"Organisation and overall management of A&E..."

It is been our unfortunate experience to have visited A&E twice in the last two weeks with our daughter, both times resulting in admission.

Some staff, nursing and doctors are fabulous and really do appear to care but there is a significant minority that appear not to care, do not listen to information given to them, do not keep the patient/parents informed, resulting in a feeling of abandonment.

Yes this is a busy department currently being stretched to breaking point but I sat there and knew that with a bloody good manager in charge of the department, it could run much more efficiently. Communication both between staff and staff and patients, is sadly lacking. The business of the department is imho being used by some of the staff as an excuse of tardiness, laziness and inefficiency. I have sat in there for 17 hours in two weeks so have had plenty of opportunity for observation!

In general the junior doctors appear far more polite, interested and efficient that the department based specialist A&E doctors, some of whom are brusque to the point of rudeness. Yes they have a lot to put up with but if they have forgotten how to be polite and caring then they really should go.

I will not name names, it is not my job to do so, nor will I in the formal complaint that is currently being written. I want to point out again that the majority of staff are good but the significant minority let the side down and the overall lack of good management means there is no clear direction. I was itching whilst sitting there to get to grips with what are clear and glaring inadequacies that anyone with normal common sense and half a brain would clearly observe if they have a few hours to spare and could become a 'secret shopper'. Communication between everyone also needs a big improvement.

When the new A&E is up and running there's no point taking the dead wood with you!