relief and anti sickness. Around 2.5 hours later eventually got a vein and gave me the medication. 

I was then taken for a chest X-ray. I didn’t understand why I was there, until I asked the radiographer. It took some time to get the X-ray because I was passing out and had to be sitting upright for 5-10minutes before the photo could be taken. 

After the X-ray was taken, it was now over 3 hours since I had been admitted. When I arrived back at A&E I was met with a gynaecologist consultant, a registrar and an A&E consultant. The gynaecologist told me that it was likely I was right and that I had ruptured but they wanted to scan me to be sure. They left me to make arrangements to take me to maternity unit to be scanned. 

When they had gone, the A&E consultant came in and told me they didn’t like the way I was presenting and would rather I stayed closer to the theatre than be taken over to maternity unit. They used an ultrasound and the help of other staff to find a vein and put in a bigger needle. The consultant witnessed me fainting again and assured me that I was likely going to go to theatre from where I was then. He then took the ultrasound to my back and confirmed that I was bleeding internally. Within 30 seconds, I had met the anaesthetist and the team that would be taking me to theatre. The consultant escalated everything and allowed my mum in to see me before I was taken to theatre. 

It took 4 hours from being admitted to being taken to theatre. There was at least 3.5 hours of this time wasted. I feel that the first doctor I met either had no experience of an ectopic rupture or simply didn’t believe me. I believe that if I had seen the A&E consultant sooner then I would have been in theatre much quicker. I had 2 litres of blood in my pelvis. Had I been taken to theatre sooner, there wouldn’t have been as much. Being left in a room terrified, feeling like I was going to die with my partner in the car park was unfair. I understand that Covid has changed rules in A&E but I was later allowed two visitors on the ward. Surely allowances could be made for the extreme circumstances. The last my partner saw was me on the floor at A&E reception. I was trying to update him by texting him while I was fainting and vomiting. It was a traumatic experience which was made even more traumatic by being alone.