I suffer Lupus and very brittle asthma for which I am on quite a few medications. After suffering a night with a horrible rash, swelling and difficulty breathing I called 111 and was told to get to A&E immediately. Upon arrival at A&E I was spoken to like a child because I don't yet have a local GP. (I've only moved here recently) triage took some details but hardly cared to look at my card listing the medications I am on nor listen to the fact that this form of SLE Lupus causes me to develop pleurisy randomly. I was sat waiting in A&E with 4 other people for about an hour when a woman came in and asked me to varify my name and then told me to come back later. 5 hours later!!! YES! 5!! By this time I was terribly unwell, called and complained to the patient advocate who directed me to a local walk in. The walk in was actually not much better. I was glanced at and told that I "have catched a virus, use E45 cream and take lots of fluids." She didn't even listen to the words that came out of my mouth about the fact that I have Lupus, and I'm on new medications. She said, "you have been on these tablets for 4 weeks, its too late for it to be a reaction to that medication." This is not an accurate assessment! This is an anti-malaria drug that takes weeks to show if you will have a reaction. If anyone had listened to me about my medications they may have known this? Likely not, no one seemed to care that day. Not at the A&E nor at the walking was there a single shread of care or concern about me nor that fact that I had been on a home nebulizer on and off for 24 hours, or that the rash now covered my entire body, was hot to the touch, swollen and blistering on my legs. I went home, called my former London GP and was told that I was having an alergic reaction to the medication and to get back to A&E! In the end I took a large does of anti histamine and went off to London. I then stayed in London hospital for 24 hours on steroids and very unwell. I was left to suffer what could have been a terrible allergic reaction and it seems those in the medical field who work in Gillingham didn't care one single bit about me. Now I'm terrified of what will happen if I ever need the A&E here again. What do I do? Who do I go to? Turning people away? Who does that?! It was so obvious I was having problems catching my breath, that I was covered in a horrible rash, it was in their face yet I was ignored. I advise you avoid this hospital!
"Ignored"
About: Medway Maritime Hospital Medway Maritime Hospital Gillingham ME7 5NY
Posted via nhs.uk
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