"A&E Triage"

Anything else?

After phoning the out of hours service (111) the Dr phoned me back and made an appt to see the Dr. My Mother was seen quite quickly by the Dr who referred her over for tests to A&E. Her paper work was headed "Urgent Response". My Mother is 76 and had chest/shoulder /neck pain. The time was 9pm. We sat in A&E and were seen quite quickly for Heart Trace and Blood tests. We then waited to be called back in. At 11pm my mother was beginning to fall asleep sitting up in a chair. I asked Triage what position she was to be seen and was told 14th. At midnight I again asked Triage what her position was to be seen. She was now 13th. I couldnt keep her any longer and asked if it would be ok to move a 76 year old pensioner with chest pain up the list but was told that this would not happen. I couldnt keep her out any longer and told them this only to be told "Thats your choice, you either wait another 2-3 hours or you can leave". I dont want to heap this on the person on duty (although the person could have been a bit more sympathetic) but would question how they prioritise the patients in the waiting room. (Seems like the drug users and bar room brawlers were waltzing in through the stretcher doors behind)