"Poor care worsened by organisation response"

After receiving poor nursing care during an attendance at Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh A&E and subsequent admission (including communication issues, denial of privacy/dignity and being left for hours crying with no nursing input, and only the adjacent patient showing any concern). I wrote a balanced complaint that complimented staff who had made an effort and being clear my focus was hoping that by 'complaining' I would highlight issues and prevent any other patient suffering the same problems.

After a long (more than in complaints leaflet) delay I received a response denying everything and stating the delay meant they couldn't investigate as didn't have records re: salient points. When it went further a statement was produced from a female nurse in A&E when I'd only had contact with a male nurse.

Subsequently, attendance at A&E has been suggested for another reason, and caused such a traumatic stress reaction care was provided elsewhere (thank you Scottish Ambulance Service).

What have I learnt from this? If there is no other option and I have to attend A&E there in the future, I will ensure that any contact with a nurse is witnessed by someone else (the medics I had contact with were sensitive and I think they could teach the nurses who I had contact with a lot). As a patient attending alone I felt vulnerable and as if I had no comeback. This experience has left me feeling that the acute sector of the organisation is more interested in appearances than learning from patient experience.

It is a shame to feel like this as I've met a nurse there before who bent over backwards to provide good sensitive care, but my subsequent experience and the organisation reaction have far overshadowed that.