I came into A&E for a mental health related issue. I asked if there was a separate room that i could sit in as i was on the verge of having a panic attack and they said no, so i went & stood in a corner and my panic attack got worse & i couldn't breath. No one helped me apart from 2 patients who came over to check on me. After a while I asked to be taken off the waiting list as it was making me worse & they couldn't let me go, so a nice member of staff came to talk to me (i wish i caught their name). I then saw a nurse as I was in hysterics & the nurse was very rude to me, and said 'You know there are lots of people waiting to be seen before you, but you wanted to be seen first'. I corrected the nurse and said i didn't want to be seen first, i said i wanted to be taken off the waiting list so i could go home. The nurse then proceeded to ask me questions about why i was there in A&E/why i took too many tablets in a very horrible tone of voice, it felt like an interrogation, i felt so uncomfortable....it made me feel like i was stupid coming to A&E and that I was wasting everyone's time. So this actually made me feel 10x worse, especially as i was there for mental health related issues (and an overdose as well). The funny thing is, that as soon as my husband turned up, the tone of the nurses voice changed and the nurse was much nicer. I wish i saw their name badge as i would have liked to have put down a complaint about the nurse. The doctor and the psychiatric team I saw though were lovely! It's just a shame not all staff can be more sensitive about a patients emotions. The nurses words could have really sent someone more over the edge than they already are.
"No respect from some staff"
About: University Hospital Lewisham University Hospital Lewisham London SE13 6LH
Posted via nhs.uk
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