"Epsom A & E and Chuter- Ede ward"

At around 7.30 p.m.on Saturday the 28th October I was taken by ambulance to Epsom A.& E. with severe chest pains which were getting worse. The paramedics established that my heart was o.k.

I had been on a trolley for one and a half hours before anybody spoke to me, then somebody took a blood sample and told me that it would be at least an hour before the results came back and that a doctor would see me then.

Could they not have taken a blood sample when the ambulance crew passed me over to A & E with their assessment?

After about 4 hours I was taken to a ward. ("As soon as that?" a friend with experience of A &E remarked.) In the ward I was examined by a doctor who established that I had fluid on the lungs. (pneumonia pleurisy, or something else?- nobody said.)

From then onwards it was obvious that a schedule was established whereby nurses administered prescribed antibiotics by drip at predetermined times. Also I had regular temperature and blood pressure tests, and have no complaints on that score.---

BUT,- Nighttime was dreadful. The nurses seemed to have no consideration for the fact that they were surrounded by human beings who were ill or in pain and were desperate to get some sleep. The volume of their talking and laughing incessantly was totally unnecessary. I did manage to doze with some wet paper towels stuffed in my ears when the chattering eased off, but it wasn't long before it started up again. From what I could hear none of the chatter was work related and I felt that to them the patients were just inanimate objects to whom they were required to administer drugs every now and then. When I was moved to another ward a nurse politely introduced themselves and said they would be looking after me. When they were on the ward I made several attempts to talk to them, but was ignored as they were dealing with another patient.. Eventually I managed to get the nurses attention to show them that the tube leading to my cannula was full of blood. and that the drip had stopped despite a half full bag.. The nurse said they would get someone to see to it, which they did after 4 hours and 3 more requests. One nurse could hear me saying "Excuse me nurse," several times, and eventually looked at me and said "I'm not your allocated nurse." I asked them to remind my nurse that my drip wasn't working, but nothing happened.

That night, as soon as the lights went out the incessant loud talking and laughing started up again, but this time they were sitting just outside the ward.

I am happy to be home with a supply of antibiotics, but feel that apart from the medical treatment, my experience in the hospital was horrendous, and unnecessarily so.