"6 hour wait with a bleeding head"

I visited queens hosptial on Friday evening with my mum, who had fallen over and cut her head.

On arrival, there was no indication what to do or where to go and no notice was taken of the fact that she was bleeding.

The only empathy shown by staff on arrival was by a security guard who grabbed a nurse walking by to highlight the fact she was bleeding.

We then had to wait over 5 hours to see a doctor. My mum's head was stiched up over 6 and a half hours after arriving.

The doctor seemed sadly very blasé about the fact we had to wait such a long time and there appeared to be absolutely no sense of urgency.

There was no prioritisation of patients, it appeared the vast majority had minor issues and a number of those were seen more quickly than my mum and two other patients who clearly needed more urgent care - one had collapsed at home, the other had a seriously broken arm, yet all three including my mum were left to sit and wait with everyone else.

There seems to be a complete lack of speed among the staff, with several chatting, laughing and joking despite a full waiting area.

There were no refreshments nearby with the exception of a water machine, unless you are able to walk to the other end of the hospital and lose your place in the extended queue.

Overall, the department seemed poorly managed, the nursing staff seemed embarassed by the service being provided and frustrated at the volume of patients attending who did not need to be there.

I cannot beielve there is not a better way of prioritising patients based on need - the clue is in the title of the department 'accident and emergency', yet sadly it seems to operate as an extended GP surgery, with minor illnesses and injuries taking excessive time and resource, while the real accidents and emergencies are left to sit… and sit… and sit...