"A & E response to eye emergency"

I attended A & E on a Friday evening, with a letter from a local optician explaining that a tear in my retina had been noticed during my eye examination. It was very busy, but the staff were all pleasant and polite. The receptionist copied my letter. When I eventually saw the triage nurse my sight was tested by the nurse by asking me to stand under the mirror and read the letters from the chart. I pointed out that the letters were back-to-front, but the nurse told me to 'just do your best'. The vision in the part of my eye where the retina was still attached was fine, and the letters were double-size (as I was told to stand under the mirror, not under the chart) so the nurse was unable to detect any problem and told me I would have to see the doctor, which was a three hour wait.

I politely referred the triage nurse to the letter from the optician, which said this was an ocular emergency, and asked if I might see the emergency opthalmologist. The nurse kindly went to speak to the doctor about that, and returned promptly to say I would have to see the doctor who would make the decision about what happened next. By then it was 10pm. I said I would come back in the morning, and had a sleepless night.

I returned to attend the walk-in eye clinic where the staff were absolutely first class. They understood the problem, phoned the vitreo-retinal surgeon, and had me transferred to hospital (not in Hereford) straight away. The surgeon explained (as the optician had) that it was important to operate as quickly as possible otherwise I would go blind in that eye.

I felt that the triage nurse lacked understanding of the urgency of my problem, despite the written referral from a health professional, and consequently failed to deal with it appropriately. I am very lucky not to have lost my sight.