"Don't visit A&E unless it's critical"

Firstly, just like to say the staff deserve a medal for their commitment and dedication to a very difficult and challenging job!!

We visited A&E on Thursday 5th Oct, initial reception was good and we saw a nurse within the first half hour of arrival. We anticipated a 2 hour wait so after arriving at 9.30 pm we hoped to be seen by 12 pm at least. Our waiting time progressed to 2pm at which point we began to wonder what was happening, there was no communication between staff and patient. We had no idea of how long we would be waiting and no one seemed to care! The staff were busy and there was absolutely no indication of when we would be seen. I was astonished by the lack of communication and watched the hours go by until 3.30 pm at which point I decided my daughter, although in agony would be better at home in a comfortable bed rather than a metal chair which she had sat on for the past 6 hours!! There were other people around us in agony and needing attention but there was no medical help available as they were dealing with resuscitation cases next door which is obviously a priority but the majority of people do not go to A&E for fun. It's a disgraceful situation and I was dumbfounded by the organisation and lack of help available to people who go to A&E for a reason.

For the sake of everyone there that night and others who will follow I will be writing to the local MP to highlight the crisis of the NHS at the House of Commons. Im sure those in higher places would not tolerate the same treatment so why should we?

Once again the staff are not at fault, they're doing their best in a very difficult situation and do not deserve to work under such pressures. Finally we left at 3.30 to go home and managed to see a GP the next morning but feel very disappointed by our experience at the hospital, we won't be going again unless something changes which we doubt very much under the current situation.