"A&E reception"

My mother had a very bad fall and we were unfortunate enough to decide to take her to A&E on the advice of a off duty GP. The receptionist was extremely rude to my mother and I. When I explained that my mother had Dementia, so was very confused and upset I met the response 'well it's a long wait and medical need is prioritised here so she'll just have to wait like everyone else'. I hadn't actually requested she was seen earlier than others all I was doing was providing her background, as requested!

My son had managed to get her to sit on an empty chair just around the corner to which the receptionist stated ' she can't sit there either she'll have to sit over there', pointing to the busy waiting area, I explained that my mum couldn't cope with busy situations as part of her Dementia, to which the receptionist stated 'she'll have to sit there' again pointing to the busy area. I had to walk away at this point as, after the shock of seeing my mum and the treatment of this receptionist towards her, they had reduced me to tears!. Luckily a Doctor heard me expressing my upset, to my son, around how my mother was being treated and informed me 'you can sit there it's not an issue and I'll get you seen as I can see she's (mum) is upset'. The doctor then spoke to the receptionist who sat glaring at me for the 2 hour wait!

The receptionist was extremely rude and unprofessional throughout and made a very stressful situation worse for a very vulnerable person. The receptionist, due to their own 'power issues' didn't pass on all the information leading to a medical mistake (information regarding signs of stroke that need addressing within an hour of the event) being unassessed, and I will be contacting the hospital directly about this.

All I can say is what a great shame that this person is the 'initial face of the hospital' when all the other staff where fantastic, respectful and fully aware of the needs of a person with Dementia- staff training (and a feeling of 'power' being removed) is required!