"Frimley A&E"

On the 20th of April, I unfortunately had an accident at a trampoline centre in Camberley where I sustained a spinal injury. I was place into a collar and spinal scoop before being taken to Frimley A&E department via ambulance. Upon arrival, roughly about 9pm, I was placed in the corridor where I remained for 1½ hours, all the while I was in a huge amount of pain. I found myself having to ask multiple times for something to help me deal with it, eventually receiving 1g of paracetamol from a seemingly reluctant nurse.

When I was moved into a room (about 11) I was still in extreme pain and asked if there was anything else they could give me, only to be told that I was not allowed to have any pain medication until I had been examined by the doctor (at the time I did not believe this to be true, and after asking my parents who both work in a hospital, I now know this not to be true). I then followed up and asked if I could be seen by the doctor, only to be told that I could not see the doctor until I had had an X-Ray (to myself I thought fair enough, this is at least understandable). I then asked, when would I be able to have an X-Ray - the estimated wait was 3-4 hours, and I had been put on the list.

By this time, myself and my two friends who had kindly accompanied me had already been waiting in the hospital for close to 4 hours. To then be told that I would have to wait a further 3-4 hours just to get an X-Ray was awful. The nurses were exceedingly rude, and not understanding of my situation in the slightest.

I made an executive decision to self-discharge and return to Oxford, where I attended the John Radcliffe Hospital the following morning, to find I had a fracture of the superior end plate of my T6 vertebra.

I cannot possibly recommend the A&E department to any of my friends or family. I believe the patient care of this department was appalling. In my opinion, the nurses on duty did not believe that I had sustained a serious injury which would explain why they acted the way they did, they did not make me feel welcome, they did not ensure that I was okay and I did not feel at all safe in their hands – and to me, this is an enormous aspect of working in the healthcare profession.