"A&E emergency - long wait!"

Arrived in A&E at 11am. Was seen by a doctor by 1pm who referred me to a neurosurgeon to be seen on the same day and advised it will be a 5-6 hour wait.

By 8pm I was told that the neurosurgery Dept "lost" my referral and another one had to be submitted. All the while they were assuring me that I will not need to stay overnight.

Well, noone saw me all day, but I was advised an MRI was arranged for first thing in the morning "8/9am" as advised by the doc in the Clinical Decisions Unit. I asked her to ensure this would be understood by the doctor on the next shift, she assured me that it will be in her handover notes. I begged her to let me go home and return the next day, she advised me it will be so much quicker for me to stay the night as I would be seen right away in the morning. She also wanted to keep an eye on me overnight as she suspected to my situation was more serious. She also advised me to contact PALS due to the misinformation and the loss of the original referral.

The next day I was advised by a different doctor that the inpatient booking for an MRI which was booked for me was cancelled by the neurosurgery team who decided in the night that I should instead be treated as an outpatient! He then re-examined me and advised AGAIN that his recommendation was for me to be seen as an in patient and submitted the referral for THE THIRD TIME advising that I will be seen in the morning.

This has wasted my time and energy. A hospital bed and resources that couldn't been used for someone who needed it.